MMS 1 (1) pp.

105–125 Intellect Limited 2015

Metal Music Studies

Volume 1 Number 1
© 2015 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/mms.1.1.105_1

Ekkehard Knopke
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

Headbanging in Nairobi:
The emergence of the
Kenyan metal scene and
its transformation of the
metal code

Abstract Keywords
In this article, I discuss the development and structures of Kenyan metal culture. Kenya
In doing so, I show that this local metal culture is dependent on an urban setting glocal metal
that provides electricity, performing venues and the Internet. Furthermore, a growth metal code
period is encountered that is characterized by a slowly increasing structural complex- metal subject
ity. Additionally, I outline the idea of a metal subject in general and a Kenyan metal scene structure
subject in particular. Therefore, I follow a praxeological approach that shows that, social practice
even if the Kenyan metalheads’ aim is to reproduce the social practices of the global
metal culture, new forms of metal practices are thereby produced and the so-called
metal code is transformed. I conclude this article by proposing the idea of four trans-
formative boundaries that lead to the emergence of a genuinely Kenyan metal sound.
These boundaries are communicational and technological boundaries, boundaries of
skill as well as boundaries of local culture.

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1. A general overview can Introduction

be found in Wallach,
Berger and Greene For a long time, metal music studies has only paid attention to the music
(2011). cultures of the western world. Apart from this focus, metal scenes have also
2. Lately, several reports emerged in non-western countries. In the early 2000s, this global prolifera-
have been published tion gained attention by a remarkable number of metal scholars (Brown 2011:
considering on the
‘metal cowboys’ from 232). As a result, a variety of studies have arisen focusing on countries such as
Botswana. Nilsson Armenia, Bali, Brazil, China, Egypt, Georgia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan,
points out that this
scene is male-only
Lebanon, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore and Malaysia, Slovenia, Taiwan
and pure-black-only. and Turkey (Avelar 2003; Azevedo 2010; Baulch 2003, 2007; Chu 2006; Foster
However, two years 2011; Greene 2001; Hamma and Guibert 2006; Harris 2000; Hecker 2010, 2012;
before he came to
Gabarone, in 2005 Kahn-Harris 2002; Irtenkauf 2013; LeVine 2008a, 2008b, 2009a, 2009b; Liew
Skinflint was founded. and Fu 2006; Liu 2007; Trummer 2013; Wallach 2002, 2010; Wallach, Berger
This band is one of and Greene 2011).1 Nevertheless, one region has remained almost unacknow­
the leading acts in
the metal scene of ledged: sub-Saharan Africa. Up to this point, apart from a few scattered refer-
Botswana and has a ences, only one of a somewhat comprehensive research article about metal in
white vocalist. Also,
since 2012, the band
this region exists. With the exception of the field study performed by Magnus
has had a female Nilsson (2007) of a single concert in Gabarone, the reader receives only frag-
drummer. Maleness mented, possibly false impressions of metal life in the whole of sub-Saharan
and blackness may be
dominant attributes of Africa generally and in Botswana in particular.2 In 2010, Keith Kahn-Harris
this scene. However, wrote that ‘Botswana appears to have the only substantial black African metal
these characteristics scene’. Four years later, metal has substantiated itself in countries like Angola,
are not as simple as
shown by Nilsson. Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. A growing number
of journalistic articles in the mainstream media (e.g. Banchs 2013a, 2013b;
3. http://
africanmetalarchives. Barnett 2012; Bulmer 2013a, 2013b, 2014; Kiranga and Banchs 2013; Tutton
com. and Barnett 2014), film projects (Mosca 2014; Wiley Flo Productions Inc. 2013;
4. A more detailed Xido 2012) as well as websites such as African Metal Archives3 and Metal4Africa.
application of Geertz’s com illustrate that metal is active in sub-Saharan Africa and that several metal
cultural concept to
metal can be found in
communities do exist which are quite vibrant and heterogeneous. However,
Kosíc (2011). further ethnographic research on metal in this region is necessary in order to
gain more detailed insight into the ‘metallic’ diversity of this continent – which
is of yet largely unknown to the field of metal music studies.
In the following, metal culture is, in reference to Clifford Geertz
(1973: 5), considered to be a human-spun ‘web of significance’, in which man
is suspended.4 Within this web, metal can be understood as a manifestation
of a specific sociocultural code: the metal code. This code is defined by Deena
Weinstein (2000: 6) as ‘a code, or set of rules, that allows one to objectively
determine whether a song, an album, a band, or a performance should be
classified as belonging to the category “heavy metal”’. Weinstein continues,
that the metal code ‘is not systematic, but it is sufficiently coherent to demar-
cate a core of music that is undeniably heavy metal’ (2000: 6). Within metal
culture this code is, on the one hand, (re-)produced by social practices and
discourses. On the other hand, these are (re-)produced by the code. In addi-
tion, the metal code is spread by so-called global cultural flows. According
to Arjun Appadurai (2005: 33), these flows build ‘imagined worlds’ that ‘are
constituted by the historically situated imaginations of persons and groups
spread around the globe’. In this sense, the worlds of metalheads are highly
influenced by the metal code as well as its inherent practices and thus by
cultural flows. In this way, metalheads constitute scenes that can be defined
as ‘imagined communities’ (Anderson 1996) that are based on specific ‘metal
flows’ that vary locally. According to Ulf Hannerz (2000: 6), these flows build
centres and peripheries; whereby, in metal culture, the former, like Middle

