Death Metal and Music Criticism: Analysis at the Limits

Death Metal and Music Criticism fills an important gap in the literature on death metal. Phillipov provides a serious scholarly approach to a subject usually treated in a sensationalistic manner.

Phillipov suggests that we have become, through, our political interest, overly interested in hip-hop and electronic dance music- as we were with their music antecedent Punk- which dominate our reading lists and shape what it is acceptable to study both now and (her concern) in the future. We have done Metal an academic disservice by examining it only within the limiting parameters of nihilism….The content matter is helpful both for students learning how to utilize a literature review, and for those in the field who are less familiar with the strands of research which can helpfully unpack this area….As a book, this is a welcome and refreshing addition…both in terms of the writing style and the argument itself.

The overall argument of this slender volume is of interest to anybody working in heavy metal studies, and on popular music in general. Phillipov’s focus on such formal properties nicely complements other research in the field, making of her volume a wonderful, if at times contentious, contribution to the larger debate.

This book offers an earnest approach to a subgenre of music that is rarely taken seriously, largely due to its irreverence for mainstream attention and its anti-social overtones. … Michelle Phillipov expands the scope of musical criticism to encourage an appreciation of music’s sonic pleasures, which will. . . interest critics and theorists.