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SYLLECTA CLASSICA 23 (2012): 127–152

HEAVY METAL MUSIC AND THE APPROPRIATION OF GREECE AND ROME*

Osman Umurhan

The past decade has witnessed a surge of interest in comics and cin-ema regarding antiquity and the Classics. Popular examples range from Frank Miller’s 300 to Hollywood’s Gladiator and HBO’s Rome, which have been subjects of many studies in classical reception.1 In addition to the popular media of cinema and television, heavy metal music has also drawn on classical material, both historical and mythological, for subject matter, but this musical genre has received little attention from the field of Classics.2 Since the late 1970s classical works, themes, and

* This paper owes a debt of gratitude to many since its initial presentation at “Re-Creation: Musical Reception of Classical Antiquity” at the University of Iowa on October 27–30, 2011. Special thanks are due to the conference organizers Robert Ketterer, Andrew Simpson, and Gregory Hand, and to all the presenters and those in attendance for their spirited feedback; Craig Gibson, Peter Green, and the anonymous readers for their constructive and invaluable suggestions. I would also like to thank Kris Fletcher for reading an earlier draft of this paper; Owen Lee, principal bass of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, for clarification of key musical terms and modes, as well as Orkan Umurhan, Santiago Genochio, and Rin and Geoff from In Glorious Death for assistance with Iron Maiden’s front office. All remaining errors are my own. 1 The scholarship on the cinematic reception is extensive, and here I offer only a select but representative list of studies on the reception of Greek and Roman antiquity in film and television: Wyke 1997, Joshel, Malamud and MacGuire 2001, Winkler (2001, 2004, 2009), Cyrino (2005, 2008), Berti and Morcello 2008, and Kovacs and Marshall 2011.

2 There are two exceptions. Liverani offers an extensive look at the American metal group Virgin Steele and their albums “The House of Atreus, Act I” (1999) and “The House of Atreus, Act II” (2000), both albums that have also been produced for the

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characters of Greek and Roman antiquity have inspired the lyrical, musical, and visual content of many heavy metal groups. The classical topics are broad; they include Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Aeschylus’ Oresteia, the foundation of Rome, and the rise of the Principate. Clas-sical reception in heavy metal would therefore seem to merit the same scholarly attention, since it illustrates an independent engagement with the Classics by the world outside academia and thus can help scholars and students better understand the impact of the field on contemporary non-academic media. Why consider two seemingly disparate media? Music, like cinema and literature, is a medium that communicates contemporary ideolo-gies and functions as a means of engagement with the historical past. It can reflect, respond to, or initiate social or political change, as in Igor Stravinsky’s classical composition The Rite of Spring and the Russian Revolution, or Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, which commemorates Rus-sia’s resistance to Napoleon’s advances on Moscow with its signature firing of cannons and chimes that duplicates Russia’s final martial stand. Rock, folk, and rap music of the twentieth century offer comparable outlets, as in Bob Dylan’s “The Times They are a-Changin’” of the late 1960s or the late 1980s rap group N.W.A. and its denunciation of the brutality and racial profiling practices of the Los Angeles Police Department.3 No matter the genre (classical, folk, rock, rap, etc.), music with its array of aural, lyrical, and visual components provides a locus for the articula-tion, contestation, and negotiation of personal, social, and political values. This musical medium constitutes anything from a three-minute track of a modern pop song to a thirty-minute movement of a classical symphony to several tracks, movements within a larger symphony, or a modern ‘concept’ album. Ultimately, music speaks volumes about an artist’s understanding and appropriation of the historical past, as well

theatrical stage in Germany. E. Cavallini’s website “Mythimedia: Greek Myth in Today’s Culture” (http://www.mythimedia.org) offers a selection of essays on and interviews with European based heavy metal acts. She investigates the use of mythology in such bands as Virgin Steele and Manowar. One essay offers an in-depth analysis of Manowar’s song “Achilles, Agony, and Ecstasy” that draws on material regarding the conflict between Hector and Achilles from Homer’s Iliad.

3 Thomas 2007 explores the work of folk singer Bob Dylan and his use of intertextuality by drawing on such works as Vergil’s Aeneid, Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and the Japanese author Junichi Saga’s Confessions of a Yakuza.

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as those features that resonate with both the artist’s and the listener’s experience of the present. In the following I explore how and why heavy metal music lends itself to the reception of classical subject matter. This musical genre demon-strates a usage of classical material unparalleled in other contemporary genres of music. Heavy metal’s aesthetic generally consists of a vigorous musical articulation of and response to adolescent frustration and anger directed at a variety of contemporary society’s ills, including youthful alienation, wherein the genre’s style acts as an appropriate vehicle for male aggression and the celebration of Greek and Roman military prow-ess. I offer two test cases as a springboard for the discussion of classical reception in this genre: Iron Maiden’s “Alexander the Great” from the 1986 album Somewhere in Time and Ex Deo’s 2009 release “The Final War (The Battle of Actium)” from the 2009 album Romulus. For both songs I will examine how the music and lyrics receive and articulate distinct features of the classical material — namely, their focus on the individual hero and the emotional and psychological costs of war. Iron Maiden’s treatment of Alexander, for example, is not only reminiscent of some classical accounts preserved in Plutarch and Arrian, but also speaks to German scholar Johann Gustav Droysen’s view of Alexander in light of nineteenth-century German politics and to British classical scholar William Wordthorpe Tarn, whose scholarship on Alexander stressed sentiments of unity and the reconciliation of disparate ethnici-ties. Both scholars were responsible for shaping the view of Alexander as a beneficent ruler seeking to unite the fractured Greek states and kingdoms east of Asia Minor.4 From an examination of the music and lyrics in Iron Maiden, I will examine how the lyrics and accompanying music video of Ex Deo’s “The Final War (The Battle of Actium)” com-municate a nuanced understanding of Roman history derived from a combination of ancient sources, such as Plutarch and Cassius Dio, and current cinematic representations found in depictions of the classical world in comics and cinema, such as Miller’s 300. Both bands’ classically inspired compositions employ a variety of time and key signatures, complex rhythms, and multi-movement song structures to illuminate the perception of war as emotionally violent and

4 Tarn’s proposition about Alexander’s role as beneficent unifier of disparate cultures was predominant until Badian’s 1958 challenge that cast Tarn’s favorable picture into doubt.

