If you don’t like the old Darkthrone records… Fuck off!” - Nostalgia and subcultural capital as gatekeeping incentives in the black metal community

Abstract

This study uses the concept of subcultural capital and community boundaries to explore which features of black metal from the past that are in peril in the late modern mainstream appropriation of the genre. Through in-depth interviews, this study reveals emotional and cognitive incentives for the gatekeeping practice performed by self-identified black metal fans to resist mainstream appropriation. The mainstream is divided into a strictly musical dimension and an ideological dimension. Fans express concerns about the music developing a less compelling sound and that their live experiences will be affected negatively due to insincere participation. The mainstream ideology, for instance commercial interests and wokeism, will interfere with the genre’s transgressive qualities. Black metal gives fans a sense of reality in a society they perceive as dishonest, acknowledges feelings of resentment and alienation, helping them to process their own negative emotions.