PHILOSOPHICAL POETRY IN METAL MUSIC (WITH FOCUS ON BANDS FROM CENTRAL SLOVAKIA)

Metal music is a quite popular subculture in Slovakia. Although heavy metal music simply noise for some, it is not so shallow and there are deeper meanings. There have been many metal bands that have addressed social concerns, as well as ethical and philosophical questions. Metal music uses various metaphors and other tropes to express philosophical ideas; not only in lyrics, but also in its use of melody. The focus here will be on several influential contemporary metal bands from Central Slovakia, and the philosophical and ethical aspects of their metal poetry.


INTRODUCTION
According to Walser (2020) and his definition in the Encyclopedia Britannica, Heavy metal music is a "genre of rock music that includes a group of related styles that are intense, virtuosic, and powerful. Driven by the aggressive sounds of the distorted electric guitar, heavy metal is arguably the most commercially successful genre of rock music".
Although we are, at this time, witnesses to many subgenres of metal music (and some even refer to heavy metal [1] as one of the subgenres of metal music, along with power metal, speed metal, hair metal, thrash metal, doom metal, folk metal, pagan metal, death metal, brutal death metal, old school death metal, black metal, gothic metal, grindcore, industrial metal, metalcore, hard core [2] , nu metal, progressive metal, instrumental metal, symphonic metal, groove metal etc. and their various combinations, e.g. blackened death metal), the aggressive sound of guitars is what is most prevalent.
As all the aforementioned subgenres of metal music exist in some form, and discussions about classifications among fans and musicians are almost endless, Hjelm, Kahn-Harris, LeVine (2012) should be mentioned as they claim "that 'controversy' is an integral aspect of creating metal 'countercultures' i.e., the transgressive aspects of metal make it antagonistic in different social contexts-whether or not this is the intention of the scene members themselves-and the metal scene is in turn shaped by these controversies". (Hjelm, Kahn-Harris, LeVine, 2012, 6) Hjelm, Kahn-Harris, LeVine (2012) believe that "metal has retained a controversial edge precisely because controversy has been so deeply ingrained in the genre itself. As globalization expands, metal enters new arenas of contestation, as in the Middle East. But cultural pluralization also raises new questions about identities and the politics of identity in the traditional heartlands of metal". These Authors moreover boldly claim: "Metal is here to stay-whether you like it or not." (Hjelm, Kahn-Harris, LeVine, 2012, 17) [1] The term 'Heavy metal' is understood by some members of the metal subculture in a broader sense, referring to metal music in general, however other members see it in a narrower sense as to a subgenre of metal music characterized by a specific style, akin to the sounds in its earliest years of its development, such as Iron Maiden for example. [2] This genre also partly overlaps with punk rock.
Despite certain prejudices towards metal music, I want to highlight the philosophical, as well as ethical, social and political question addressed by many bands in this genre. Thus, the main goal of this article is to point out the philosophical potential of metal music and its poetry. In the first part of this article, I will provide an overview of some of the interesting research in the field of metal studies that has taken some of the philosophical and ethical themes in heavy metal into consideration. In the second chapter, I will analyze the metal scene in Central Slovakia, namely bands from the town of Banská Bystrica; a fruitful scene for this genre and one the most fruitful in Slovakia. Using several examples of songs by these bands, I will highlight the philosophical aspects of the metal music poetry of this region. This article will end with some thoughts on the (sometimes overlooked) significance of metal music and its potential as an educational tool and how it can have a positive influence on society.

METAL MUSIC AS AN OBJECT OF REFLECTION
Metal music is not just a form of entertainment, but an area offering room for serious academic reflection, especially in the emerging interdisciplinary field of Metal Studies [3] . Based on current texts in metal studies, it is possible to perceive several areas of focus. There are interesting texts studying the psychological aspects of metal music and the relation between metal music, emotions and personality traits.