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psychologically traumatic. The music’s expression of aggression, violence, and military conflict appeal predominantly, but not exclusively, to a male audience.5 Ultimately, heavy metal’s appropriation of Greek and Roman antiquity in terms of violence, war, and empire both mirrors and justifies its own aggressive musical aesthetic. The bands’ engagement with these issues — glory, war, trauma, and military prowess — offers a unique link between the Greek and Roman past and present that resonates loudly through a widening, global demographic.

I. BRIEF HISTORY OF HEAVY METAL

It is necessary first to consider a very brief history of heavy metal music (“metal” hereafter). Understanding its origins, semiotics, and legacy will allow us to appreciate the musical and intellectual processes that shape it.6 However, tracing the genealogy of metal is not without some difficulty since, like many other musical genres, it existed before it ever adopted a universal, widespread title; moreover, many scholars and fans contest the parameters used to determine what constitutes

5 Heavy metal may also embrace a certain persona and philosophy that includes long hair, distinctive dress (any combination of torn blue-jeans, tight leather trousers, and tops to loose fitting t-shirts, boots, and sneakers), youthful aggression, and confrontation of the status quo. In this regard, it is useful to consider as metaphorical counterparts the life and rites associated with the Greek mythological figures Dionysus and Orpheus, both of whom share qualities similar to those attached to the heavy metal aesthetic, in which issues of alienation, challenges to the status quo, and the violent act of sparagmos, or the ritual tearing apart of the sacrificial victim, are predominant. Often, extreme emotion or katharsis are synonymous with these mythological figures, as exemplified by Euripides’ Bacchae and Orpheus’ descent to the underworld and subsequent rejection of women. A thorough investigation of the Dionysiac element of heavy metal, however, is beyond the scope of the current study.

6 There exists a wealth of scholarship on the history of metal. Studies on heavy metal music and its various splinters are not restricted to ethnographic approaches. For a musicological approach see Walser and Lilja; for a cultural and sociological approach see Bashe, Whiteley, Weinstein (2000), Kahn-Harris, and Wallach et al.; for a journalistic angle that considers fanzines and other magazines, see Christe; and for studies on the psychological effects of heavy metal music, see Gowensmith and Bloom, Wanamaker and Reznikoff, and Lawrence and Joyner.

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the genre and its countless sub-genres.7 Nevertheless, many scholars agree on some basic characteristics that will suffice for the purposes of this study. Heavy metal’s rather intricate and complex trappings have its roots in the decline of psychedelic rock music of the late 1960s. Musicologists and cultural anthropologists claim that Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath in England pioneered the sound during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The musicians and audience of this era were predominantly young white males from their late teens to early thirties and of the manual working class with low socio-economic prospects. However, by the mid- to late 1970s this economic disparity became less distinct, especially with the rise of metal acts in the States that more freely crossed socio-economic boundaries. Since the mid-1980s, metal has splintered into many sub-genres, acquired popularity, and exerted global influence. Some flagship artists of this era, generally restricted to North America and Britain (with some exceptions), were Samson, Saxon, Iron Maiden, and Def Leppard; all popularly belong to the sub-genre NWOBHM, or the “New Wave of British Heavy Metal.” Other prominent acts from North America and Australia were Van Halen, Quiet Riot, Mötley Crüe, and AC/DC.8 Greater exposure through new media, such as MTV and the commercial video market in the late 1970s and 1980s, widened metal’s net. By the mid-1990s, the Internet and growth of independent labels opened up additional avenues for public contact, regardless of demographic. Audiences were no longer predominantly male as in the 1970s and 1980s, but became more heterogeneous both in gender and culture. Since then, metal has appropriated a variety of musical styles to create an array of forms that include thrash metal, grunge, nu and lite metal, hair (“glam”) metal, death metal, black metal, speed metal, doom metal, stoner rock, power

7 Walser (1–10), Weinstein (2000, 6–8), Borthwick and Moy (138–144). It is also worth noting that genre boundaries such as “heavy metal,” “extreme metal,” etc., are constantly shifting as the landscape of musical styles evolve and broaden. So bands like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Van Halen that in their day were considered “heavy metal” are not considered so today.

8 Bashe's 1985 study offers a chronological and stylistic analysis of large market heavy metal bands leading up to the year 1984.

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metal, European metal, fusion metal, metal opera, rapcore, grindcore, sludge, psychedelic metal, etc.9

Despite metal’s numerous stylistic fractures, no other genre of con-temporary music has arguably elicited more divisive public response with regard to suicide, shootings, and charges of Satanism.10 Yet, despite this — or, perhaps because of this — metal has garnered escalating worldwide popularity since its nascent days of the early 1970s. Today it eclipses many other musical genres in fan support and record sales, and even boasts a transnational and transcultural community with a global reach stretching far into five continents, featuring acts from Brazil, Israel, Scandinavia, Japan, and Iraq.11 Many ethnomusicologists credit this fame and the genre’s perseverance to its ability to respond to contemporary issues of war, consumerism, capitalism, identity, politics, institutions, and other mainstream ideologies. The music has also been exploited for purposes outside mainstream entertainment. In some contexts, it has been used both for motivational purposes and torture. The US military used metal and rap in the most recent Iraq War to torture prisoners and to prepare soldiers psychologi-cally for war’s gruesome violence.12 In this regard, the music perhaps

9 Sam Dunn offers an extensive genealogical chart of metal that chronologically (1966–present) categorizes metal bands by genre at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Metal_Genealogy.jpg. Lilja (30) offers another from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s.

