Phil Freeman on the role of ritual in metal
There's going through the motions (which can be fine, there are sets of expectations and marks to hit; being a wrestling fan I do that all the time when I suspend my disbelief) and there's spirituality and transcendence (Swans, Boredoms, Sunn O))), etc) and then there's ritual. And Freeman (my editor at Burning Ambulance) argues that actual, religiously inspired ritual is a rare thing in music, particularly in metal. #link