Throat singing as extreme Other: An exploration of Mongolian and Central Asian style in extreme metal

Abstract

Throat-singing is a form of singing practiced in a number of cultures, but it is not part of the pre-modern folk cultures of Western Europe that shaped contemporary Western popular culture. In contemporary Western music, throat-singing from Central Asia is used or sampled in global fusion and dance music as an example of the mystical, timeless orient. In world music, another Western form of music, artists from China, Mongolia and Tuva who incorporate throat-singing and roots music forms have become popular acts at festivals and the touring circuit. Throat-singing has also been used by extreme metal bands from Asia to signify their authenticity and their connection to this traditional culture. In this paper, I explore how throat-singing is used by performers and consumers to construct belonging, authenticity, identity and extremity. I focus in particular on how throat-singing and traditional cultural tropes are used by the Chinese folk metal band Tengger Cavalry and Darkestrah, a black metal band from Kyrgyzstan.

Kaitiakitanga, Whai Wāhi and Alien Weaponry: indigenous frameworks for understanding language, identity and international success in the case of a Māori metal band

“…Nilsson's (2016) work on metal in Botswana takes this precedent further, explicitly arguing that recognising the 'heterogeneity of globalised metal' (p. 258) is critical to understanding non-Western metal in ways that move beyond reference to metal's North American and Northern European origins. Karl Spracklen has published extensively on race and identity in metal, from Scottish folk metal (Spracklen 2017) to throat singing in Kyrgyz and Central Asian metal (Spracklen 2018). Catherine Hoad's work analyses the significance of whiteness for South African (Hoad 2014) and Australian (Hoad 2016) metal scenes.…”