10 The Parent’s Music Resource Center (PMRC), created in 1985 to monitor the content of musical packaging (lyrics, album art, etc.), affixed parental advisory stickers to content identified as violent, sexual, satanic, or advocating drug use. The PMRC, co-founded by Tipper Gore, compiled the “Filthy Fifteen,” a list of those fifteen bands considered to be highly offensive and objectionable. Among those were Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, AC/DC, and Twisted Sister. A class action suit was also brought against Judas Priest in 1990, which alleged that certain musical content contained subliminal messages urging its listeners to commit suicide. The charge was dismissed after one week of deliberations.

11 Weinstein (2011).

12 Wilson (126–186) investigates the influence of heavy metal music on the actions of individuals both at home (i.e. the Columbine High School massacre of 1999) and abroad, namely US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. A series of cultural and psychological studies reveals both the salubrious and the negative effects of rap and heavy metal music in the US military. In some cases the music is pumped at extreme

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is used in ways beyond the artist’s original intentions. Ultimately, in both its musical composition and accompanying lyrics, metal offers an alternate medium that articulates, however complex, the responses of a given band — and by extension — a given community to a historical moment in just the same way as any other musical genre.

II. IRON MAIDEN’S “ALEXANDER THE GREAT”

With the continued fracture of metal in the 1990s, there has been a significant shift from the abandonment of the glam aesthetic and the large-scale stadium rock shows of the 1980s to smaller venues that promote opportunities for creative engagement between the audience and the group. There are several bands, however, that I believe bridge this gap between performer and audience on a more substantial and intellectual level, such as the bands Rush, King Crimson, Manowar, Ex Deo, and Iron Maiden. Their music appropriates the basic trappings of an aggressive, rock sensibility; but on a more nuanced level, the music and lyrics engage with the classical music tradition and are inspired by ancient and modern philosophy and classical subject matter. Iron Maiden (“Maiden” hereafter) formed around December 1975 and continues to enjoy global success with the production of fifteen studio albums and continual touring.13 Despite many personnel changes, the musical core of the group currently consists of six musi-cians: the lead singer, Bruce Dickinson; three lead guitars (each guitarist alternates his role as rhythm and lead), Dave Murray, Janick Gers, and Adrian Smith; Steve Harris, the bass player and lyricist; and drummer, Nicko McBrain. One of their unique imprints on the genre has been the flamboyant artistry of their album covers, which feature their band mascot, Eddie, in various guises as an Egyptian pharaoh, a mental pa-tient, and a Nexus 6 android from Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. On the

volumes through the headsets of US bomber pilots, simulating PC and video game soundtracks of war simulation games. The music compensates “for [the soldiers’] remoteness from the bloody consequences of their actions” wherein “metal becomes the double of war in a heightened form” (14).

13 The official band website at http://www.ironmaiden.com offers the most up to date information on the band, its discography, videography, tour information, interviews with band members, art, images, and lyrics.

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1986 album, Somewhere in Time, Maiden devotes its longest and final track to a musical celebration of Alexander the Great in approximately nine minutes. The track length and historical or literary content are not oddities in Maiden’s oeuvre. It is in fact a stock feature of their albums to offer (and its enthusiasts to expect) at least one track of epic length to match the prescribed content. Not coincidentally, perhaps, this track is often inspired by a work of literature or some theme of antiquity, or some combination thereof. Previous tracks include the eight-minute “To Tame a Land” based on Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel, Dune; an instrumental entitled “Genghis Khan”; “Powerslave” about Egyptian antiquity and the god Horus; another inspired by antiquity is the “Flight of Icarus,” which emphasizes Icarus’s madness and defiance of authority; one more draught of inspiration is the thirteen-minute “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem of the same name.14

In its lyrical and musical content the track “Alexander the Great” celebrates the military prowess and achievements of the Macedonian general, as well as his extraordinary function as a unifier of man and the future of Christianity. Steve Harris’ lyrical adaptation of his life and the accompanying music frame Alexander’s legacy in terms of military success, heroism, and the rise of Christianity. This lyrical composition along these terms is suggestive of treatments by Plutarch’s Life of Alex-ander, as well as by the nineteenth-century German historian Johann Gustav Droysen, whose two-volume investigation into the life of Alex-ander the Great, Geschichte des Hellenismus (1836), not only brought the term “Hellenism” into the spotlight, but also informed his political aspirations for a unified Germany under Prussian dominance in the late 1840s.15 Another useful lens for understanding Maiden’s construction of

14 The group intended to name the track “To Tame a Land” “Dune” after Frank Herbert, Dune (Philadelphia: Chilton, 1965). However, permission from the author was required, and when asked by the band’s manager, Herbert threatened legal action. http://www.timeoutdubai.com/nightlife/features/6460-iron-maiden-in-dubai#.UNIgirY5hOk

15 Nippel’s biography of Droysen’s life details his theories of history and his strong political involvement in Prussian politics, especially how the latter informed his formation of the former. Bosworth explores the origins of Droysen’s term ‘Hellenismus,’ which in its idealization of the Greek west (the contemporary equivalent of western Europe) embraced nineteenth-century “Eurocentric” attitudes that generally denigrated the east.