Before I present some findings from the empirical research in Metal Studies, it is necessary to clarify that the focus of this article is not my own empirical research into either the impact of metal music on the moral attitudes of its listeners or the kind of personality (moral attitude) inclined toward metal music. As my focus is primarily theoretical, it is worth mentioning that my interest is primarily in the ethical and philosophical motifs and themes found in metal music.
For instance, there is interesting research on the personality traits of the listeners of metal music. Swami et al (2013) analyzed the relation [3] This field of study can be found in Brown's et al Global metal music and culture (2016) with insights from a wide range of disciplines including popular music studies, cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and ethics between personality traits where a "multiple regression showed that stronger composite preference for the heavy metal tracks was associated with higher openness to experience, more negative attitudes toward authority, lower self-esteem, greater need for uniqueness, and lower religiosity. In addition, men showed a significantly stronger preference for the tracks than women". (Swami et al, 2013, 377) Hansen, Hansen (2009 analyzed and compared the personality traits of fans of punk rock and heavy metal. "Individuals who expressed liking for heavy metal music were higher in Machiavellianism and machismo and lower in need for cognition than nonfans. Heavy metal fans also made higher estimates than nonfans of consensus among young people for sexual, drug-related, occult, and antisocial behaviors and attitudes. Punk rock fans were less accepting of authority than those who disliked this music. Punk fans also estimated higher frequencies than nonfans of antiauthority behaviors such as owning weapons, committing a crime, shoplifting, and going to jail". (Hansen, Hansen, 2009, 335) Such research focused on personality traits also opens questions related to morality and ethics, such as those related to negative attitudes toward authority, low religiosity, Machiavellianism ('the end justifies the means'), machismo, the consensus among young people for sexual, drugrelated, occult, and antisocial behaviors and attitudes.
However, Messick and Aranda (2020) are worth mentioning, as they claim that, despite the fact that metal fans are often stereotyped as immoral, empirical research shows that they are no less moral than their non-metal counterparts. This is especially evident in relation to violent imagery processing.
Messick and Aranda (2020) also point out that "the subject of metal fans' morality persists in being a topic of public interest due to the imagery and lyrical content associated with metal music-often interpreted by non-metal fans as morally and socially taboo. Metal music, along with other genres such as rap music, have been especially targeted by critics who claim that the lyrics associated with those genres of music lead to violence, adolescent sexuality, and misogyny".
According to the authors we have just cited, these are simply fear tactics in order to obtain "public support for the regulation of metal music" (Messick, Aranda, 2020), and they also state that similar tactics have been used for jazz, rock or rap music, and also for the censorship of certain literary works, films, and video games.
Messick and Aranda (2020) characterize metal music as "an intense form of counter-culture music that is heavily associated with sensation seeking and arousal". This may lead some people to believe that this type of music is linked to deviant behavior such as drug use, and other selfdestructive and pathological behaviors. The authors emphasize that there is no obvious or proven relationship between listening to metal music and such behavior, yet they claim that such a musical preference may be related to pre-existing emotional vulnerability. They also do not see a direct link between metal music and drug use and, moreover, that a metal cultural identity may work as a protective factor from negative outcomes for those whose use of illicit drugs began earlier in life.
Messick and Aranda (2020) also claim (based on other research) that "metal music serves as stress-relief for fans of metal music, which is contrary to claims that it induces violent behavior".
Similar claims have been made by Sharman and Dingle (2015) who researched the relation between extreme metal music and the processing of anger and examined the supposition that listening to extreme music causes anger. "The findings indicate that extreme music did not make angry participants angrier; rather, it appeared to match their physiological arousal and result in an increase in positive emotions". They conclude that: "Listening to extreme music may represent a healthy way of processing anger for these listeners". (Sharman, Dingle, 2015) Such catharsis is not only derived from listening to such music or reading these lyrics but also from the unique dances which are part of the wider metal culture, as they help release emotions. Riches (2011), for e.g., analyzed 'mosh pits' as a specific form of heavy metal dance that makes a collective display of emotions possible.