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Europe, Scandinavia and the United States, provide meaningful resources for
the latter, such as albums, festivals and bands which are highly relevant for
the reproduction of metal culture. However, metal flows move not only in one
direction. They are actually multi-centered, overlap and move multidirection-
ally. Therefore, metal as a whole is influenced by its global diversity. Even if
a kind of ‘metal core’ in terms of a ‘metal code’ does exist, its specific expres-
sions are negotiated locally through contextualized practices and discourses.
Thus, metal’s definite form depends on its very local context.
In the following I discuss the development and the structures of the metal
scene in Kenya. After elucidating the data collection and analysis, I show
that the relatively young Kenyan metal culture hinges on an urban setting,
providing the necessary infrastructure for local metalheads. This infrastruc-
ture is constituted by the existence of electricity, clubs and access to the
Internet. Currently, metal culture in Kenya is in a growth period that is lead-
ing to a more complex production, distribution, reception and communication
structure. As a consequence the number of Nairobian metal protagonists is
increasing, while they are at the same time also becoming more professional.
Without the necessary infrastructure and contacts to urban metalheads, metal
cannot expand into rural regions.
Furthermore, I outline the idea of a Kenyan metal subject, as well as the
emergence of a specific local metal code. Therefore, I follow a praxeological
approach, i.e. a ‘practice theory’ brought forward by authors such as Pierre
Bourdieu (1977, 2000), Anthony Giddens (1979, 1984), Michel Foucault (1972),
Charles Taylor (1985, 1995), Theodore Schatzki (1996, 2002) and Andreas
Reckwitz (2002, 2003, 2006). For this approach, as outlined by Reckwitz (2003:
301), there are three relevant features: ‘the “informal”, tacit logic of prac-
tices and the location of the social in practical understanding and know-how
techniques; the materiality of practices as dependent on bodies and artefacts;
finally, the tension between routinization and basic incalculabilities of social
practices’. In this way, a praxeological perspective shows that metal commu-
nities are based on specific practices, and that new forms of Kenyan metal
practices are developed both intentionally as well as unintentionally and that,
therefore, the metal code is gradually undergoing transformation. I end this
article with the description of four ideal-typical boundaries that lead to the
emergence of a distinct Kenyan metal sound.

Data collection and analysis

This article is based on interviews and questionnaires answered in autumn
2012 by Kenyans who described themselves as ‘metalheads’. Initially, the data
was collected and analysed with an outside perspective concerning the partici-
pants, contacted through the Internet. I positioned myself as a stranger who is
involved in metal culture as a fan, but who has no foreknowledge of metal in
sub-Saharan Africa in general and metal in Kenya in particular. Here, I took
on the role of a ‘visitor’ who appeared in the field for a few interviews, took
‘an attitude of doubt towards any sort of social self-evidence’ and was ‘able to
receive knowledge through questioning the routines’ (Flick 2014: 162–63). To
gain access to Kenyan metalheads, first, interview requests were sent to local
metal bands and scene members found online. Also, requests were posted
using social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. In my e-mails and posts,
I only introduced myself as a male researcher from Germany who is inter-
ested in the history and structure of the Kenyan metal scene. Furthermore, I

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5. ‘Zugang zu einer named possible interview topics such as ‘the beginning of the Kenyan metal
fremdsubjektiven
Erlebnis- und
scene’, ‘local bands’, ‘social reactions to the local metal scene’, ‘scene struc-
Darstellungswelt’. tures (concerts, meeting places, music production, distribution, etc.)’ and ‘the
personal interest in metal’. The expressed reactions were exceptionally posi-
tive. Especially within the social networks, Kenyan metalheads showed that
they were excited about this scheme. One of my interviewees told me that
my research was a big topic within the local scene’s communication. Here,
the discussions comprised two major subjects: on the one hand, Kenyan
metalheads were excited about the fact that a researcher from Europe was
interested in their scene; on the other, they stated future expectations that
included hopes and assumptions about more attention from the global metal
scene. More than twenty people answered my requests and agreed to be
interviewed via Voice-Chat. Due to technical problems, however, two people
could not participate in the interviews. Four people, additionally, did not stay
in contact before an interview could start. Consequently, the sample consisted
of fourteen Kenyan metalheads, consisting of musicians, journalists, owners
of recording studios, organizers and fans. Eleven of the participants were
enrolled at a university or college and worked for part-time employment. The
other three people were not students, but a freelance musician/therapist, a
writer/journalist and a concert organizer. The age range of the participants
spanned from 20 to 33 years, with an average age of 24 years. Two of the
interviewees were female and everyone was black. At the time of the inter-
views, twelve participants lived in Nairobi, whereas one participant resided in
Thika and the other studied on exchange in Canada.
Furthermore, the results of field observations during the ‘49° Metal Zone’
festival in Bayreuth 2013 have been incorporated. This festival was held on
24–26 October 2013. It focused on metal in Africa. Two African and two
German bands gave concerts. The bands included the Angolan metalcore band
Before Crush and the Kenyan hard rock band ParkingLotGrass. Additionally,
there were also round tables, movie screenings, lectures and an exhibition. In
this case, the field was observed from an inside perspective and from the role
of a festival and concert attendee as well as metal fan.
A wide range of data was collected, including fan- and band-pages,
online-magazines, video clips, songs and information from e-mail corre-
spondence. The interviews, field observation and data were analysed drawing
on the Circular Deconstruction Method. This qualitative research method is
used to analyse gathered communicative data and to unfold implicit mean-
ings (Jaeggi, Faas and Mruck 1998). For this purpose, it approaches grounded
theory (Glaser and Strauss 1967) but also integrates comparative casuistry
(Jüttemann 1990), problem-focused interviews (Witzel and Reiter 2012)
as well as the concept of a ‘project workshop on qualitative work’ (Mruck
and Mey 1998). The Circular Deconstruction Method promotes ‘access to a
strange subjective world of experience and representation’5 (Jaeggi, Faas and
Mruck 1998: 9, my translation) that may disclose fundamental statements on
the particular life-world structures and sociocultural codes.

The formation and boundaries of the Kenyan metal scene

The Kenyan metal scene did not emerge promptly. It was initiated by travel-
lers and, foremost, the Internet at the universities. The ‘metal flows’ streamed
only gradually into this country in the mid-1990s (Kiranga and Banchs 2013).
They were thereby absorbed by the local youth, which tried to distinguish