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Alexander’s life is the British scholar William Woodthorpe Tarn’s 1933 lecture, “Alexander the Great and the Unity of Mankind.” On this oc-casion Tarn suggested Alexander applied and expanded the concept of homonoia (unity and brotherhood) to include relations not only between fellow Greeks, but also between Greeks and non-Greeks, with the aim of uniting and reconciling the Greeks and (so-called) barbarians under a peaceful empire. The track executes this legacy through the lead singer’s, Bruce Dick-inson’s, patented “air-raid siren” vocals and the accompanying distorted guitar and popping bass sounds. The lyrics are as follows (and numbered for the convenience of discussion below):

(2a) “My son ask for thyself anotherKingdom, for that which I leaveIs too small for thee”(King Philip of Macedonia – 339 B.C.)

(2b) Near to the East In a part of ancient Greece, In an ancient land called Macedonia Was born a son To Philip of Macedon, The legend his name was Alexander At the age of nineteen He became the Macedon king,And he swore to free all of Asia Minor, By the Aegian [sic] Sea In 334 BC He utterly beat the armies of Persia.

Chorus #1: Alexander the Great, His name struck fear into hearts of men Alexander the Great, Became a legend ’mongst mortal men.(2c) King Darius the third Defeated fled Persia, The Scythians fell by the river Jaxartes, Then Egypt fell to the Macedon king as well And he founded the city called Alexandria

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By the Tigris riverHe met King Darius again, And crushed him again in the battle of Arbela Entering Babylon And Susa, treasures he found, Took Persepolis, the capital of Persia.

Chorus #2: Alexander the Great, His name struck fear into hearts of men, Alexander the Great, Became a god amongst mortal men.

(2d) A Phrygian King had bound a chariot yoke, And Alexander cut the “Gordion [sic] knot”,And legend said that who untied the knot, He would become the master of Asia (2e) Helonism [sic] he spread far and wide,The Macedonian learned mind Their culture was a Western way of life, He paved the way for Christianity. Marching on, Marching on…

The battle weary marching side by side Alexander’s army line by line They wouldn’t follow him to India Tired of the combat, pain and the glory Chorus #3: Alexander the Great, His name struck fear into hearts of men, Alexander the Great, He died of fever in Babylon.

The track begins with a faint whistle of blowing wind that dissipates into the ominous voice of Alexander’s father, Philip, who speaks the quoted text that derives from the conclusion of the sixth chapter of Plutarch’s Life of Alexander (2a; 0:00–1:38). In this chapter, Plutarch recounts Philip’s address to Alexander and portends the rise and extension of a kingdom larger than the one under King Philip. As his voice fades back into the background, a solitary guitar introduces the main musical melody, or theme, of the track alongside a military-like marching snare

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drum. The solitary guitar and the slow marching snare drum establish the melody as the infant or adolescent Alexander launches into what will be his illustrious career. In this opening, as in classical music, Maiden employs the universal framework of “theme and variations,” in which a fundamental musical theme is expressed in its most basic form, then reappears in altered form or with varied accompaniment throughout the larger composition.16 Following this introductory theme and variation, the full accom-paniment of the band commences, advancing the musical theme at an accelerated pace (2b;1:38–2:29). The vocalist begins, accompanied by the bass guitar. The bass incorporates the martial snare first employed at the track’s opening with a series of triplets that replicate the gallop of Alexander’s cavalry and is even suggestive, perhaps, of his famous horse, Bucephalus. This bass guitar’s gallop is a distinct feature of Maiden’s musical style. Thereupon, the musical theme leads up to the operatic-like pronouncement of Alexander in the first choral section (Chorus #1; 2:30–3:52) to highlight his fear and awe inspiring persona, as well as his immortal-like status among men (“his name struck fear into hearts of men…became a legend ’mongst mortal men”), the very qualities that inform details of Alexander’s life in Plutarch’s Life of Alexander, Arrian’s Anabasis of Alexander, and book 17 of Diodorus Siculus’ Bibliotheca. During this chorus and the others, the band employs the authentic cadence in E major through three chords, a technique commonly used by Western classical composers to establish the pitch of the entire piece. Furthermore, variations of the “Greek scale” inform the musical compo-sition with its use of particular scales, harmonies, and rhythmic motifs, all of which contribute to its regional flavor.17

The details of Alexander’s life begin to unfold as the full band and vocals begin to operate in harmony. These details, however, do not in-clude the palace intrigue or machinations of Philip and Olympias that are crucial to some modern receptions of Alexander18 (and found in Plutarch’s account, 1–3, 9–10), but delve immediately into his military

16 For a discussion of the influence of classical music on metal composition see Walser (57–107) and Lilja.

17 See West for a discussion of various Greek modes such as the “Ionian,” “Dorian,” and “Phrygian” within the context of ancient Greek music.

18 See Fox, Green, and Cartledge.

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achievements with his initial successes against the Persian satraps in Asia Minor (334 BCE), the defeat of the Scythians (339), and the final demise of the Persians with the capture of Persepolis (330; 2c; 2:30–3:52). The speed with which the vocals articulate the narrative matches the speed and efficiency of Alexander’s exploits in the East. Iron Maiden presents Alexander as a consummate warrior, tactician, and general whose swift military successes on the battlefield against formidable opponents and across a wide geographic area (from Macedonia to India) mark him as an extraordinary individual. Furthermore, Alexander’s military prowess and accomplishments on the battlefield gain the most melodic resonance and virtuosity when the guitars break from the established melody in preparation for a solo. This takes place following the second chorus (3:53–5:49). The pause in the vocalist’s narrative invites the listener to begin weaving a visual narrative of Alexander’s exploits in battle along the variety of rhythms, beats, and times changes in the music. This break, however, is gradual. Before the guitars venture into their solos, the time signature shifts into 7/8, which is generally akin to the measure ending a half beat prior to the usual 4/4 time signature. Following this change in signature there are four repetitions of a new riff lead by one guitar. With each subsequent repetition there are additional layers offered first by a synthesizer, then by the second lead following the same melody in thirds. The track progressively builds to the musical climax of the piece, the solos. Guitar solos in metal often feature the virtuosity and dexter-ity of the lead guitarist and parade his musical prowess and masculinity before his peers. Here, as in classical music, metal depends not only on virtuosity, but also on the other musicians’ display of this skill. During these dazzling musical interludes, the metal musician often channels his virility into one of several classic phallic poses.19 Typical poses include the guitarist pointing the neck of the guitar outward, or perpendicular to his body, at the camera or audience members as if brandishing a ma-chine gun and jerking the neck of the guitar up and down as the musi-cian frenetically taps on the finger board. Just as the barrage of guitar solos showcases the artist’s musicianship above all other instruments, so too the listener can imagine Alexander issuing commands or a charge against his opponents on the battlefield. Furthermore, the unexpected

19 Weinstein (2000, 199–235) investigates how the live concert exemplifies the cultural form of heavy metal and “brings it to fulfillment” (199).

