Heavy Metal & Global Premodernity II online conference, hosted by Miami University, 15-17 March 2024
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"'De Ferro Italico: Uncovering the Italic Pagan Past in the Music of Draugr"
-Tobia De Siati, Università degli Studi di Pavia
Abstract:
The Italian underground metal band Draugr was formed in Abruzzo in 2002 and disbanded in 2013 - giving birth to two other bands: Atavicus and Selvans. The band, at its inception, was inspired by Scandinavian Black Metal and Viking Metal bands: this inspiration is evident in the band’s name as well as in its two demos from 2003. From that point on, the band’s goal changed: the interest in the Scandinavian mythology gave way to a deep interest in the ancient legends and culture of the Italic tribes (mainly Samnites and Oscans) who inhabited their land long before Rome exerted power over it. The band’s interest evolved into the full-lengths Nocturnal Pagan Supremacy (2006) and De Ferro Italico (2011), both of which are dedicated to the Italic heritage.
As Draugr evolved, the nature of their use of Italic pagan themes shifted in purpose: initially set in contrast to the dominant Christian culture, on the second album these themes are used to reflect the Italic-Pagan/Roman-Christian conflict. The band has relied upon lyrics, languages (Italian, Latin and Osco-Umbrian), and local folk instruments to evoke the remote past of their land.
Although the band has been active for little more than a decade and has released only two albums, its influence on the Italian extreme metal scene has been enormous: before their contribution, there were few releases partly focused on the Italian mythical heritage, later on more and more bands completely dedicated to the cultural heritage of the peninsula emerged.
This paper aims at an ethnomusicological analysis of Draugr’s two full-length albums, based on interviews with the musicians involved, focusing on the elements used to reconstruct the pre-Roman Italic cultural identity. This study reveals an ideal identity built on contrasts, not unlike the one that emerges from the archaeolinguistic findings of pre-Roman Italy.
Biography:
Tobia De Siati is a singer, musician and composer based in Apulia, Italy. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Performing Arts from the University Ca’Foscari di Venezia with a thesis in film music about the artistic partnership between Akira Kurosawa and Fumio Hayasaka. He is currently working on his Master’s degree at the Dipartimento di Musicologia e Beni Culturali di Cremona, Università di Pavia, with a thesis in Popular Music Studies on cultural heritage and musical genre hybridization in the discography of the Norwegian metal band Enslaved. Since 2012, Tobia has focused his musical efforts mainly on metal music, sharing the stage with national and international metal bands, even performing a song with the aforementioned band in 2017. With his main band Vetrarnott, he’s been touring Italy and Europe since 2018 and is currently working on an album about the cultural and historical heritage of ancient Italy.