As mentioned prior, metal music communicates with its audience in various ways, and one important way is through its lyrics. Although many fans in different countries enjoy metal music even without understanding or thinking about its lyrics [4] , they certainly are an important part of the [4] In the relation to this it may be interesting to mention Philipov (2020) who, based on Kahn-Harris's research, claims that a very prevalent response from one who was asked -why he likes the band Cannibal Corpse -was music.
Messick and Aranda (2020) focused on lyrics and their link to personality as well. They distinguished different categories of fans: those who prefer lyrics about depression, love, emotional turmoil, etc. were more oriented towards care and fairness and empathy, while those who preferred vulgar lyrics -e.g., Satanism, misogyny and violence, had a low score in the field of sanctity and degradation in comparison to other metal fans. The authors propose that these fans may have a different understanding of sanctity, and they mention the concept of the body as a temple, as fans are often pierced etc. They also propose that such fans may also have a different way of perceiving disgust. The third category of metal fans are those who prefer fun, and the aspects of metal culture related to unification or loyalty. These fans had high scores in the moral domains related to authority / subversion, loyalty to a group, care/harm and sanctity/degradation and placed a greater importance on purity, respect for traditions, honor and pride. Some fans also preferred lyrics about science and sci-fi and, as the research had shown, their relation to the care/harm moral domain related to empathy was also strong. The authors claim that these lyrics are more morally neutral, and therefore not so strongly related to other moral domains. Inter alia, this research supports the idea mentioned earlier that there is a continual controversy in the metal community due to the existence of many subgenres.
However, as we have seen, there is a link between ethics and metal music: Higgigs (2018) has pointed out certain prejudices [5] related to metal music in terms of morality, and, interestingly enough, there has been similar criticism toward other genres of music, e.g., toward the blues as the devil's music, rock music as barbaric and rap as a destabilizer of society. The problem often lies in a very narrow understanding of these types of music, as metal, for instance, is often seen as focused exclusively on extreme rebellion, extreme violence, drug abuse, sexual promiscuity and perversion.
One of the interesting problems in metal music may be related to gender issues. Vasan (2011) has, for e.g., pointed out gender issues in provided with the reply that he did not know why he likes it, it was simply that he likes it and he does not sees any particular reason for this. According to some authors, this can be interpreted as a reflexive antireflexivity and it is related to the fact that the extreme metal scene is a space where musical texts and social practices are disengaged, where members keep music and other practices separate.
[5] Philipov (2006), for instance, criticizes the prejudice toward metal music (especially toward death metal) in relation to ethics and morality.
death metal music and certain boundaries and sexist practices for women attempting to participate in this scene. Krenske and McKay (2010) similarly focus on gender issues in the metal scene and claim that, despite the nature of metal music as a sort of rebellion, the "texts, narratives, identities, and corporeal practices constituted a complex and contradictory gender regime that literally kept women 'in their place'" (Krenske, McKay, 2010, 287). I concur that this is still one of the current problems in metal music, and although there have been bands who have included women in their line-up or metal bands that are composed of women, they are still a minority. Also, the ideas concerning how metal should be enriched so it can address gender issues, is an interesting topic worthy of future discussion. As we have seen, metal music is not homogenous, there are various subgenres and it would be very limiting to understand it only as a violent and noisy form of expression.

PHILOSOPHY IN THE METAL MUSIC OF SEVERAL BANDS FROM CENTRAL SLOVAKIA
In the following text, I will provide several examples of metal poetry [6] and present the philosophical ideas found in them. As mentioned in the introduction, I will focus primarily on an analysis of bands from Central Slovakia and the town of Banská Bystrica. One of the reasons why I have decided to choose this area is that the Central Slovakian metal scene from Banská Bystrica has been exceptionally fruitful (surprisingly for such a small town of approx. 70 000 inhabitants) when compared to other towns in Slovakia.
