Musical Ecologies Heavy Metal in Rotterdam

Heavy Metal is a truly global phenomenon, one of the musical genres that has achieved long-lasting status. Although Heavy Metal and the Netherlands share a strong bond seen in the number of Dutch bands that have achieved critical and commercial acclaim worldwide (Berkers & Schaap, 2018), the gap of academic literature in this area is quite significant. Particularly concerning the musical cultures that can be located within cities. Besides the fact that the ecology approach that views music culture as musical ecosystems (Schippers & Grant, 2016) has had relevant developments within the academic field, the same type of studies focused on Heavy Metal have not been particularly popular. Next to this, studies on Heavy Metal music have been mainly focusing on the impacts of the music itself, particularly on minds in development such as teenagers, and on the notions and characteristics of the genre as a sub-culture. This project aimed to contribute to the academic discussion by developing new discoveries. We intended to discover if the Heavy Metal music culture of the Dutch city of Rotterdam could be assessed from a musical ecosystem perspective. Additionally, we have aimed to evaluate the conditions of said ecosystem, particularly in relation to sustainability. By conducting interviews with experts, actors within the musical culture of Heavy Metal (Venue directors, musicians, festival organizers, music journalists, community members), we found that there is indeed a presence of a Heavy Musical Ecosystem, however issues such as, limitations in infrastructure, few social gatherings, lack proper visibility, and mapping complicated our assessment on relation to sustainability. Besides this we found that because of the particular conditions of the Netherlands as a country and its efficient connectivity, the musical ecosystem could be understood more as translocal phenomenon than local. In that sense, members of the Heavy Metal community of Rotterdam can easily and through transport relocate to other cities where they could be witnessed to Heavy Metal events not offered in Rotterdam. We then advocated for future endeavors in the assessment of a Musical Ecosystem for Heavy Metal on a larger national scale to assess the Netherlands as a whole.