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themselves from the rest of Kenyan society. During this time, metal was expe-
rienced either individually, or in small groups. In the early 2000s, however,
collective consumption did increase and the first non-local metal records were
to be heard in Nairobian discotheques. Finally, in 2005, local metal culture
progressed from being a community that only received metal to one that
produced metal locally: the first Kenyan metal band called Last Year’s Tragedy
was founded. Starting out as a cover band, they played songs from various
metal and rock bands. Asked about influences on their music, Last Year’s
Tragedy named bands like Killswitch Engage, Bring Me the Horizon, As I Lay
Dying and P.O.D. Three years after its constitution, the band began to produce
its own original music. They, however, did not remain the only Kenyan metal
band: a few other bands followed, some surviving, others breaking up subse-
quently. Currently, based on the number of band pages on the Internet, there
might be roughly ten bands, active from time to time, which are widely differ-
ing in product. In fact, a wide range of genres is played. Following Dietmar
Elflein’s (2010: 45–46) musicological approach that conceives metal as a self-
developing musical language, the entire ‘metal continuum’ is represented in
Kenya. Even if death metal and metalcore, played by bands like Last Year’s
Tragedy, In Oath and Aphasia, are clearly the dominant genres, there are also
bands that can be labelled as classic metal, such as Seismic, and as hard rock,
such as ParkingLotGrass.
Considering the structures of the scene, we find a twofold centre–pe-
riphery ratio. One part of it regards the relationship of the global to the local
metal scene. For Kenyan metalheads, the global scene is their point of refer-
ence, and local bands and fans reach out to it. They participate in discus-
sions in Internet fora, share links to their websites with other metalheads and
try to stay up to date regarding new albums, bands and events. But whilst
Kenyan metalheads focus on the global players, their scene itself is located
at the outermost periphery of the global metal community. In his reflections
on Israeli extreme metal, Kahn-Harris (2002: 136) concludes that the extreme
metal scene, especially, is disjointed, with centres as well as peripheries, which
leads to an unequal distribution of different kinds of capital. ‘Nonetheless,’ he
writes, ‘the global scene has strong enough connections between local scenes
that these inequalities are mitigated somewhat.’ In the case of Kenya, these
connections are still strongly one-sided. Up to now, only one local band,
ParkingLotGrass, has crossed the Kenyan border to perform abroad, namely,
in Germany. Correspondently, foreign bands are rarely seen at Kenyan gigs.
In fact, in December 2012, Skinflint, from Botswana, was the first interna-
tional metal band to perform at the ‘Nairobi Rock Fest’ in Kenya. One year
later Boargazm, from South Africa, followed. Likewise, not just in concert life
but also in metal media, Kenya is mentioned only marginally. As a result,
reviews, reports and critiques of Kenyan metal are extremely rare. Admittedly,
Edward Banchs (2013b) states in his informative article about the rise of metal
in Kenya that, at least, Last Year’s Tragedy had received attention from a
global audience, but that, on the whole, only a few, infrequently appearing
reports about their music existed so far. The same applies to ParkingLotGrass.
After giving a concert in Germany, the coverage of their music and its relation
to Kenya increased a bit at least. But after just a short while, media in general
and metal media in particular ceased to report on it.
Following Banchs’s report, it is the media that prevents the Kenyan rock
and metal culture from expanding. With this in mind, there is quite a difference
between media inside and outside of Kenya. While non-Kenyan media is hardly

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interested in Kenyan metal, local media has been more or less infiltrated by
metalheads. So far, no specific Kenyan metal media has evolved and this is due
to the lack of both experts and finances within the Kenyan scene. Nevertheless,
other local media are used to announce a concert or to promote a band. These
include radio stations, TV channels and magazines. Some metalheads are even
employed as journalists or radio hosts. In publishing metal reviews or broad-
casting recordings, they boost local coverage of metal. The Kenyan metal culture
might not have developed its own media, but it makes recourse to established
ones. In doing so, it changes the local media landscape by claiming space for
itself and its communication. For example, a radio programme called Metal to
Midnight on XFM used to exist which was broadcast once a week. Likewise, the
magazine Zuqka publishes, in addition to band articles and concert reviews, a
column called ‘Rocker’ that speaks about the metal scene.
In sum, the local scene tries to be part of the global scene, but so far
Kenyan metal has been largely isolated from the rest of the world. To put it in
the words of one of my interviewees: ‘The scene is a space in itself’. Kenyan
metal matters within the local setting, but it hardly gains attention from
outside. Therefore, following Andy Bennett’s and Richard A. Peterson’s (2004)
trichotomy of local, translocal and virtual music scenes, we find the Kenyan
scene to be a local scene, trying to partake in the translocal metal scene. But
since there is hardly any physical connection and also little perception of it,
Kenyan metalheads are merely part of a virtual metal scene.
Currently, the Kenyan metal culture is in an accelerated growth period.
As a consequence, the number of bands and fans is growing. Also, structural
complexity concerning the dimensions of production, organization and distri-
bution, is increasing. New recording studios are being formed, the number of
concerts is growing and communication in the social networks as well as the
print media is increasing. A crucial factor for this process could be seen in the
continuous urbanization since a characteristic of the Kenyan metal culture is
its dependency on an urban infrastructure. Above all, metal is dependent on a
stable supply of electricity that cannot be ensured outside the urban space. In
2008 only 11 per cent of the rural population in sub-Saharan Africa (without
South Africa) and merely 15 per cent of the entire Kenyan households had
electricity (Legros et al. 2009: 12). Furthermore, every metal culture must have
meeting points, such as clubs, bars or restaurants. In Kenya, these can only be
found in urban environments.
Finally, access to the Internet is a crucial factor for Kenyan metal culture,
since local metalheads mostly connect with each other through the World
Wide Web. Incidentally, it must be said that communication within the
Kenyan metal culture primarily takes place in social networks like Facebook,
Twitter and Social XL. Here, the metalheads post concert pictures, announce
events, discuss new band releases, etc. In short, the whole range of themati-
cally focused cultural communication can be found in these social networks.
According to Dave Snell (2012: 150–51), virtual communities provide a space
that cannot be separated from offline communities. There, metalheads can
reaffirm their identity as part of the metal culture. This is achieved by drawing
on certain signs, symbols and rituals; for instance by posting an emoticon in
the form of the ‘devil horns’, repeatedly commending international and local
bands, liking and sharing band pictures, etc. Through mutual interactions
in social networks a ‘virtual togetherness’ (Bakardjieva 2003) is constituted
and reproduced. In doing so, ‘users produce something of value to others –
content, space, relationship and/or culture’ (Bakardjieva 2003: 294, original

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emphasis). This kind of identity and community confirmation plays a specific

role within the Kenyan metal culture since concerts occur less frequently than
in other countries. The communication within the social networks transforms
this cultural latency temporarily into actuality. Accordingly, the reproduction
of Kenyan metal culture does not only take place during concerts but also to
a large extent in the social networks. Therefore, Kenyan metal is based on
an interweaving of online and offline life. In 2010, only 9.3 per cent of the
Kenyan population had access to the Internet – mainly in the cities (Internet
World Stats 2012). Accordingly, Kenyan metal culture depends upon an urban
setting that provides access to the Internet.
One of the metalheads whom I interviewed explained the differences
between urban and rural space as follows:

Being in an urban setting makes it better for people to listen to different

types of music. So we only play because we’re in a place where we have
Internet and we can get this music. It’s about the resources, you know?
If you have Internet and maybe instruments, then that’s it.

