Shattering the Empyrean: Black Metal and Nietzschean Sociology

• In Event: 398 - Section on Marxist Sociology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on Marxist Sociology Roundtables (one-hour). Table 01. Critical Issues in Culture and Communication

Abstract

At present, black metal music is a topic absent in the sociological literature. Equally overlooked is the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, whose influence is far-reaching across our discipline. This study will answer to the challenge for a Nietzschean sociology as presented in the work of Robert J. Antonio. As black metal and Nietzsche both express doubts on the strength of democratic ideals present in contemporary western culture, they also challenge us to re-engage the discourse surrounding democratic alternatives to contemporary models of self-governance mediated through the prism of the popular zeitgeist.

Author

• Rafael Emmanuel Gonzalez, University of Texas-San Antonio