En tung historia : En undersökning om metalbandet Sabatons historiebruk.

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this paper has been to examine the heavy metal band Sabatons use of history and to relate it to societal trends in today’s Sweden. I have examined Sabatons music, album covers and music videos in order to define a certain use of history. To do this I have used a use of history theory and a heavy metal theory. My results showed that some of Sabatons use of history could be defined as commercial and that the societal trends in today`s Sweden have in some cases affected the selection and presentation of events and characters that`s been portrayed by Sabaton. Earlier use of history in other forms of media, especially movies, has also played a part in the selection and presentation, which becomes particularly obvious in some of Sabatons music videos. However, an overall theme in my results have shown that the heavy metal cultures norms and ideas have been the main cause behind the selection, but especially the way characters and events is portrayed in their songs, an existential use of history.