Another interviewee further expanded on the difference between urban and

rural space by mentioning a binary division of the Kenyan culture. He feels
that life in Kenya is ‘like living in two different countries’. Obviously, in Kenya,
social and cultural life is split along infrastructural lines. Within this dichot-
omy metal is unmistakably located in an urban context. This insight goes hand
in hand with Jeremy Wallach’s (2010: 357) statement that ‘dedicated fans of
heavy metal music can now be found in every corner of the industrialized
world’. While in the western world industrialization has also had an effect on
rural living, in other regions, there are still areas that are not sufficiently influ-
enced by this process to form a breeding ground for metal culture. In many
countries, such as Brazil, Israel, Lebanon, Malaysia and Turkey (Azevedo
2010; Liew and Fu 2006; Hecker 2010), the local metal scenes arose from
urban centres, while rural settings serve as an obstacle for this music culture.
Adam Mayer and Jeffrey M. Timberlake (2014) underline that the Internet
has promoted the cultural diffusion of metal, especially in countries with no
previous history of this kind of music. As a result of this insight, it must be
stated that the fundament of this accelerated cultural diffusion is access to the
Internet. In some areas, (e.g. the situation in Kenya), this is often unique to
an urban setting. Following the coverage and documentaries, this might also
be true for other sub-Saharan countries such as Angola, Mozambique and
Zambia (Bulmer 2014; Wiley Flo Productions Inc. 2013; Xido 2013).
By locating Kenyan metal in an urban space, we find the second
centre-periphery ratio. Currently, all the concerts, bands, recording studios,
etc. are found in the cradle of Kenyan metal culture: Nairobi. In other words,
Kenyan metal practices take place in the capital of Kenya exclusively. In
this context, Nairobi could be described as the meaningful, well-resourced
and symbolic centre of Kenyan metal culture. Surely there are fans in other
towns, like Eldoret, Mombasa or Thika, but often these places lack the finan-
cial means and potential attendants, thus, preventing local metalheads from
organizing a concert. One interviewee argued that ‘Nairobi currently has most
of the bands and that’s where it’s most vibrant. ’Cause there’re lots of oppor-
tunities in Nairobi as compared to different other towns [sic] in Kenya’. This
does not mean that no efforts are made to organize shows in other towns,
but, so far, many of these concerts have had to be cancelled due to financing

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issues. Sometimes even owners of the venues have backed out because of the
rebellious, diabolic and suspicious image that is to a great extent attributed to
metal in Kenyan society. Only a few club owners in Kenya agree to host metal
gigs because, according to an interviewee, ‘many people here still think that
rock music is the devil’s music’. Nevertheless, the land grab of metal culture is
gradually progressing. However, currently, there is no evidence suggesting a
decrease in metal centrality for Nairobi.
Following other sources, the perception of metal culture as diabolic
and suspicious cannot only be found in Kenya, but also in other sub-
Saharan African countries such as Angola, Cameroon, Mozambique and
Zambia (Bulmer 2013a, 2014; Wiley Flo Productions Inc. 2013; Xido 2013).
Nevertheless, there are no obvious cases of extremely repressive reactions in
these countries, contrary to the crackdowns of religious conservatives of the
‘satanic metal’ affairs in Egypt and several other countries of the Muslim world,
or the censorship of metal in China (Hecker 2012; LeVine 2008a, 2009b).

The emergence of the Kenyan metal subject

After having outlined the central structural characteristics of Kenyan metal
culture, it is time to focus on the local metalheads. First, it must be stated that,
according to the study participants, there are only a few Kenyans who are
‘diehard metal fans’. However, their numbers seem to be increasing. But how
can ‘true’ Kenyan metalheads be recognized? What does it mean to be ‘true’
at all? At first glance, Kenyan metalheads look like all other metalheads. They
wear black outfits, band T-shirts, customized leather jackets and so on. Some
interviewees described them as ‘copycats of the [sic] foreign metalheads’.
According to them, ‘Kenyan metalheads want to look metal’. However, their
motivation cannot merely be described as ‘wanting-to-look-metal’ but rather
as ‘wanting-to-be-metal’. Hence, one interviewee said that Kenyan metal-
heads ‘want to look like, and feel like, and sound like, and act like a typical
metalhead’. Here, we find metal bound to the body. In this way, ‘being metal’
is, referring to Bourdieu (2000: 141), ‘addressed not to the intellect, but to
the body treated as a “memory pad”’. This embodiment is expressed through
specific practices. Accordingly, there is a practice of ‘doing metal’ as termed by
Pierre Hecker. For him ‘metal is the product of social doings. Doing metal, in
that sense, means to perform particular sonic visual and verbal practices that –
as a whole – constitute the fabric of metal culture’ (Hecker 2012: 3–4). Thus,
whether or not a practice is considered to be part of the mode of ‘doing metal’
is subject to the above-mentioned ‘metal code’ (Weinstein 2000: 6).
According to Andreas Reckwitz, practices are not only a place for culture
and the social, but also a place where subjects exist, take shape and are shaped
(Reckwitz 2006: 39). Consequently, the subject cannot be separated from its social
practices. Instead, it acts as the carrier of the practices. They infix themselves in it
and, as a result, they shape it. Thereby, the subject is not consistent in itself but
rather to be understood as ‘dispersion’ (Foucault 1972: 54): it contains a wide
range of routinized practices, depending on the social field it participates in.
Accordingly, metal cultures can be characterized as accumulations of social
practices that are not only constitutive for the culture but that also possess
homogenous knowledge and similar dispositions. Hence, metal cultures do
not only serve for social localization and identification, but generate their
own subject-position that is shaped by the metal code. Consequently, there
is a specific subject-position of a metal subject. This subject-position can be

