From Wagner to Metal Through Nietzsche: Dramatic Representation of Metal Music as Ritual, Sacrifice and Catharsis
The combined use of metal music, Wagner, and Nietzsche in the same context is rarely seen. Metal, as a modern musical style and subcultural movement, resonates with protest and musical distortion, while Wagner’s name is associated with opera and classical music, which are regarded as the highest and most harmonious art forms of the 19th century. Although each genre has developed its own distinct musical features, closer examination reveals striking parallels between classical and metal music. Scholars from various fields and perspectives have explored this similarity (Middleton, 1990; Walser, 1992; Lilja, 2009; St-Laurent, 2012; Popoff, 2015; Heritage, 2016; Mynett, 2019; Herbst, 2020; Miguel, 2025). In this article, I argue that both metal music and Wagnerian opera share a common origin: early Greek tragedy. The musical intensity, theatricality, and transgressive structure of ancient Greek drama provide both genres with a rich heritage that fosters authenticity, aesthetic fusion, and cultural vitality. Furthermore, the study discusses how German philosopher F. Nietzsche’s critique of the concepts of Dionysus and Apollo, as presented in The Birth of Tragedy (1872), serves as a vital reference point and unifying principle behind the coexistence of metal and opera. Thus, this article aims to explore the interaction between metal music and Wagnerian opera through the lens of a ritual-sacrifice-catharsis trilogy, paying homage to the dithyrambic practices of early antiquity, analyzed from a Nietzschean perspective.
