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The Hero Reloaded: The reinvention of the classical hero in contemporary mass media
Edited by Rosario López Gregoris and Cristóbal Macías Villalobos
[IVITRA Research in Linguistics and Literature 23] 2020
► pp. 51–72

Κλέα ἀνδρῶν

Classical Heroes in the Heavy Metal

| Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Heavy metal is the genre of popular music which probably has the greater presence of motifs of the classical tradition. But why are classical heroes ‘heavies’? By analysing some of the characteristics of the genre, this study indicates that the theme of the hero would seem to find a close connection with heavy metal’s ideological and aesthetic preferences. Besides that, this paper offers the example of works having different kinds of classical heroes: epic heroes, tragic heroes and adventurers. By doing so, it aims to suggest a meaningful dialogue between antiquity and modernity where the latter either reinforces or contests established values from the former.
Keywords: popular music, heavy metal, classical tradition, classical hero, Greek and Latin epic and tragedy
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • State of the matter
  • Why are classical heroes heavies?
    • Global subculture
    • Inclusive elitism
    • Classical tradition
    • Sense of epic
    • The masculine dimension
    • Neo-romantic spirit
  • Three types of hero
    • The epic hero
    • The tragic hero
    • The adventurer hero
  • To conclude
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 10 March 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ivitra.23.c3
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