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characterized as ‘a carrier of patterns of bodily behaviour’ and ‘certain routi- 6. ‘breite Spektrum
möglicher Bezüge
nized ways of understanding, knowing how and desiring’ (Reckwitz 2002: einer vom Menschen
250) that are based on the metal code. gemachten Welt zu
Subsequently, this subject-position and its inherent sociocultural code einer vorhergehenden
Welt, die entweder als
are produced and reproduced within metal culture by social practices, as well wirklich angenommen
as through discourse. In doing so, Kenyan metalheads are oriented towards wird oder die
the images of a global metal culture that are transferred by different types of postuliert, hypostatiert
oder fiktional ist’.
media, in particular by the Internet. An interviewee states that Kenyan ‘metal-
heads do research and attempt to lead the life of global metalheads, master- 7. ‘Bewegungen, die auf
andere Bewegungen
ing lyrics and trends’ and that their behaviour is ‘basically borrowed from Bezug nehmen’.
the international scene’. Thus, we find typical metal practices in Kenya, like
moshing, headbanging, raising the horns, etc. Evidently, Kenyan metalheads
do not differ from European or American ones. They adopt practices found on
the Internet, thereby also adopting the subject-position within the translocal
metal scene that is constituted by these practices.
According to Paula-Irene Villa (2010: 268–69), individuals do not simply
take up a subject-position. Rather, they have to embody it first in their prax-
eological execution, that is, their interaction. Therefore, metalheads are not
only metalheads, just because they imagine it. Moreover, they also show their
‘metalness’ through social practices. To achieve this, they use as templates
the social practices that they can see and copy from other metalheads. Their
behaviour can be described as a mimesis in terms of a ‘wide range of possi-
ble references of an anthropogenic world to a previous world, that is either
assumed to be real or postulated, hypostatized or fictional’ (Gebauer and
Wulf 1998: 16, my translation).6 According to this, metalheads draw on their
‘imagined world’ (Appadurai 2005: 33) and imitate it in creative ways. These
mimetic acts can, therefore, be described as ‘movements that make reference
to other movements’ (Gebauer and Wulf 1998: 11, my translation).7 In doing
so, not only the movement but also its inherent sociocultural code shifts, and
is performed once more, but in a new setting. Thus, necessarily, the code is
both consciously and unconsciously transformed (Villa 2010: 269).
Subsequently, one variation within this mimicry of global metal culture is
the omission of several social practices by some of the Kenyan metalheads.
Not everyone adopts all practices, such as corpse paint or moshing, whilst,
simultaneously, some metalheads add traditional and local practices, such as
speaking Swahili. Thus, the metal-subject-position and its routinized ways of
understanding, knowing how and desiring are reproduced as well as trans-
formed simultaneously. In other words, the metal practices are imitated in
the Kenyan setting, thus varied and adapted. As a result, these conscious
and unconscious variations lead to the emergence of a specific Kenyan metal
subject. Therefore, the differences between the global and the Kenyan metal
subject are increasing gradually. This can be seen, for instance, in the diver-
gent social practices that lead to specific cultural artefacts, such as contextual-
ized band logos, lyrics, language styles and sounds.

Four transformative boundaries of the metal code

in Kenya
As a final point, I will discuss how the metal code is transformed in the Kenyan
setting and its social practices. I will thereby be focusing on the music. In this
regard, I presuppose that there are four ideal-typical transformative bounda-
ries for the mimesis in Kenya that have an impact on the local negotiation of

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the metal code. The conception of these four boundaries has arisen from the
interviews and collected data.
First, I should say that every mimesis of code encounters communicative
boundaries. According to Niklas Luhmann (1995: 157–59) there are three forms
of improbability to successful communication. These are the improbabilities of
understanding, achievement and success. In other words, it is very unlikely
to successfully communicate information about something understandable,
to release communication from its interaction between attendees and to
convince someone of the communication proposal. In Kenya, these improb-
abilities are promoted by the conception of the Kenyan metal culture as being
mostly a space in itself. Therefore, a complete appropriation of the metal
code is complicated. For example, no face-to-face communication between
Kenyan and global musicians exists. Instead, the Kenyans try to appropriate
practices from the Internet and to compare their produced music with the
music found on the World Wide Web. This might lead to a misunderstanding
of semaphores and, therefore, to a slightly transformed metal code. Another
example is the lack of physical contact between local and global metalheads.
For instance, few Kenyans can afford to travel to festivals in South Africa, so
most of them stay in their country. As mentioned already, almost no interna-
tional bands have performed in Nairobi. As a result, communication between
Kenyan and non-Kenyan metalheads only takes place on the Internet. Thus,
a big part of the metal code might be transferred, while some parts might fall
by the wayside. Also, the wish to diversify the lyrics and to make them more
original is an obstacle to the idea of mimesis. Kenyans want to tell their stories
and, therefore, the metal code becomes dependent on the location.
Another boundary is that of technology. Production conditions in Kenya
are not in any way comparable to those of European or American bands and,
therefore, local bands are restricted in their possibilities. This is also remarked
on by one of the interviewees:

The only thing that’s holding it back completely is their lack for [sic],
you know, good equipment and good everything. You know, because
here in Kenya, when we talk about the equipment, not many companies
are willing to ship equipment to Kenya.

Due to these restrictions and to financial reasons, Kenyan bands employ cheap
and simple technology. This includes amplifiers, instruments, sound engineer-
ing software, etc. It is this equipment that functions as a code converter and
transforms the metal code due to its technical limitations. Nevertheless, an
improvement is pursued by the bands. Gradually, they attempt to overcome
the technological boundaries by purchasing new equipment. One example
for this is the song ‘Soundcheck’ (2011) by the band Lust of a Dying Breed.
Initially, a recording of poor quality had existed on the band’s website that
corresponded to the average and sometimes low quality of Kenyan metal. In it,
some instruments were hard to hear, and the sound was noisy, in mono, with-
out pressure, and hollow. In December 2012, this recording was replaced by a
newer version that had been produced with the help of the recently founded
Shinigami Studios. This is one of three very small Kenyan record labels that
focus on rock and metal. The song was recorded and mastered using more
professional studio technology. As a result, the sound now has more volume
and is in stereo, and the instruments had been remixed and mastered for
higher quality. Currently, the quality of Kenyan metal is increasing bit by bit.