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changes in time and key signatures brings to fulfillment the struggles of Alexander traversing the rugged terrain of Asia Minor, the baking desert of southern Iran, and the variety of exotic peoples and places of the Far East (5:50–7:09). The remainder of the composition recalls the opening two verses of the piece with its rhythmic gallop, but not without a twist (2d; 7:10–8:28). The vocalist recounts Alexander’s cutting of the Gordian Knot (333 BCE), march into India (327–325), and death in Babylon (323) in the span of about 30 seconds before the final chorus brings a close to the song and life of Alexander. The vocalist sings the final three verses of the song in shorter vocal notes, or staccato. Here the galloping horses and shorter notes acquire additional martial resonance with the phrase “Marching On.” The song then concludes with one last refrain of the chorus (Chorus #3) that reiterates Alexander’s legacy. Overall, the lyrical content of Maiden’s “Alexander the Great” offers a brief and highly abridged account of the general’s life, but one that prioritizes his swift success in battle and the ability single-handedly to preserve a future legacy. These details acquire strong resonance in the musical and vocal accompaniment of the group with the galloping bass guitar that replicates the charge of a cavalry, the intermittent snare roll that suggests the military infantry march, and the extensive guitar solos that act as an appropriate metaphor for the prowess and virtuosity of Alexander the Great’s extraordinary military career. Furthermore, the general distortion of the guitars, frequent changes in time, and key signatures offer a variety of moods that also complement the vocal nar-rative of his life. Not only does the musical narrative articulate Alexander’s prowess in battle and extraordinary deeds in such a brief span, but also the lyrical content in its list of his impressive accomplishments. Within the span of roughly eight minutes the lyrics highlight seven major events, and not necessarily in chronological order as follows: the battle of the Granicus (334 BCE), the battle of Jaxartes (329), the foundation of Alexandria (331), battle of Arbela (331), Susa and Persepolis (324 and 330 respec-tively), the cutting of the Gordian knot (333), and the march into India (327–325). A glaring chronological misstep in Maiden’s highlights of Alexander is the episode of the Gordian knot, which outside the battle of the Granicus is the earliest of all episodes described, but the last ac-complishment before his death in 323, a ten-year gap. However, before excusing Maiden’s lyrical effort here as careless artistic license, I suggest

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that the mention of the Gordian knot later rather than earlier in the song serves to illuminate the peculiar statement about Hellenism (2e) that follows it at the conclusion of the song (“Helonism [sic] he spread far and wide, / The Macedonian learned mind / Their culture was a Western way of life, / He paved the way for Christianity”). Within only a few verses, the lyrics suggest a link between Hellenism, Alexander, and Christianity that initially appears tenuous and problematic. Here I would suggest that Tarn’s homonoia — the notion of unity, brotherhood, and reconciliation — informs the connection between them. Hellenism, Christianity, and the Gordian knot represent movements and events that exemplify the unification of man. The ancient biographies of Alexander’s life, for example, highlight his drive to unite the fractured city-states of the Greek West under Macedonian dominance, defeat the East, and bind the conquered and its disparate cultures and ethnicities under a com-mon system. In like manner, Christianity represents a movement from the East that, among others, sought to unify the diverse belief systems of the West under one. In much the same way, Alexander’s cutting of the Gordian knot also signaled the mark of his legacy as a leader who would one day unite all under peace and a single structure. Maiden’s lyrical and musical expression of Alexander’s life then il-lustrates not only his legacy as a fierce and successful warrior, but also his contribution to the future traditions of Hellenism and Christianity as belief systems invested in a common brotherhood and unity of all cultures.

III. EX DEO’S “THE FINAL WAR (THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM)”

Whereas Maiden devotes one longer song from its album Somewhere in Time (1986) to a famous general of antiquity, Ex Deo dedicates all eleven tracks on its first album, Romulus (2009), solely to themes and individuals pertaining to Roman history and mythology.20 Its genre is 20 The band has recently released their second album, Caligula (2012), which continues the Roman historical focus predominant in Romulus, but with particular focus on events pertaining to the reign and life of the emperor Gaius, or Caligula. For track listings and latest music video releases, see the band’s official website at www.myspace.com/exdeo. Another band worth attention, but beyond the scope of the current study, is ShadowIcon, a Slovenian metal band whose album Empire in Ruins (2011) recounts the civil conflict at Rome in thirteen tracks with accompanying lyrics that describe in some detail major events leading up to the battle of Actium and its aftermath. The album’s

