This collection, part of the Imagines series, brings together nine essays at the intersection of Classical Reception and Heavy Metal Music studies and is inspired by the many representations of classical antiquity found in heavy metal music. The volume largely focuses on Mediterranean metal bands, who draw on Graeco-Roman antiquity for thematic content in a similar way as Norwegian Death Metal bands have mined Norse mythology for inspiration, though the work of bands from non-Mediterranean areas who have been influenced by the Classics is also discussed. As Fletcher states in the introduction, in this volume heavy metal serves as a microcosm for examining modern reception of the Classics, exemplifying how the ancient world has been conjured up, interpreted and utilised by twentieth- and twenty-first-century audiences. In this sense the authors use Mediterranean metal as a case study for the reception of classical antiquity.

One of the key observations the volume makes is that the globalisation of metal has elevated local styles like Mediterranean metal and spread its classical themes to a global audience, but that this in turn has encouraged nationalist seams in local genres. Some consist of a fairly benign focus on bands’ national history with the intent to explore modern national identity through connection with the past. Some are more insular and, at the extreme end, co-opt the ‘glory’ of ancient Greece and Rome to promote their perceived cultural and/or ethnic supremacy, with the unfortunate effect that the classics become associated with these ideologies to some degree in popular consciousness. In this regard, local styles influenced by antiquity can be seen as a response to globalisation.

The first section explores this by looking at how bands of different nationalities portray their nation's ancient history in their music. Fletcher begins the section with his chapter on Italian metal bands Stormlord, Heimdall and Hesperia and how their readings of Virgil's Aeneid reveal patriotic and nationalist themes. He notes their ability to reflect on modern national identity, without going as far as promoting a right-wing nationalist agenda – a turn many metal bands have taken. M. Taylor then examines how Swiss bands Eluveitie and Suidakra, through their interpretation of historical sources, reconstruct Helvetian Celtic identity in light of their resistance to the Roman Empire. This postcolonial reading of the source material by descendants of those who lived under Roman occupation presents an image of the empire that stands in contrast with that presented by the bands Fletcher discusses. In the third chapter C. Apergis looks at Greek black metal band Kawir's use of ancient Greek hymn texts, both composing musical settings for the texts and using them as a stylistic template to write their own. His chapter highlights the relationship between religious and national identities and posits Kawir's reimagining of the hymns as part of a pagan religion revival happening in Greece and other countries, making a connection between this and anti-Christian sentiments found elsewhere in black metal.

Another central observation made by the authors is that the spread of metal as a global phenomenon has made it more ‘egalitarian’, i.e. more inclusive of different races, genders and sexualities both in thematic content and in the demographic of its audience. This is in parallel with trends in classical studies, where scholars turn to traditionally marginalised voices, alternative readings of texts and examination of lesser known texts for new perspectives – so this allows for interesting and insightful comparisons between the two subjects. This is borne out in the second section of the volume, which comprises two chapters focused on gender.

First, L. Åshede and A. Foka explore representations of gender in music, comparing the portrayal of the Trojan prophetess Cassandra in songs by female-led gothic metal band Theatre of Tragedy and all-male power metal band Blind Guardian. They give examples of gender representation that go beyond the ‘warrior-masculinity’ often portrayed in metal and while they note the allegorical usefulness of Cassandra to highlight the exclusion of female voices in a historically male dominated genre, they also reveal how, for both of the bands they discuss, this character raises questions about the nature of power and powerlessness and speaks to the tragedy of the human condition. In the fifth chapter L. Crofton-Sleigh examines the presentation of Dido, Queen of Carthage, in Heimdall's Aeneid, and how the band's portrayal of her reveals the difference between ancient and modern audience reception of this strong, yet tragic female character. Through this analysis she shows how an ‘outsider’ figure that may have inspired pity or even derision in historical audiences can find respect and acceptance in modern heavy metal audiences, many of whom also consider themselves outsiders.

The final section examines themes of evil, madness, the occult and mysticism in metal, as well as looking at the effect of mediation on audience reception. I. Magro-Martínez focuses on the recurrent use of the Roman Emperor Gaius, or Caligula, as a symbol of evil and debauchery by Ex Deo and many other metal bands and how these portrayals have been influenced by representations of this figure in film. In Chapter 7 J. Secord writes about a genre he calls ‘esoteric metal’ and how the perception of Graeco-Roman mythology evidenced in the music of the genre is mediated by pulp writing and mysticism that blends ancient world mythology with dark fantasy and horror themes. L. Olabarria ends the section with an exploration of how ancient Egypt is portrayed by American death metal band Nile and how contrasting and sometimes problematic views of Egyptian history and mythology arise when mediated by popular notions of Egypt versus scholarly ones.

Umurhan closes the book with a ‘coda’, which brings together the main observations and trends found in the preceding chapters and encourages more work like this: bringing media from outside academia into academic discourse on classical antiquity, allowing fresh interpretations of texts to arise and ensuring the subject stays relevant with the passing of time. In the introduction Fletcher states that most of the contributors are classical scholars and metal fans rather than music scholars and concede that this means that the book takes a literary perspective in its analysis of the music, looking mainly at lyrical themes. Considering this, the quality of non-lyric focused musicological analysis the contributors offer, when it arises, is commendable, but the volume may have benefited from the inclusion of contributors from a musicological background who happen to be fans of classical literature. However, the way in which the topic has been approached has the advantage of making the content accessible to academics from various disciplines and subject areas and non-academics, including metal fans, with or without a background in classical literature. The volume makes a welcome contribution to a number of fields including classical studies, reception studies, popular musicology and metal music studies.