Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis. 357. Studia de Cultura 14 (3). Metal Music Studies in Central and Eastern Europe. Subject Areas, Research Methods and Perspectives

Abstract

I am delighted to announce a new monographic issue of Studia de Cultura dedicated to metal studies. This is a relatively new trend in cultural studies, which – through various projects and research – engages specialists in musicology, sociology, literary studies, ethnology, media studies, and especially media cultural studies, but also specialists from the fields of philosophy, aesthetics, or linguistics. It is often researchers representing these disciplines, in trans- and interdisciplinary projects in relation to contemporary music and related creative industries, cultural phenomena and performances, and media rituals, that can provide in-depth reflections on the eponymous phenomenon.This is not the first time the phenomenon of metal studies have been discussed in the pages of Studia de Cultura. Previous subjects of analysis have included: historical, theoretical, and methodological aspects, especially cultural and literary research into the culture of metal music (Studia de Cultura, no. 10.3/2018), as well as the ritual and media contexts associated with the work of selected metal bands and artists (no. 11.3/2019).This time, the authors collected in this volume are concerned with the geographical, political, and cultural conditions of metal music studies in Central and Eastern European countries. This issue showcases new perspectives and research strategies on issues such as: analyses of musical texts in broad philosophical, aesthetic, and sociological contexts; the presence of local and global trends in metal music; new articulations and fields of artistic expression in contemporary popular music; strategies for the (self) promotion of music and its creators using (new) media. Studies and analyses on the reception of music, in relation to the categories of biological and cultural gender, have a special part to play in the presented research. The authors of the texts in this volume used a variety of research strategies: from those proximate to textual analyses, through case studies dealing with specific forms of interaction between music and its audience in different social contexts, to studies strictly focused on the problem of the reception of musical messages.I hope that the articles collected in this volume will serve as a source of inspiration for research into contemporary music culture and into the phenomenon of metal music itself, and that they may open up fields for further in-depth studies dedicated to the complex relationship between music, media, and contemporary culture.