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 Headbanging in Nairobi

This is achieved not only by copying global metal music, but also by adapt- 8. ‘ethisch-normativen
Inhalten, Sichtweisen,
ing the production engineering. For instance, both bands and record labels are weltanschauungsaspe­
purchasing better technology, such as instruments, amplifiers and mixers. kten, aber auch
The mimesis of global metal is also affected by the boundary of skill. emotionalen Mustern,
Gefühlsbereichen und
According to the interviewees, Kenyan metal bands usually meet once or twice transzendenzerfahrun­
a month to practice. Also, most of their instrumentalists cannot be compared gen oder -bezügen’.
with international musicians. Their music, for instance, is not as fast and
complex as that of the leading global bands. Currently, there is no actual tech-
nical metal band in Kenya. Thus, global metal music can only be mimicked as
far as skill permits. However, some bands are improving and trying to obtain
a professional skill level, like Absence of Light, Last Year’s Tragedy and, espe-
cially, Mortal Soul, which is currently referred to as the metal band in Kenya
with the highest level of skill.
The last but most comprehensive boundary is that of local culture, which
includes the very specific local setting, its individuals, values, ideologies and
traditions as well as a conscious engagement with the musical language of
metal. Whereas the three previous boundaries often just alter the significa-
tion of the metal code, local culture transforms its structure profoundly. As
a sociocultural code, the metal code contains ‘ethical-normative contents,
perspectives, worldview aspects, as well as emotional patterns, feelings and
experiences, and references of transcendence’ (Jäggi 2009: 24, my translation).8
Thus, the metal code does not only influence its setting, but is itself also
influenced by its very context. Accordingly, every shift within this context is
reflected in the music. In the words of a Kenyan metalhead: ‘We’re just a small
part of society, so everything we do is influenced by everything else again’.
Bodil Folke Frederiksen points out that, nowadays, also as a result of
social and political change, young people in the Eastlands of Nairobi have a
chance to actively participate in popular culture. As a result, an intensification
of information flows and an increased presence of local and regional prod-
ucts and activities that have an impact on global influences are encountered.
This mixture of popular cultures has its origin in Continental and East Africa
as well as in Kenya itself. In this mixture, foreign genres and accounts of social
relationships are domesticated and drawn into local culture (Frederiksen 2000:
221–22). The same applies to metal music. It is received by the Kenyan youth,
incorporated into their own culture, and thus altered. A good example can
be found in the reference to religion. Most Kenyans are strong Christians.
Still, there are a lot of black metal fans within local metal culture. As a result
of these two seeming contradictions, Kenyan metal songs do not contain
the satanistic and occult issues that are typical of black metal lyrics. On the
contrary: even Christian lyrics are found, meaning that some Kenyan songs
fall within the genre of Christian or unblack metal. Surely, unblack metal is
a global phenomenon, but in Kenya, this Christian background applies to
almost every band. Thus, Christianity is a central characteristic of Kenyan
metal culture. There are, for instance, several songs with religious topics, such
as the prayer-like ‘Your Grace’ (2010) by Seismic. Likewise, Void of Belonging
illustrate their religious background in writing on their band website: ‘We
thank God for the amazing gifts he has given us, this will be demonstrated
by the potential we’l [sic] reveal’ (2013). Christopher Lilako, the guitarist
of the band In Oath, stated in an interview with the previously mentioned
magazine Zuqka: ‘Our songs have positive messages with regard to life and
some Christian themes and values. That is what we hold strongly to’ (Kiranga
2012: 9). These examples show that religious, especially Christian values are

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Ekkehard Knopke

upheld, and that apparently themes like satanism and occultism can hardly
find a breeding ground or, at least, that even if black metal is received, there
is a complication for the (re)production of its typical topics. On the contrary,
the aesthetics of black metal, its visual and sonic dimensions, e.g. corpse paint
and screaming as well as not down-tuned guitars played in a higher register
with treble (Kahn-Harris 2007: 32, 38), are well overtaken.
Marcus Moberg (2010: 368) argues that Christian metal, since it came up
in the United States in the late 1970s, has ‘developed into a distinct Christian
music culture in its own right’ that has gained a foothold in ‘countries with
long-standing “secular” metal scenes’, as for instance Brazil, Finland, Germany,
the Netherlands and Mexico. In consequence of its religious message, writes
Moberg (2010: 369), in these countries, ‘Christian metal has often been ridi-
culed, discriminated against and at times, vehemently opposed within metal
culture as a whole’. In Kenya, we find something different. Christian metal
has from the outset been a dominant part of the local scene. There, it is not
opposed or regarded as ‘peculiar’ (Moberg 2010: 369). Christian metalheads
did not, like Eileen Luhr (2005: 125) writes, have to engage with a secular
market and audience. Christianity is, instead, perceived as a normal and
uncriticized theme within the Kenyan metal scene.
Local setting influences the metal code also as it provides a possible
reference point for the musicians. This, on the one hand, becomes evident
in the lyrics, and on the other hand, in the addition of local musical char-
acteristics. Lyrics are mainly in English. Just a few songs incorporate French
or German lines. According to Banchs’s (2013b) report on rock and metal in
Kenya, the Swahili language is added to the lyrics. Unfortunately, he does not
differ between rock and metal bands. Rock bands, like Dove Slimme, use the
Swahili language, while metal bands do not use it at all. Indeed, the hard rock
band ParkingLotGrass uses Swahili in some of their songs, but all of these
songs hardly contain metal elements. Instead, they use Swahili in songs, such
as ‘Shimo Mfukoni’ (2012) and ‘Kare’ (2014), that could be defined as alter-
native rock. In summary, Swahili does not appear in Kenyan metal songs.
One reason might be that this language is still associated with a traditional
and backward Kenya as well as with the working class. English, however, is
considered the language of the modern European world and wealth (Roberts
1969: 54). According to my interviewees, Kenyan metalheads are sceptical of
the Swahili language. For them, Swahili words seem to be ‘really funny, when
they’re singing them sometimes. So, in a metal song, no one has ever thought
of that. Even growling in Swahili is a bit (laughter)’. Thus, a devaluation of the
traditional African culture is perpetuated in Kenyan metal, while English is
established as a kind of metallic lingua franca. Although there is no recorded
metal in Swahili, evidence of a ‘de-anglicization’ (Larkey 1993: 149–53) can
be found. Some bands, for instance, try to reduce prejudice by experiment-
ing with Swahili in the recording studios or at rehearsals. A musician told
me about someone who was singing in Swahili and his intention in doing so:
‘Yeah, maybe we should do that more often, because in the quest to make our
music sound African, you know?’
The lyrics themselves refer primarily to the daily experiences of the musi-
cians and to their ‘imagined worlds’ (Appadurai 2005: 33) e.g. their percep-
tion of politics, everyday life and society in Kenya. Within these topics, one
interviewee distinguishes a specific local reference, ‘’cause we Kenyans talk
about Kenyan issues’. Here, we find the previously mentioned idea that
Kenyans want to tell their local stories. Accordingly, one of the biggest subjects

