Persistence, coherence and vernacular practice in 2020s heavy metal culture

Burke, D.W (2026) Persistence, coherence and vernacular practice in 2020s heavy metal culture. PhD thesis, Bath Spa University. doi: 10.17870/bathspa.00017726

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Abstract

Heavy metal has existed for over fifty years: this is considered significant by multiple scholars. Metal has gathered cultural and social legitimacy in economically developed countries, even achieving a putative 'normalisation' by being incorporated into 'mainstream' cultural institutions. Simultaneously, metal's numerous subgenres appear increasingly diffuse, with numerous social and aesthetic conflicts between participants. Contextualised by these phenomena, and more generally by the popularisation of the internet, this project explores metal's apparent persistence and coherence. Metal is characterised as a 'culture' in addition to incorporating 'scenes'. Cultural works are distinguished from socio-cultural interactions. Metal studies literature is then reviewed, identifying claims for and against metal's 'continuity'. The methodology introduces 'vernacular culture' (Lantis, 1960) which enables explorations of metal's diverse subgenres, scenes and cultural practices. Four fieldwork studies follow, proceeding from cultural works to socio-cultural interactions: Text, Music, Sociality and Reception. Content and thematic analyses are applied to a metal lyrics corpus, which is compared against a non-metal lyrics corpus. The chapter finds strong coherence between metal subgenres, identifying a 'textual vernacular' alongside novel linguistic findings regarding visuality and aurality. Compositional techniques are explored autoethnographically, focused on experiences in a Bristol-based metal band. The chapter identifies the use of metal's textual vernacular as musicological shorthand, and notes technological dynamics regarding 'doing a band'. Metal sociality is investigated through ethnographic fieldwork and interviews, highlighting the prevalence of band merchandise throughout metal culture, and exploring the apparent incoherence of metal's shared values. Metal reception practices are studied via a digital ethnography, focused on metal-orientated Facebook pages and groups. A discussion chapter relates the fieldwork to conceptual frameworks previously applied to metal. Overall, metal's cultural works exhibit coherence, but its socio-cultural interactions are more fractious: a 'discontinuous continuity'. Metal has achieved persistence through its normalisation, particularly through its incorporation into non-musical media cultures.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Keywords:	heavy metal; genre; coherence of genre; vernacular culture; socio-cultural interactions; content analyses; thematic analyses
Divisions:	Bath School of Music and Performing Arts
Date Deposited:	29 Apr 2026 13:17
Last Modified:	29 Apr 2026 13:18
URN:	https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/17726

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