Some of the following metal bands have become popular, not just in this region, but also in other parts of Slovakia, and some have even gained recognition abroad [7] : Abstract (instrumental metal), Hecate (melodic doom/black metal; later, industrial/gothic rock), Nocturnal Devotion (death metal), Pathology Stench (death metal), Surgical Dissection (brutal death [6] I think that metal music is a form of an art and its lyrics are poetry -as I will show for, these bands use various language games, metaphors and are even inspired by famous authors, and their lyrics provoke listeners to think more about certain topics. Harrell (2008) also uses the word poetry, when he analyses poetry in death metal music and the exploration of evil in what he terms a 'post-Christian' age.
[7] We can also mention the bands 'Mäso' and 'Demonic-eyed' with members from Zvolen, which is a town approximately 20km from Banská Bystrica. Their lyrics are mostly in English, while the thrash-crossover band Maria Chuana, the death grind band Gazdasgrind, and the hardcore band Mäso, sing in Slovak. Mäso's songs, for instance, are often very critical toward contemporary society, with apocalyptic themes related to ecological crises (e.g. their song 'Potopa'-the Flood). They also mention animalistic motives, as in their song 'Lykantropia'.
Most of the aforementioned bands from Banská Bystrica write lyrics with a critical stance, while the lyrics by Gazdasgrind and Maria Chuana, for example, are often simply entertaining. Most lyrics are written by the bands themselves, but there are exceptions: the atmospheric black metal band Nevaloth takes explicit inspiration from the works of influential authors.
As mentioned earlier, gender issues are still a source of contention in the metal scene. The bands from Banská Bystrica face this problem as well, since they have consisted almost exclusively of male members. Only two female piano players who were formerly members of Hecate are the exception. However, despite this, there are no explicitly misogynist lyrics in any of the bands mentioned here.
The bands from this region I have selected for analysis regarding the philosophical aspects found in their lyrics are: Pathology Stench, Nevaloth and Abstract.
Before I present short analyses of actual pieces of metal music, it is worth mentioning that the interpretation of these examples is connected with the problem of the interpretation of art overall and also a general problem in the Philosophy of Art. In this regard I am not following the concepts of a strict intentionalism, i.e., the idea that the meaning and correct interpretation of art need to be in accordance with the author's intentions [9] . My view is based, inter alia, on discussions with both authors [8] Many of the bands mentioned above are unfortunately no longer active.
[9] Szu-Yen Lin (2020) defines, for instance, actual intentionalism as an approach that "holds that interpreters should concern themselves with the author's intention, for a work's meaning is affected by such intention". and listeners, who themselves have left much space for interpretation and the creation or co-creation of the actual piece with their listeners. Therefore, my position is probably closer to anti-intentionalism. However, it can be said that I have also reconsidered the very idea of authorship, as I also consider the listener as a 'co-author' or 'co-creator' of meaning, most easily illustrated in the case of the band Abstract, whose music is purely instrumental, yet offering thought-provoking songs and melodies.

PATHOLOGY STENCH
Pathology Stench is a death metal band from Banská Bystrica which began in 1992. During its 17 years of existence, the band has toured the USA and played many concerts. 4 studio albums have been released thus far -1997 Gluttony;2000 Accion Mutante;2003 Nezpyred;2008 Meatall [10] .
After examining the lyrics, I have chosen four songs as I consider them the most interesting regarding their philosophical and ethical ideas. It is probably worth mentioning that since this is a death metal band, with its unique 'growl' vocal style, the lyrics themselves are often not easy for listeners to decipher. However, this style of singing adds extra meaning to the lyrics and enhances the emotional aspects of the ideas found therein.