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symphonic or melodic death metal, a field where bands, generally from Scandinavia, employ the “death growl,” or screaming vocals, heavily distorted guitars, swift double bass drum patterns, and the occasional use of keyboards and acoustic guitars (Purcell). Its creator, musical director, and lyricist, Maurizio Iacono (from Canada, but of Italian descent), dem-onstrates overall a historically well-informed understanding of ancient Rome. In this regard, Ex Deo represents a unique departure from other bands of this genre that typically focus on Nordic and Viking themes that pre-date the rise of Christianity in northern Europe. Nevertheless, there is no prescribed rule that any band of this genre needs to focus on these themes exclusively. Ex Deo’s dedication to all things Roman on Romulus favors a focus on violence, Roman military skill, famous and decisive battles, and the legacy of Gaius Julius Caesar.21 In their songs there is also the occasional use of classical and Medieval Latin, audio samples from the HBO Rome series, and the sounds of cavalry, marching soldiers, war trumpets, and clashing swords. Ex Deo offers a unique musical landscape that hopes to recreate the extreme emotions and carnage of war, as well as both to glorify the accomplishments of war abroad and condemn Roman civil war. The track, “The Storm Gates of Alesia,” features a narrative commemorating Julius Caesar’s defeat of the Gallic tribes united under Vercingetorix in 52 BCE, whereas “Invictus” celebrates Julius Caesar as the “protector of Rome.” “Cry Havoc” celebrates the rise of Octavian and the establishment of the Pax Romana. In the track “Surrender the Sun” a gladiator reflects on his imminent death at the Colosseum in order to acquire glory and fulfill his role as “hero to the mob…[and] a

track listing can be viewed at www.shadowicon.com alongside a statement explaining the album as follows: “The story behind the songs is set around the time of Roman Republic and its demise. Every song tells a different part of the story which develops throughout the whole album. Listen to the intertwined fates of Julius Caesar, Gaius Octavian, Cleopatra, Mark Antony and other historical figures as you go along. Next to the lyrics in the booklet, you will also be able to find historical descriptions behind each and every song” (http://www.shadowicon.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87&Itemid=113&lang=en).

21 The track listing on Romulus is as follows: 1. Romulus; 2. Storm the Gates of Alesia; 3. Cry Havoc; 4. In Her Dark Embrace; 5. Invictus; 6. The Final War (Battle of Actium); 7. Legio XIII; 8. Blood, Courage and The Gods That Walk The Earth; 9. Cruor Nostri Abbas; 10. Surrender the Sun; 11. The Pantheon (Jupiter’s Reign).

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puppet for the people’s amusement.” The first thirty seconds of “Legio XIII” opens with the sounds of carriage wheels, trumpets sounding, and galloping horses that collectively signal the arrival of one of the most storied legions in Roman history, the Thirteenth Legion, under the com-mand of Julius Caesar. The lyrics discuss his and the legion’s crossing of the Rubicon in 49 BCE. Midway through the musical track, a lone voice utters the phrase “Watch closely, boy. This is how history is made,” which is an audio sample derived from the episode “Philippi” (episode 2.6) of HBO’s Rome spoken by Mark Antony to a young Octavian. Though there is no historical account of the involvement of this legion at Philippi in 42, one may venture that Iacono’s intention here is not to be historically inaccurate, but to exercise some creative and intellectual license. Antony’s phrase foreshadows the ironic twist in political alliances involving Antony and Octavian between the time of Philippi and the Battle of Actium. It also serves as both a lesson and warning about civil action. At Philippi Octavian and Antony are in civil conflict with the leaders of the Republican cause (and assassins of Julius Caesar), Brutus and Cassius. Octavian and Antony, however, would revisit this civil conflict within eleven years and against each other. Antony’s statement within the context of Caesar’s march on Rome in 49 then gains further resonance when read in light of future and continued civil conflict. In addition to the tracks surveyed thus far, the tracks “Romulus” and “The Final War (Battle of Actium)” have also been released as music videos; the latter song will be the focus for the remainder of this paper. As the song title suggests, “The Final War” centers on the events sur-rounding the battle of Actium, with particular attention to the loss of lives and the notion of glory lost amidst civil conflict between Octavian’s and Antony’s factions. The details presented are highly abridged, as in Maiden’s account of Alexander’s life. Furthermore, great attention is paid to the number of lives and naval reinforcements involved in the preparation and execution of the battle, which Plutarch’s Life of Antony (61, 63–68) and Cassius Dio’s Roman History (50.11–35) provide in some detail. The lyrics are as follows:

[First Stanza]This is the final war along the Ionian Sea, the Battle of Actium Mark Antony’s forces to engage Octavian’s legions at sea Breaking the alliance of the Second Triumvirate

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Cleopatra and Antony to defy Caesarion named King of Kings A lethal threat to Octavian Two Hundred Thirty warships at sea Headed by the great Mark Antony Devastating loss forces retreat Agrippa’s forces led by experience at sea Roma shines once again, Octavian’s forces powerful and unmatched

[Second Stanza (Chorus)]Two hundred ships lost Five Thousand lives lost Broken line, broken will There’s no place for glory to heal Raised in blood, raised in fear There’s no place for honor to heal There’s no place for glory, there’s no place for honor…

[Third Stanza]CleopatraBring this war to foreign land, Alexandria The final encounter between two of Rome’s greatest leaders comes to an end Two hundred thirty warships at sea Headed by the great Mark Antony Devastating loss forces retreat Agrippa’s forces led by experience at sea Roma shines once again, Octavian’s forces powerful and unmatched

[Fourth Stanza (Chorus)]Two hundred ships lost Five thousand lives lost Broken line, broken will There’s no place for glory to heal Raised in blood, raised in fear There’s no place for honor to heal There’s no place for glory, there’s no place for honor…

The first and third stanzas establish the body of historical events that pertain to civil war in this period, while the identical second and fourth act as the chorus. The first and third offer a crash course on the events leading up to the Battle of Actium as they highlight the main players —

