Religiösa uttryck i metal : En analys av religiösa uttryck i låttexter och albumomslag från två jämförelsebara musikalbum av metalcorebandet Bring Me the Horizon

Sammanfattning: This analysis of material from two of metal band Bring Me the Horizon’s music albums aims to investigate religious expressions and references, how the band’s view on religion can be interpreted from that, and to what extent it can be seen as expressions of the band’s religiosity. The perspective of the analysis stands in relation to theories on post secularity, and the method used is content analysis which mainly functions to interpret meaning. The results show that the theory of post secularity leading to people expressing their (religious) thoughts and feelings in alternative ways seems to make sense. The band's art can be understood as a field where both the artists and fans (regardless of religious orientation) can express their emotions and reflect on religion or other topics in relation to religion. Religion constitutes both theme and object for critique in the song lyrics. Apart from that it could also be the product of the songwriter’s processing of his own religiosity and the lyrics could therefore be an expression of that. The songwriter’s critique against religion seems to be sparking his willingness to use it for his art while, consequently, when he becomes less critical he seems to write less about religion. The two albums partly cover different topics (the earlier seems to be more religiously oriented and the later more politically oriented) though both include the topic of bad mental health which is being discussed in parallel to religious expressions and references. The shift of focus between the albums seems to be due to both global changes and the songwriter’s personal experiences.