Lithuanian Metal Music
By Jurga Saltanaviciute
t least twice a year, Lithuanian metal music fans from all over the country come for a big show, usually in Vilnius. Crowds of young people, dressed mostly in black, move toward the concert hall, called Gelezinis Kablys, to see their beloved bands, to meet with friends, and drink a few beers. To an onlooker, the aggressive appearance of these people might look frightening. However, having attended such events for almost ten years and being aware not only of the superficial matters, but also of the internal details, I can state that these events have a deep meaning for the participants. Also, although at first sight these concerts appear as not religious at all, their structure is easily comparable to that of the rituals of transition, discussed by anthropologist Victor W. Turner. In this paper, I will use V. Turner's model to analyze Lithuanian black/pagan metal concert as a ritual, identifying certain structural features and interpreting them in the cultural context. .
V. Turner continues French anthropologist Arnold van Gennep's tradition to divide a ritual into three stages: separation, margin, and aggregation. In the article "Betwixt and Between: the Liminal Period in Rites de Passage", he concentrates on the analysis of the transitional, or liminal, stage of the ritual, at the basis of which is the participant's transition from the ordinary to the extraordinary dimensions and his/her introduction to the esoteric teachings of the culture. I will identify Turner's three ritual stages (pre-liminal, liminal, and post-liminal) in the Lithuanian black metal event, and elaborate on its liminality and symbolism.
The event usually takes place on a weekend night. Preparation for the show, however, might start early in the day —the young people seem to separate themselves from the daily routine and the rules of society both in their minds and by appearance. Characteristic clothes—black leather jackets, jeans, shirts or T-shirts of dark colors, etc.—, although by some might be worn everyday, are used for that occasion by the majority of the participants to emphasize the unity and equality of the community. Long hair is usually washed and worn loose by both men and women. Many women and girls would use makeup, also of dark colors, especially for the eyes, while the color of the lipstick might be not only dark, but bright red as well. Some alcohol is often consumed before the concert—for relaxation and mental breakaway from the ordinary life. Thus, the symbols—clothes and hair emphasizing sexuality, the black color, as a symbol of death and decomposition—and alcohol prepare the participants for a ritual transformation in advance.
Entering the concert hall, whose architecture itself resembles that of the Cathedral of the city, can be compared to entering a sacred space. The audience, stepping over the threshold of the building, experience a ritualized transition between the states, as they are transported into the extraordinary world of magic and mysticism created by loud, aggressive, and rhythmical music and unconventional vocals.
In the Baltic states, especially in Lithuania, black metal has rejected Western European imagery traditions and acquired a native flavor: the music uses folk motives and the ideology is based on the ancient Lithuanian worldview, "pagan" religion, and heroic medieval history. Although officially the audience goes to listen and enjoy the music, the ideological side of the show is undeniable, even if no one is forced to accept reject the ideology of the show. Several characteristics of this music trend can be distinguished: first, the groups express opposition to Christianity, which has suppressed and almost made extinct the native religion; second, the images of the "pagan" past and bloody battles with crusaders merge in the creation of the groups' mystical vision of the world, which is most often based on extensive research; third, aggression and power generated by the music appears as a non-verbal expression of the heroism of the past and of a potential for the present action (e. g., groups HaLela, Obtest, Zpoan Vtenz, etc.).
The contents of a metal music concert correspond with the ways of communication of the sacral established by V. Turner: instructions, actions, and exhibitions (Reader of Comparative Religions, p. 239). Lyrics, music, and visual representations can be viewed as parts of the sacral that is communicated to the members of the community by more experienced ones —the musicians. The lyrics of the songs containing invocations of the ancient gods, the episodes of bloody battles with crusaders, and death imagery not only communicate the message of revitalization of the ancient tradition as a source of strength in contemporary world, but also teach and allow to experience certain historical moments:
Stirred by innate, profound, and ardent desires
The power is released from the depths of the soul
Raging heirs of irate, brute-faced heathen war-lords
Are raising the flag soaked in the enemy's blood
Warriors howl and groan.
A furious will of the beast takes control of the humans
Spears turn into nails, chapped lips bare sharp teeth
The paws of the bear squash the heads of the enemy.
– – – – – – – – – – – – Bearwolves (Obtest, Millenium)
The music —loud, rhythmical, impulsive, and violent, accompanied by intensive drumming that anthropologists P. Metcalf and R. Huntington associate with transition, death, and supernatural (Ritual and Belief, p. 339)— enforces the transformation of reality and the experience of the extraordinary dimension. Visual performance, or the exhibition of the sacral , might include fire shows, exposition of armor or special warrior costumes often worn on the stage by musicians themselves, faces turned into masks by theatrical makeups, etc. All the elements create a special reality, where human, supernatural, and magic unite into a unique and extraordinary vision of the world, or, in V. Turner's words, the audience is brought into "close connection with supernatural power, the unbounded, the infinite, the limitless" (Reader of Comparative Religions, p. 237). Thus, the musicians reduce culture into recognized components, recombine them in fantastic and monstrous patterns, and allow the audience to also recombine them in new ways.
The concert, thus, resembles a healing ritual—a person, exhausted and seeking refuge and change from daily routine, from limited time and space, and hierarchical human relationships at school or work, comes to the show to experience the extraordinary reality and cleanse himself/herself spiritually. Here, the sounds of music open the heights and depths of space and the ancient imagery ruins the boundaries in time. Also, the audience makes communitas —the participant experiences a feeling of fellowship in the concert community: all people in the audience are equal and bound by their common interest in this particular music. Friendly atmosphere in the crowd is also reinforced by the fact that many people in the crowd know each other and the concert is a good place to meet friends for a chat. Thus, the post-liminal stage is marked by the removal of daily stress and the person's transformation — he/she becomes filled with power and energy for making changes in life.
In conclusion, black/pagan metal concerts with a strong ideological base equal transition rituals. The show itself can be interpreted as a liminal stage, while pre-liminal ad post-liminal experiences and actions are also distinguished. Numerous symbols used by the musicians and the audience enhance the dramatic effect of the concert as a ritual.