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Antony, Octavian, Caesarion, Cleopatra, and Agrippa — and the two main geographic locales, Actium and Alexandria. Unlike the majority of tracks on the album, like “Legio XIII” and the “Battle of Alesia,” civil conflict and war are not glorified; rather civil war is seen as inflicting a wound on the honor and glory that are synonymous with Rome’s legacy (“…Raised in blood, raised in fear/ There’s no place for honor to heal…”). Iacono’s view of the civil war in these terms, as well as the threat of dynastic succession under Caesarion, echoes the historical events pertaining to the Donations of Alexandria of 34.22 The specific numbers of warships involved (230), warships lost (200), and men killed (5,000) in the battle of Actium convey the magnitude of destruction surrounding the battle.23 Moreover, his reading of these events does not focus solely on killing, but rather on pivotal moments in the history that come to define major individuals within it. In this regard, what Iacono offers is comparable to the ancient historiographical model wherein those major players make history at decisive moments. The music video for the track “The Final War” graphically emphasizes the violence and carnage that accompanies battles with Iacono dressed as a legionary soldier.24 The video, not coincidentally, was also released on March 15, 2010 to commemorate the assassination of Julius Caesar and, according to online sources, in honor of the god Mars.25 The five-minute video pays particular homage to the film 300 and its adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel of the same name. Like 300, the video strives to achieve cinematic qualities through the use of bluescreens and other computer programs used to simulate various backgrounds; these 22 See Cassius Dio’s Roman History 49.41 and 50.1–3 and Plutarch’s Life of Antony 54 for the mention of Caesarion as the “King of Kings” and the Donations.

23 Actual numbers vary according to historical account. Plutarch’s Life of Antony 68 states that not more than 5,000 lives were lost and 300 ships captured. Orosius 6.19.8–9 offers the exact number of 230 for ships with rams, but not as a total for Antony’s warships. The number of 200 for ships lost is difficult to trace to any one source.

24 The video can be viewed on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcfaltp8CL0. The video for “Romulus” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OX_LqhVRtQ.

25 Unknown. “EX DEO: ‘The Final War (Battle Of Actium)’ Video Released - Mar. 15, 2010”, Blabbermouth.net. [Online]. Available at: http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=136748. [accessed: April 2012].

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include the video’s focal point on an extensive battle scene staged on the shore of Alexandria. Certain sequences are tinted to reflect an illustra-tive effect as in the comic series and to offer sharp contrasts between light and dark colors. Overall, the producer-director team generates a foreboding mood with the manipulation of light and its subdued colors. The opening two minutes of the video prominently feature the military insignia of the Roman military and standards, the aquila, or eagle. It appears flanked by the laurel wreath in various guises: on a vexilloid, a battle map, Iacono’s breastplate, and the main-mast of Octa-vian’s triremes. The video begins with a heavily distorted guitar riff and double-bass drumbeat. The picture fades into Cleopatra reclining on a seated Antony, both on a chaise-lounge clasping each other’s hands. Both are situated in a room of a larger structure overlooking the strand and what will be the site of the future battle scene of the video. The scene shifts next to a shot of a billowing red flag imprinted with the initials “SPQR” as eagles fly by in the distance. The acronym, as well as the distant eagles, also features in the video for the track “Romulus,” whose video centerpiece also includes a duel to the death between the brothers Romulus and Remus. Following the image of the flag, the camera shifts to the legionary soldier (here, Iacono) who represents one of Octavian’s men. He surveys a map of North Africa and sings the first stanza to two soldiers whose backs face the camera. On his breastplate is the same image of the war eagle and behind Iacono is the same red flag, but as his image stands before it, he obscures, or replaces, the eagle. During the delivery of the lyrics, he bangs his clenched fist on a map that also bears the identical image of the war eagle with the “SPQR” acronym.26

The action progresses towards the final military standoff between Octavian and Antony’s forces. Key sequences of action in the remainder of the video correspond with the singing of the verse “There’s no place for glory, there’s no place for honor” (last verse of second and fourth stanzas). As Antony rises from his chaise-lounge and unsheathes his sword before the disembarking forces of Octavian, so too does Iacono. The commencement of the guitar solos (2:17) coincides with Iacono leaping with drawn sword towards his opponent to draw first blood. As the bodies of the opposing sides clash, the double bass drum again

26 Iacono shows his dedication to Rome and its military glory in the video with a tattoo of Roman numerals on his right upper arm. Since the video was shot, Iacono has acquired the tattoo of a Roman centurion on the entire length of his right arm and has the word “INVICTUS” tattooed on the inside of his left forearm.

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resumes as accompaniment to the frenetic distorted guitar solo executed in accelerated sixteenth notes. The high-pitched notes also coincide with the gruesome events on the battlefield: clashing swords, spurting blood, severed limbs, and decapitations. The end of the solo features a shot of a Roman legionary soldier (in a breastplate bearing the Roman numeral XIII) thrusting his sword downward to kill an opponent. The opponent’s blood spurts on the soldier and drenches the video screen in the style of Miller’s illustrations and 300. An additional scuffle ensues between Iacono and a soldier of Cleopatra’s outfit where soon the lat-ter’s blood also strikes the video screen to signal his death at the hands of a supporter’s sword thrust into the soldier off screen (3:00–3:25). The guitar solo and the musician’s virtuosity acquire their cinematic equivalent in the bloody events showcasing the actions of hand-to-hand combat. Ultimately, the power (riff and chords) of the guitar equates to the adrenaline and victory of battle. Following the gruesome battle scene (2:00–3:25), the video cul-minates with the suicides of Antony and Cleopatra. Furthermore, the depiction of their suicides draws upon the most dramatic literary and twentieth-century cinematic versions. Once Iacono and Octavian’s men have departed the battlefield littered with corpses, they lead a charge for the structure where Antony and Cleopatra were found at the begin-ning of the video. The charge also coincides with the third stanza that mentions the name Cleopatra for the first time and her demise at the hands of Octavian’s men. At their arrival, Antony in utter dejection collapses into the same chaise-lounge that he and Cleopatra occupied at the start of the video. Once Cleopatra leaves him and departs off screen, he stabs himself. The chaise-lounge serves as a symbolic ring device: the very locus of their love becomes the site of its dissolution. Cleopatra follows suit, opens a wicker basket and suffers the bite of a snake that kills her. In like ring fashion, Iacono sings the phrase “There’s no place for glory, there’s no place for honor” as he gazes upon the bodies of the slain Antony and Cleopatra. The video-music tandem offers a more substantial perspective on the conflict between Octavian and Antony than either medium on its own could achieve. The lyrical content draws ultimately on ancient sources on the battle of Actium, with special attention to Octavian and Antony’s naval forces and losses due to the conflict. Furthermore, the lyrics frame the conflict between Octavian and Antony (and Cleopatra) as the result of Caesarion’s potential threat to Octavian specifically, recalling the series

