IMC 2024: Sessions

Session 101: Forged in Greek Fire: Byzantium's Heavy Metal Afterlife

Monday 1 July 2024, 11:15-12:45

Organiser:	Jeremy Swist, Department of French, Italian & Classical Studies, Miami University, Ohio
Moderator/Chair:	Antje Bosselmann-Ruickbie, Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
Paper 101-a	Dress, Identity, and Material Aspects of Byzantium in Metal Performance (Language: English) Angela Costello, Department of History, University of South Florida Index terms: Art History - General, Byzantine Studies, Medievalism and Antiquarianism and Performance Arts - General
Paper 101-b	Heavy Metal Historiography on the Age of Justinian (Language: English) Federico Landini, Dipartimento di Storia, Culture e Civiltà, Università di Bologna Index terms: Byzantine Studies, Historiography - Medieval, Medievalism and Antiquarianism and Military History
Paper 101-c	'Hosanna in Extremis': Where Byzantine Liturgical Music Meets Heavy Metal (Language: English) Marios Koutsoukos, Department of Archaeology, Classics & Egyptology, University of Liverpool Index terms: Byzantine Studies, Medievalism and Antiquarianism, Music and Performance Arts - General
Abstract	Byzantium faces a crisis of relevance. Its reception in popular culture - and study thereof - is virtually nonexistent compared to the medieval West. One exception is the musical genre of heavy metal, of which numerous artists worldwide have integrated Byzantine art, architecture, dress, music, texts, and religion into their visual, lyrical, and sonic oeuvre - often with surprising accuracy and attention to detail. This panel applies three different approaches - art-historical, historiographical, and musicological - to three aspects of this phenomenon: first, visual and material culture in album artwork, videos, and performances; second, the use of historical sources in composing lyrics; third, the incorporation of liturgical music and ceremony.