The first two songs that I have chosen are from Gluttony, their first album. The name of the album itself evokes religious literature and the seven deadly sins. However, the song's name involves irony, since, as we will see, the band is critical towards the Church. The lyrics are following: [10] Details regarding the band, including music and lyrics, can also be found on the Encyclopeadia Metallum web page -https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Pathology_Stench/8272 The band uses an interesting metaphor to equate faith (especially uncritical religious faith) and gluttony. They also use the metaphor of killing the god used by the philosopher F. Nietzsche. These lyrics also present some form of naturalism (...It returns back to the lap of mother nature, That created all of us the same). The song also presents strong moral ideas criticizing hypocrisy, consumerism and greed.
Another song, chosen as an example of philosophical poetry, is song about native Americans: Pathology Stench: I believe Indians (Gluttony, 2000) White murderers With the cross of massacra There's the biggest tyrant of history They have come to terrorize To destroy culture In the land of red people And it is because They believe in different form Of their cult of faithfulness They live in freedom With natural modesty Beautiful freedom of prairie I believe Indians Fucking parish And it's divine messenger They want to rule everything These shit's believe Everything will belong to them And to enslave forever Indian hands and eyes I believe Indians They will never be Humbly kneeling Defeated in front of you And reciting The bullshits from your head Indian hands and eyes Will never get They will never change Their horizon of sun Under which they grew up From children to warriors Of the nation which will be always Standing here They won't give up the fight For the country of their fathers The land and heaven Have always been belonging To the children of the sun.
The lyrics are on the problems of colonization, racism and ethnocentrism. They, for instance, use the metaphor "white murderers with the cross", to denote the colonizers and missionaries who oppressed the native Americans. It may be surprising for some people, that, although the band comes from Europe, the song is empathetic, and supports, honors, and shows admiration and respect toward the Indians rather than toward colonizers, i.e., who were also white.
The third song is from their last album -Meatall. The name of the album is a pun, playing with the words 'meat' and 'to meet'. It evokes the idea of people as meat, i.e., depriving them of their dignity and turning them into mere objects. Also 'meatall' reminds one of 'metal'.
The song Nothing also has a strong moral message:  Another song from the album Meatall is focused on bioethical issues: We are biorobots, We are complete cryo-boxes, Nanotechnology... The song has the problem of biotechnologies and the intersection between humans and technologies, as well as their problematic connection, as its theme, and such problems are part of the currently debated ideas of transhumanism and bioethics. However, this song only mentions this topic without clear and explicit moral judgement. Since the band's stance is quite critical, we can assume that this is an ironic text challenging the idea of human transformation and the ways in which the too great prevalence of technology is affecting humanity.
It may be worth mentioning that the band's name -Pathology Stench, evokes something disgusting and repulsive (which is quite common among death metal or grindcore bands). However, the band's songs suggest, perhaps implicitly, that there is nothing more frightening and disgusting than the violation of moral values in society. The band seems to see certain moral values as self-evidently, and obviously, valid, such as justice and is therefore critical of their violation.

NEVALOTH
Another band from Banská Bystrica is atmospheric black metal band Nevaloth, which began in 2008. As I will show, the band uses direct quotations from renowned authors, especially on the album The Antagonist. The name antagonist evokes opposition and criticism or nonconformism. This is in accordance with the empirical research mentioned in the first part of this paper, as fans of metal music often oppose authority, the Church, conformism, and so on.
Nevaloth: The Antagonist (2013) [11] Nevaloth has quoted William Blake specifically in the song 'The Anagnorosis': "My account is that it was the Messiah who fell, & formed a For only he who is alive is in the right. Farewell, thou dream of so many millions; farewell, thou who hast tyrannized over thy children for a thousand years! Tomorrow they carry thee to the grave; soon thy sisters, the peoples, will follow thee. But, when they have all followed, then-mankind is buried, and I am my own, I am the laughing heir! -Max Striner, The Ego & Its Own As well as in the Song 'Philosophy of a Noble Mind': "Who is it, that is to become free? You, I, we. Free from what? From everything that is not you, not I, not we."-Max Stirner, The Ego & Its Own The song 'The Abjection' quotes M. de Sade: "At all times, in every century, every age, there has been such a connection between despotism and religion that it is infinitely apparent and demonstrated a thousand times over, that in destroying one, the other must be undermined, for the simple reason that the first will always put the law into the service of the second."-Marquis de Sade.