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in the last few years has been the 2007/2008 Kenyan post-election crisis. Due 9. For an overview see
Klopp and Kamungi
to political and ethnical tensions, hundreds of people were killed and further 2007.
hundreds of thousands were displaced.9 Of course, this incident has influenced
and still influences the Kenyan metalheads. This is also reflected in some of the
lyrics. For instance, Last Year’s Tragedy’s song ‘A Tribute to Anarchy’ (2011)
‘is addressed to the people in power who could have stopped the fighting but
didnt [sic], who could have saved lives but didn’t, who could have united our
nation but caused it to split’ (Last Year’s Tragedy 2011). This song illustrates
the essential tenor of Kenyan metal culture. It is characterized by an aliena-
tion from the ethnic and political tensions in this country and, thus, proclaims
an ethos of equality. Therefore, bands like Last Year’s Tragedy can be seen as
a part of the so-called ‘Redykyulass Generation’ that is the young, politically
active generation. Based on a group of comedians, ‘Redykyulass’, this term was
first used by the writer Binyavanga Wainaina to refer to the ‘mostly young,
self-motivated people who have created a space for themselves in the adverse
economy by being innovative’ (Wainaina 2003: 6). Thereby, they oppose poli-
tics, institutions and authorities in Kenya. According to Grace A. Musila (2010:
283) the ‘Redykyulass Generation’ is an obstacle to the ‘geronto-masculine
texture’ of local society. While in Kenya, political and economic power are
traditionally held by elderly men, the younger generation refutes this popular
Kenyan stereotype of an apolitical youth and actively participates in cultural,
political and economic fields. By adding bands like Last Year’s Tragedy to
the ‘Redykyulass Generation’ a transformation of the metal code in Kenya
becomes apparent. Thus, the idea of politics is not rejected or ignored like in
other metal cultures (Scott 2011). Instead, it is a substantial part of Kenyan
metal culture. Bands like Last Year’s Tragedy or Lust of a Dying Breed produce
lyrics that address the political. Meanwhile, metalheads are experiencing the
fact that, as an interviewee stated, local metal is ‘narrating a story concerning
how life is around the troubled country, that is Kenya’. In this way, the metal
code’s inherent apolitical autonomy is partly replaced by political activity.
Although there is hardly any metal music with traditional Kenyan charac-
teristics, it is already being influenced by locality. In fact, there are bands like
SVNL and Void of Belonging that try to fuse Kenyan traditional music with
metal. This is, for instance, evident in the self-descriptions of these bands.
SVNL (2012) labels itself as a ‘Nu-Metal/Rap/Reggae/Tribal Band from Kenya’
while Void of Belonging (2013) states:

Having been based in Africa where metal is a growing culture, the band
strives to ‘Africanize’ their music as much as possible so as to create a
new, local and original sound to join the vast number of sub-genres and
styles from the western [sic] world.

So far, though, no recordings of these bands exist. Some impressions of their

Nairobi sound were heard at concerts given during their studio work. At their
concert in Bayreuth, for instance, ParkingLotGrass performed a song that
could be described as a mixture of hard rock, reggae and Afrobeat charac-
teristics. Afterwards, one of the band members told me that he was curious
about the reaction of the German audience, and that he was happy to see
the crowd enjoying this distinct sound. My interviewees told me that some
Kenyan metal bands ‘are working towards an authentic local sound’ by using
riffs based on traditionally pitched octaves, African rhythms and traditional
instruments like the djembe and the kayamba. One of them even called the

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Ekkehard Knopke

result of this ‘re-ethnicization’ (Larkey 1993) ‘Afro metal’. But at the same
time he pointed out a crucial distinction:

If there’s anything like ‘Afro metal’, then that name has to come from
the sound, you know? If there’s ‘Afro metal’, anyone should be able
to play ‘Afro metal’. But the fact that we’re Africans playing metal that
does not make our music to be called ‘Afro metal’.

According to this, we must distinguish between metal by Africans and African

metal. While the former refers to the origin of the band but not necessarily to
a code transformation, the latter describes a genre that is just emerging and
that aspires to an original code. It can be described as a variety of the ‘glocal
metal’ (von Helden 2011: 382) and therefore it defines the cultural as well as
the intellectual localization of the musicians. ‘Afro metal’ is leading Kenyan
metal culture to its own musical idiolect, which adds the traditions and issues
of its country to the adapted, but transformed metal code.
The distinction between ‘metal by Africans’ and ‘African metal’ also
became apparent during a roundtable at the ‘49° Metal Zone’ festival. Asked
about their music, the members of ParkingLotGrass raised the issue of their
need to sound more African (see also Niebling 2013). They know about the
expectations of non-Africans to listen to Africanized metal and rock, however
they also have to be aware of the Kenyan market, as well as other global
concerns. During this roundtable and at the evening concert, ParkingLotGrass
and the Angolan metalcore band Before Crush showed that their sound is
dominantly influenced by western metal music, and that their origin does not
necessarily lead to a form of ‘glocal metal’. With the exception of the previ-
ously mentioned song by ParkingLotGrass and some Swahili and Portuguese
lyrics, neither of the two bands used African musical structures. Their music
instead sounded like hard rock and metalcore without any local influences.
According to one of my interviewees, most Kenyan metal bands ‘sound like
any other band out there’ and ‘the global influences are very clear’. But in
contrast, this mentioned Africanized song by ParkingLotGrass, the statements
of my interviewees as well as the self-descriptions of some Kenyan bands
show that there is an emergence of ‘Kenyan metal’.

