Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book offers a reception study of fan accusations of ‘sell out’ that have accompanied the career of Metallica, from culturally consecrated underground champions of a ‘thinking man’s metal’ to the compromises and ‘betrayal’ that have been seen to accompany their ‘crossing-over’ to mainstream commercial success, both musically and aesthetically. It examines the commercial developments and media discourses that have accompanied the ‘mainstreaming’ of notable Finnish metal bands and performers but also how their remarkable international success has been viewed as a process of ‘exporting’ Finnish culture to the wider world. The book explains why female participants in death metal scenes persist in their commitment to them when they are regularly subjected to sexism or a lack of full acceptance by males who control the scene.