The song 'Lightbearer Emperor' contains a passage from John Milton's text: "The mind is its own place, and in itself. Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n."-John Milton, Paradise Lost, I, 254-255 Other songs are based 'Liber Al vel Legis' for example. As we can see, the influence of literature and philosophy on the music of this metal band is quite direct. This is also in great contrast to the biased view that metal music is simply unintellectual noise with violent lyrics, as mentioned in the first part of this article.
ABSTRACT [12] Abstract is an experimental instrumental metal band from Banská Bystrica that began in 1995. The band is instrumental which means it has no singer. Despite this, its music, song names and clips are raise many philosophical issues. In 2014 its members recorded the 'Lightheory' [13] album. The name of the album is a pun on 'light', which can be related to knowledge, clarity, wisdom, highlighting something, but also light meaning easy and 'theory'. There are 10 songs on the album, and track eight, Silhouettes [14] has the issues of cultural and religious violence, fanatism, misunderstandings, hatred and terrorism as its theme.
Based on the examples cited here, we can claim that metal music is not simply stupid and unintellectual entertainment, but can offer many levels of pleasure, as well as aesthetic satisfaction, as much of it has poetic qualities, philosophical themes, and ethical concerns. Of course, I do not claim, that all metal texts only present intellectual and philosophical ideas without violent and misogynistic ones, however, such texts are quite often ironic and also provide a critique of some of the problems in contemporary society.

THE POTENTIAL OF METAL MUSIC FOR EDUCATION
The philosophical and ethical content and poetry in metal music analyzed here opens space for rethinking the potential and utility of metal music for education and society. There have been several authors who have considered similar ideas with a focus on various subjects or areas of teaching.
Poutiainen, Lilja (2012) claim that heavy metal music has potential for music education. The authors "suggest that using heavy metal repertoire provides a ground for constructive pedagogy and should be more often incorporated in music education." (Poutiainen, Lilja, 2012, 517) Schmaltz (2016) claims that there are benefits of metal music for the promotion of scientific thinking among students. He writes that "there are many useful resources from this area of popular culture that can help promote scientific thinking in the classroom. From hidden messages in Judas Priest's music to Slayer being accused of inciting murder, heavy metal music has a long history of unique instances that are directly related to psychology. By incorporating examples from the world of heavy metal, educators can discuss scientific thinking in a way that is engaging and memorable for students." Guberman (2020) points out the benefits of heavy metal music for teaching intercultural competences. He claims that "heavy metal music can serve as a model for using music to increase students' intercultural knowledge, competency, and awareness, as well as their ability to critically reflect on issues in their own society, including gender, race, and class." Dawson Buckland, for instance, (2016) has noted the pedagogical potential of metal music, especially in relation to environmental ethics and education. His analysis of 18 thrash metal songs "shows a consistent ecologically dystopian position and critical ethical stance ripe for ecopedagogical and ethics education purposes." (Dawson Buckland, 2016, 145) I agree with these researchers and support the idea of using metal music for education and developing the ethical and philosophical competences of students in an interesting, novel entertaining and interdisciplinary way. It offers many ideas for further debate and metaphors for analysis and can help students learn and develop in a more experiential way.

CONCLUSION
What has been primarily stated in this article is that, despite the many prejudices toward metal music, it has much potential for philosophical analysis, as its poetry often reflects many of the philosophical issues in contemporary society. Our analysis of the music of several bands from Central Slovakia was an attempt to illuminate this claim. Moreover, this music may provide an impetus for further philosophical discussion not just among academics, but among students and the general public.