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Rez Metal: Inside the Navajo Nation Heavy Metal Scene by Ashkan Soltani Stone and Natale A. Zappia

2022; Music Library Association; Volume: 79; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/not.2022.0086

1534-150X

Robert Freeborn,

Diverse Musicological Studies

Reviewed by: Rez Metal: Inside the Navajo Nation Heavy Metal Scene by Ashkan Soltani Stone and Natale A. Zappia Robert Freeborn Rez Metal: Inside the Navajo Nation Heavy Metal Scene. By Ashkan Soltani Stone and Natale A. Zappia. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2020. [ix, 93 p. ISBN 9781496205094 (paperback), $16.95; ISBN 9781496222503 (e-book), price varies.] Illustrations, notes, sources, and further reading. To those who think heavy metal music is solely the refuge of young, angry white men, have I got news for you. For decades now, people of all cultures and genders have been drawn to this genre as a musical outlet for emotional expression. One example can be found in the recent book Rez Metal: Inside the Navajo Nation Heavy Metal Scene by Ashkan Soltani Stone and Natale A. Zappia. Rez Metal (short for “reservation metal”) acts as a companion to the documentary movie of the same name and by the same authors. Having seen the movie, I believe this quick read (under one hundred pages) not only complements the film but also stands on its own. The book starts with an introduction to rez metal and the origins of the Navajo Nation. It tells of the Long Walk (the Navajo version of the Trail of Tears) of 1864–1866, the beginning of uranium mining on reservation territory in the early 1960s, and the disaster of the 1979 Church Rock uranium mill spill, which released more radioactivity than the Three Mile Island accident four months earlier and led to the region’s economic downturn. Through interviews with such people as tribal president Jonathan Nez and traditional healer Lavina Pete, we learn of the high rates of unemployment, alcoholism, and suicide that constantly plague their community. But we also learn how music, from country to hip hop to heavy metal, is used to give people hope for a better future. One of my favorite interviews features Ed Yazzie, who is both a member of the Navajo Council and the drummer for the metal band Testify. (As someone on the far side of fifty with a day job, I too enjoy power chords and blast beats.) He talks about discovering bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest as a young man and how he has worked to include metal acts in Navajo musical gatherings. The only parts of this chapter that rankled me a bit were the quotes from Jerold Cecil, manager for the band I Dont Konform, that were factually wrong. Led Zeppelin and Judas Priest, for example, did not come from Manchester, England; they are from London and Birmingham, respectively. In the second chapter, Stone and Zappia look at the venues where rez metal shows occur. From club venues like the Juggernaut in Gallup, New Mexico, to impromptu house concerts, metal fans from all over the Navajo, Zuni, and Hopi reservations gather to [End Page 255] celebrate their music and their culture. We hear from two venue owners who talk about their personal love of heavy metal and the importance of providing space for local bands to play, hopefully for money, but sometimes just for the opportunity to get out there and express themselves. Juggernaut owner Ernie Santiago talks about the messages the bands are getting out. “The subject matter of the songs is something that varies, but I would say the majority of it here in this area is a lot about who you are, about your culture, self-respect, respect for the brothers and for the sisters” (p. 47). He talks about bands unable to play at the nearby Indian casinos because they do not want heavy metal—only country music. This chapter concludes with a photo montage of bands playing a series of house concerts, outdoors under a canopy and in the middle of a person’s living room while fans hug the walls. To say the scenes are intimate would be an understatement. The third chapter focuses on the bands themselves. We are introduced to three bands: Testify and their drummer Ed Yazzie; Signal 99, an industrial band from Farmington, New Mexico; and I Dont Konform (IDK), who are the unofficial subjects of the documentary. In the movie, we see IDK’s...