“Breaking the Law …?” On the Role of Law and Legal References in the Cul-tural History of the Heavy Metal Scene in Styria since 1980

Abstract

The cultural-historical perspective asks what role law played as an everyday phenom-enon in people’s lives. One such area in which one would probably not expect a central position of law at first glance is the scene life in the subculture of heavy metal. And yet metal has been characterized by a certain understanding of law since its early days. This article explores the question of what role law and references to law have played in the cultural history of the metal scene in Graz and Styria since 1980. On the levels of everyday social reality, socio-cultural im-agination (for example on band T-shirts, flyers, record covers etc.) as well as the music itself, the topic of law had a strong influence on the formation of the specific identity and values of the Styrian metal community.

Keywords

• metal music studies
• heavy metal
• graz
• styria
• cultural history
• law