German star sociologist HARTMUT ROSA has written a book about heavy metal! The Swedish edition is finally being released! Come and celebrate “Monstervrål och Änglasång. En liten sociologi om heavy metal” (Ejeby Förlag) at The Abyss on Andra Lång, Gothenburg.
Three more-or-less hard rockers will be participating:
- MIKAEL MÜLLER, the book’s translator.
- KLAS GRINELL, historian of ideas.
- NILS OLSSON, lecturer in literary studies and literary composition at the University of Gothenburg.
- The discussion will be led by KLARA EJEBY, the book’s editor.
There will be in-depth discussion, a question and answer session, beer and favourites from the speakers. Of course, the book will be available at the release price. Free admission. A warm welcome!
About the Book
Heavy metal makes its mark. And you have to listen to it at high volume! That’s the opinion of Hartmut Rosa, German sociologist and die-hard metal fan, who has established himself as one of today’s most important thinkers with his theories on “social acceleration” and “resonance”.
Heavy metal has long since reached middle age, but still stands firm in the otherwise cyclical music industry. The fans are many and loyal. They read niche magazines, still listen to entire albums, buy lots of records and are frequent concert-goers. Many metal fans also claim that the music saved their lives! How is it that this music can mean so much to some, when it is often perceived by outsiders as clichéd noise?
In ‘Monstervrål och Änglasång’ (Monster Roar and Angel Song), Hartmut Rosa draws on his own experience as a passionate heavy metal fan. The soundtrack of his life serves as a starting point as he recounts the history of the genre, how the songs are structured and what distinguishes metal culture among all the angels and demons. He draws examples from both Romanticism and recent research, as well as personal stories about goosebump-inducing experiences. Here, music – not just heavy metal – is presented as a possible path to deep resonance and as an existential counterforce in an increasingly silent world.
“For metal fans, this book is absolutely essential reading. Not only so you can give a more comprehensive and competent answer the next time someone asks, “Why do you even listen to that?”, but also to better understand yourself and your surroundings.”
metal.de
About the author
Hartmut Rosa, born in 1965 in Lörrach, has been Professor of General and Theoretical Sociology at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena since 2005 and Director of the Max Weber Centre at the University of Erfurt since 2013.
His books on the time pressure of modern society (‘Beschleunigung’, 2005) and the experiences of alienation and hopes for resonance that it entails for people (‘Resonanz’, 2016) have attracted worldwide attention. In 2023, Rosa received the prestigious Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize. He has been a big heavy metal fan since his youth and plays keyboard in a hobby band.
Rosa’s books ‘Acceleration, Modernity and Identity – Three Essays’ (2014) and ‘What We Cannot Control – On Our Relationship to the World’ (2020) are available in Swedish, both published by Bokförlaget Daidalos.