Czech Metal Studies: 5 Years of the Study of Metal (and Religion)

Abstract

In 2022, the association of scholars interested in metal studies in Czechia, Czech Metal Studies, (CMS) celebrated its fifth anniversary. The article retrospectively looks at the origins of CMS in the context of the deficit of academic study of metal in Czechia and reflects on the development of metal studies abroad. The very origin of CMS was closely connected with the Department for the Study of Religions at Masaryk University in Brno, resulting in the primary research orientation of CMS toward the topic of metal and religion. The text surveys the current academic production of CMS members and other CMS activities, including the organization of Czech academic conferences on metal. Finally, the further direction of CMS is discussed in connection with the effort for greater  ultidisciplinarity and internationalization. The multidisciplinarity of CMS is manifest in attracting scholars from outside the field of religious studies, and internationalization is apparent in the founding of the research network Metal Studies in Central and Eastern Europe.