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Decolonial Metal Music in Latin America

A historical and sociological journey through Latin American heavy metal music.

The long-lasting effects of colonialism—racism, political persecution, ethnic extermination, and extreme capitalism—are still felt throughout Latin America. This volume explores how heavy metal music in the region has been used to challenge coloniality and its present-day manifestations. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research in Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Argentina, Nelson Varas-Díaz documents how metal musicians and listeners engage in “extreme decolonial dialogues” as a strategy to challenge past and present forms of oppression. 

Most existing work on metal music in Latin America has relied on theoretical frameworks developed in the global North. By contrast, this volume explores the region through its own history and experiences, providing a roadmap for this emerging mode of musical analysis by demonstrating how decolonial metal scholarship can be achieved. 

254 pages | 6.69 x 9.61 | © 2021

Culture Studies

Music: General Music


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Reviews

"As heavy metal is (albeit, slowly) diversifying within a music culture in which active fan participation is crucial in cementing its longevity, [Living Metal and Decolonial Metal] are not just an excellent read for casual metal fans, but important for present and future heavy metal scholars. With our dependence on technology to discover new artists, it is common for popular music genres to be replicated within a variance of countries and regions. These books demonstrate not just how the music is produced and performed within non-Western countries, but also how the genre and culture serve to strengthen the global heavy music community."

The Wire

Table of Contents

Preface

 

Chapter 1

Metal Music’s Decolonial Role in Latin America

 

Chapter 2

Colonialism is Still Here / Metal is Still Here – Puerto Rico

 

Chapter 3

The Experience and Sound of Ethnic Extermination – Peru

 

Chapter 4

Dictatorship/Resistance/Inspiration – Chile

 

Chapter 5

Social Movements and Hybrid Sounds – Mexico

 

Chapter 6

Decolonizing Space and Culture amidst Revolutionary Entanglements – Cuba

 

Chapter 7

Navigating Racism, Classism, and Complex Airwaves – Dominican Republic

 

Chapter 8

Restoring Memory and Surviving Violence – Colombia

 

Chapter 9

Education for the Very Few – Guatemala

 

Chapter 10

An Elusive Word? Aguante as a Decolonial Reflection – Argentina

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