Basque Pagan Metal: View to a primordial past

Abstract

This article explores the genre of Pagan Metal, specifically located in the Basque country, in an aim to define what kind of identity it represents. It is argued that Basque Pagan Metal expresses a specific musical identity, with links to the ideology of the 1980s Basque punk movement Rock Radikal. Further, Basque Pagan Metal has diverged from this musical heritage, in that the identity it expresses is apolitical: while Rock Radikal expressed an openly political identity, that expressed in Basque Pagan Metal is explicitly culturalist, resonating more with primordial nationalism espoused by the ‘father of Basque nationalism’, Sabino Arana. A discussion of the genre within the social and cultural context of the rise of Basque nationalism in the late 19th century, the emergence of radical nationalism, and the Rock Radikal movement, is problematized through a discussion of interpretation versus intent. The group Numen is put forward as a representative case study.

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