Conclusion and outlook

In this article I have discussed the development of Kenyan metal culture and its
dependency on certain resources, such as electricity, venues and the Internet.
Due to potential restrictions caused by these dependencies, there are two
major differentiations within Kenyan metal: the dichotomies of urban/rural and
capital/non-capital. In Kenya, metal is an urban phenomenon that is primarily
centred in Nairobi. Here, local metalheads take up a specific subject-position
of a metal subject. In doing so, they routinize, as formulated by Reckwitz (2002:
250), certain ways of understanding, knowing how and desiring that are based
on a sociocultural code, i.e. the ‘metal code’. In locating these metal practices
as well as their inherent metal code in a local context, they are transformed
by four ideal-typical boundaries. These are communicational and technologi-
cal boundaries, boundaries of skill as well as of local culture. Consequently,
the metal code is transformed in social practices in a context-specific manner,
even if, as shown, the Kenyan metalheads try to copy it. It is malleable, rather
than constant and takes on different forms within particular contexts. These

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transformations lead to the transition from ‘metal in Kenya’ to ‘Kenyan metal’ 10. http://www.metal-
archives.com.
as well as from a ‘metal subject’ to an embodied ‘Kenyan metal subject’.
As stated at the beginning of this article, in 2010, sub-Saharan Africa
seemed to be ‘the biggest metal-free zone’ (Kahn-Harris 2010). Today, we
can see the rise of different black African metal scenes. Within four years, the
sub-Saharan African scenes have gained attention from various media sources
and it is shown that they are vital as well as growing centres. Following the
data of the Encyclopaedia Metallum (2014), the metal culture is conquering the
African continent from the south:

Figure 1: The spread of Metal bands in Africa listed in the Encyclopaedia Metallum10 (2014) according to
decade (effective 30 April 2014).

Figure 1 shows the spread of metal culture in Africa from 1990 until the
present according to the bands listed in the Encyclopaedia Metallum. The dark
grey countries have no listed metal bands. The light grey refers to founded bands
in countries that had, beforehand, no appreciable metal influences. As this figure
implies, metal began to expand in Africa at its northernmost and southernmost
points. While it slowly progresses on a land-grab from one country to the next
in the south, it is notable that the Sahara seems to constitute an obstacle for the
spread of metal from the north. Suggested reasons for this are infrastructural,
cultural and political factors. The sub-Saharan metal scenes are on the move,
while the northern development stagnated. What does this entail for the spread
of the metal code? Will there be two major variations of the code, i.e. a North
African and a sub-Saharan African metal code? And what will happen if these
two directions of development cross the Sahara and meet one another?
Until recently, the sub-Saharan scenes were mostly separated from each
other. According to the idea of a context-specific metal code transforma-
tion, it seems interesting to compare the metal practices of different scenes.
A discussion between ParkingLotGrass and the Angolan Before Crush in
Bayreuth showed that there are regional distinctions which are based on
the economic, political and sociocultural context. Also, if we compare for
instance the Kenyan scene, which is largely oriented toward metal bands from
the 2000s, and the Botswanan scene which is, as described by Nilsson (2007)
and Kahn-Harris (2010), mixing 1970s metal with a country and western style,
then it is obvious that there is not only one specific manner of Africanized

119
Ekkehard Knopke

metal code. Instead, there are many different variations of it. A detailed
comparison would help to understand the transformation of metal in Africa.
As shown previously, the scene’s contact is increasing and metal bands are
crossing the borders of their countries. What might happen if the sub-Saharan
African scenes grow together? What might be the consequences for the metal
code as well as social and political issues? The same applies to connections to
the metal cultures of North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the western world.
How will African politics, economy and religion influence the development of
‘metal by Africans’ and ‘African metal’? These are just some questions that metal
music studies will be faced with. Furthermore, field studies and the exploratory
research regarding metal in sub-Saharan Africa might help to reflect the rela-
tionship between metal and concepts such as ethnicity, culture, postcolonial-
ism, hybridization, modernization and globalization. Metal scholars have to be
aware that their object of investigation is not an all-accessible music. Instead, it
depends upon certain resources such as electricity and a specific infrastructure.
Of course, there might be ‘metal beyond metal’ (Kahn-Harris 2014), but what
is the condition and likelihood of its possibility? Can ‘metal beyond metal’ exist
without specific resources? Or rather, is it necessary to extend metal culture
even to the rural areas in Kenya and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa?
Some of my interviewees pointed out that Africanizing metal bands like
Void of Belonging and SVNL might define the future of Kenyan metal culture.
Nonetheless, other bands like In Oath, Last Year’s Tragedy and Mortal Soul
should not be underestimated solely because they are oriented towards
a supposedly European and American sound. They are also a part of local
metal culture; and therefore, have an impact on the Kenyan metal landscape.
In summary, metal in sub-Saharan Africa is still in its infancy. However, the
current developments of Kenyan metal – more precisely the increasing quality
of its music, the structural growth as well as its mode of code adoption and
transformation – show that Kenyan metalheads will play a prominent role in
the transmission of the metal code within this region.

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Suggested citation
Knopke, E. (2015), ‘Headbanging in Nairobi: The emergence of the Kenyan
metal scene and its transformation of the metal code’, Metal Music Studies,
1: 1, pp. 105–125, doi: 10.1386/mms.1.1.105_1

Contributor details
Ekkehard Knopke studied Musicology and Sociology at the Liszt School of
Music Weimar and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (2007–10). Following
this, he attended the Bachelor’s degree course Media Culture at the Bauhaus-
Universität Weimar (2010–13). Since April 2013, he takes part in the Research
Master in Media and Culture; also at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. His
research foci are cultural and media sociology as well as metal studies.
Contact: Research Master in Media and Culture, Faculty of Media, Bauhaus-
Universität Weimar, Bauhausstraße 11, 99423 Weimar, Germany.
E-mail: [email protected]

Ekkehard Knopke has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work in the format that
was submitted to Intellect Ltd.

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