The figure of the child in metal music: Preliminary findings on form and function

This article pioneers an exploration of the child and childhood in metal music. Using a grounded-theory approach, it examines the prevalence of ‘the child’ in metal music lyrics. The findings reveal a strong correlation between childhood imagery and specific metal subgenres, indicating that children’s representation in metal serves both aesthetic and social diagnostic purposes. These representations of the child reflect broader cultural constructs. They engage with common topics associated with the child, such as hope or despair for the future, the idealization of nostalgia and childhood innocence, and the impact of trauma over generations. The child is used to create pathos across genres; she is named in passing and used to shock. Ultimately, however, metal music does not challenge dominant constructs of the child. This article offers a brief introduction to the constructivist turn in childhood studies and highlights aspects of the common mythos of childhood. Metal music uses unquestioned norms around childhood to support its genre expression and emotional affects. The child thus plays an integral role in defining the cultural and aesthetic essence of metal music.