Brazilian native metal and the experience of transculturation

Abstract

Politics and identity go together in Brazilian heavy metal. Headbangers often experience accusations regarding their less-than-Latin-American identity for enjoying a foreign musical style more than their own native styles. Even though this is partially true, Brazilian heavy metal engages national and musical identity in at least two different ways. The first is through the denial of any connection to Brazilian culture and its roots by accepting this anglophone genre. The second is through the transformation of the musical genre itself, thanks to the influence of Brazilian folk music. Based on these changes, we intend to describe how Sepultura laid down the roots that eventually flourished in the music of Arandu Arakuaa, a band associated with a movement known as the ‘Insurgency of Native Metal’, which describes itself as a union of Brazilian metal bands that write and perform songs about their country. We will also delve into how Sepultura, a highly regarded group often added as part of the ‘big five’ of thrash metal, used this influence to pave the way for other Brazilian bands, specifically Arandu Arakuaa, encouraging them to explore further possibilities regarding transculturation. Thus, in this article we intend to contemplate transculturation as a theoretical concept and as a tool to understand Brazilian heavy metal within its contradictions and core beliefs.