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of events propelled by the Donations of Alexandria, which conferred a series of titles, including “King of Kings,” and ostensibly declared Caesa-rion the future ruler of Rome. Images of war, love, conflict, and brutality dominate, alongside Iacono and others dressed in Roman military gear as they engage in combat as we have observed above. Distorted guitars, solos, the singer’s growl, and deep double drumbeats convey a combina-tion of aggression, confusion, and final resolution in the deaths of the antagonists. Moreover, the video’s cinematography, with its illustrative and gritty affects, manufactures a dark and ominous mood. The accom-panying refrain “There’s no place for glory, there’s no place for honor” offers a thematic ring to the song’s opening chorus (second stanza), with the lyrics’ suggestion of the trauma related to civil conflict. Ultimately, the lyrical and cinematic combination portrays the historical events of Roman civil war culminating at Actium within a cinematic and comic book frame that showcases intense violence and emotion.

IV. CONCLUSION

This study ventures to open additional avenues of inquiry into the reception of Greek and Roman studies in modern music. Heavy metal music in particular offers a unique view of the appropriation of classical subject matter by a genre of music that has not always been defined as part of the popular canon of mainstream music, the pop chart hits and singles that dominate the radio and television airways. Metal music —its lyrics, composition, and occasional videos — conveys a fascination with the origin of things. Its players demonstrate a fervent interest in themes relating to antiquity, from pre-Christian Scandinavian culture, such as Nordic themes and myths and pre-European colonization of the Americas (the Mayans, Incas, and other indigenous Brazilian cultures), to classical Greece and Rome. Iron Maiden and Ex Deo’s inspired compositions recreate an evocative and sophisticated portrait of Greece and Rome. Both devote a substantial focus to war and conflict, with Maiden’s emphasis on the male hero exemplified by Alexander the Great’s life, and Ex Deo’s the civil conflict between Antony and Cleopatra, and Octavian. A closer reading of Maiden’s track suggests a parallel with Droysen’s view of his-toriography and Tarn’s theory of homonoia with regard to Alexander as a champion of western, European ideals and as the unifier of fractured and eastern cultures under one system. Maiden’s compact representation

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of Alexander’s military exploits also testifies to his unparalleled success that no others before him could achieve and those after him (like the German Droysen in 1848) could only hope to embrace in their own aspirations for political dominance and stability. Though Ex Deo, too, champions the strength of its male protagonist, Octavian, it offers a portrait of Roman civil conflict inspired by the combination of struggle discussed in Plutarch’s Life of Antony and Cassius Dio’s Roman History with contemporary cinematic portrayals of gruesome war popular in recent representations of the Greek and Roman world, such as Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, Kevin MacDonald’s Eagle, and Zack Snyder’s 300. Metal’s appropriation of Greek and Roman antiquity in terms of aggression, struggle for power, and masculinity speaks predominantly to a youth culture that uses the medium of metal as a platform for its general angst and feelings of alienation from contemporary society and thereby seeks to mark its own place in society. Yet, the presentation of the ancient material offered by Maiden and Ex Deo also suggests a likeness to and communication with a long tradition in scholarship that aims to appropriate classical antiquity in the articulation of one’s contemporary political and cultural worldview. Metal music, like so many treatments on antiquity, exposes the enduring and influential narrative of classical antiquity to new generations.

Department of Foreign Languages and LiteraturesOrtega Hall 315B

University of New MexicoAlbuquerque, NM 87131

umurhan@umn.edu

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———. “The Final War.” Produced by Stanimir Lukic, directed by Ivan Colic. Avail-able at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcfaltp8CL0 [accessed May 2012].

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Discography

Ex Deo. Romulus. Nuclear Blast Records NB 2355-2, 2009, compact disc.

———. Caligula. Napalm Records, 2012, compact disc.

Iron Maiden. “Flight of Icarus.” Piece of Mind. Capitol CDP 7 46363 2, 1983, com-pact disc.

———. “To Tame a Land.” Piece of Mind. Capitol CDP 7 46363 2, 1983, compact disc.

———. “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Powerslave. Capitol CDP 7 46045 2, 1984, compact disc.

———. “Alexander the Great.” Somewhere in Time. Capitol CDP 7 46341 2, 1986, compact disc.

———. “Genghis Khan.” Killers. Capitol CDP 7 91416 2, 1988, compact disc. Originally released in 1981.

Manowar. Triumph of Steel. Atlantic 7567-82423-2, 1992, compact disc.

ShadowIcon. Empire in Ruins. ShadowIcon, 2011, compact disc.

Virgin Steele. House of Atreus, Act I. T&T TT 0042-2, 1999, compact disc.

———. House of Atreus, Act II. T&T · TT 0051-2, 2000, compact disc.

Filmography

300 (2006). Directed by Zack Snyder. Warner Brothers.

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TV Series

Rome (2005–07). Created by Bruno Heller, William J. MacDonald, and John Milius. HBO-BBC.

———. Episode 2.6 “Philippi,” written by Eoghan Mahony, directed by Roger Young. HBO-BBC.