Metal Animals
While creating a playlist, I noticed how these animals appeared repeatedly, which intrigued me, and I felt compelled to write about this subject: Why are ravens, wolves, dragons, and a few other animals so often represented in Metal songs and even band names?
I feel drawn to Ravens and Wolves, just as many of my friends are attracted to some of these same animals.
This got me thinking: Why? Why dragons, ravens and wolves, serpents?
I started thinking about these animals and what they represent.
I concluded that our community is assembled and based around way more than music but is united by it.
I am thinking about archetypes and symbolism here. What do they represent? The animals repeated in songs populate our subconscious.
In addition to archetypes and symbolism, there is also a third element: mythology, a body of stories associated with a culture based on legends, mythical creatures, symbols, and archetypes.
A more pragmatic approach when it comes to Folk/Viking and Pagan Black Metal is that these animals are the animals they were familiar with, lived with and were found in their lands.
When Amon Amarth sings about the Raven, all these elements are combined: ravens were part of Viking life and an important reference in Norse mythology, and therefore, this extra part on what the Raven represents for us Metalheads.
And yes, they are “cool” animals and easy picks, of course. However, other music styles talk about different sorts of animals: rats, bunnies, dogs (“bitches”), and other symbols that are not necessarily only animals, but all these references represent what people who love a specific sort of music have imprinted in their minds.
I want to use a Jungian approach to what these animals represent in our collective subconscious. To our community. The term Metalheads seen as an Identity AND a community
Dragons, Ravens and wolves were used to create lyrics, album titles, and band names; therefore, they are a common factor and present in our subconscious.
When I think about the “Metal world”, I have a mental image of a “fantasy world” with many areas.
They evoke specific human feelings, sentiments, values, behaviours and actions.
On Thrash, most themes are political, war, or violence-related. It is about real matters and facts focusing on the world and our reality.
Power, Symphonic Metal is a world tuned into fantasy and adventure, with a zest for drama, heroic actions, suffering, and war.
Death Metal has a “gore shocking” component, like cultivating the most terrible human feelings and actions, like murder and socio/psychopathic behaviour, diseases and the fragile human condition leading to death, the depths of the human mind and even philosophy.
On Black Metal, we add a spiritual element with cults, rituals, religion, Occultism, Satanism, demons and angels to the gore and brutality of Death Metal and the fantasy vision of the world from Power.
On NU, Industrial, and Progressive Metal, we talk a lot about Human interactions, relationships, love, lust, and sex, but also self-consciousness, self-questioning, self-deprecation, and suicide. As a consequence of the focus on human interactions, NU, IND has an irreverent tone and a touch of humour, irony, and sarcasm.
What sort of archetypes and symbols do Metalheads identify with?
What do the Dragon, the Raven, the Black Goat, the Serpent and the Wolf represent:
Dragons
As a myth, Dragons fit perfectly in the Power Metal fantasy world.
The dragon is a mythical creature around the world. It is perhaps one of our oldest legends, inhabiting our subconscious since the beginning of time. If you combine the three primary predators primates faced—snakes, large cats, and raptors, you will get something that looks much like a dragon.
The archetype of the Dragon is associated with mystery, fantasy, adventure, power and wisdom, and it is often used in Power Metal songs.
The Dragon is the animal Number 1 in Metal.
The Wolf
The Wolf is the second most represented Metal animal. The wolf archetype represents loyalty, family, communication, wisdom, teaching, intelligence, bravery, and a radical all-or-nothing attitude since wolves prey on much larger creatures.
In nature, Wolves are pack animals with excellent communication and body language skills needed for hunting and protection. The “lone wolf” archetype also represents individuals who may belong to a community but are introverts or loners.
This fits perfectly with the Metalhead sense of community, which is quite strong and disassociated with race and culture, unlike other genres of music that are culture-ethnic-oriented.
We are a community apart; even if there may be some disagreements, they are often music-oriented and not culture- or ethnic-related.
One final feature that made this identification with wolves strong is that wolves can’t be tamed and stay true to their nature, which is also a trait that most Metalheads will identify with.
We like what we like, want what we want, and are proud of our choices even when they don’t fit easily in what civilians consider ” normal “.
The Raven
We also have the Raven, a plain black bird that is extremely clever and cunning.
Crows and ravens’ beauty is in the eye of the beholder. They aren’t as pretty as a parrot or any other exotic bird, but they are dark, mysterious, and wise.
Many of our songs present a plain-looking, dark, yet somehow fascinating blackbird.
In the Metal world, talent and skill trump aesthetics; even if charisma helps, I dare say that physical looks are secondary.
They are also seen as “tricksters” and mystical dark creatures that you could associate with the darker depths of the human psyche.
Finally, they are associated with challenging living conditions and survival.
Ravens capture our imaginations to such a degree that you might even call them iconic figures. Yet they don’t need to be particularly pretty to hold attention; their talents are enough.
The Serpent
Serpents are archetypes of transformation, immortality, and deep healing. They’re among the most revered ancient mythological symbols known to humankind.
It is a complex archetype that can be seen in different ways. For example, in Pagan culture, It is the mother of the Waters. The archetype of the healer throughout many cultures teaches us to shed our personal past the way she sheds her skin, to walk softly on the earth. A quiet and profound presence, moving slowly and graciously on the earth.Primary life force and pure wisdom who dives deep and knows the way into the deepest places inside ourselves – Snakes have been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to humankind and represent dual expression of good and evil.
Christianity also sees the serpent as a “temptation” leading to sin and betrayal. It identifies the talking serpent from the Old Testament’s “Garden of Eden” (who gave Eve the apple from the Tree of Knowledge) with a reptilian-like being, or “Satan”.
This archetype is vastly used in Pagan/ Folk/Power Metal in all these variations mentioned above: Sometimes as the incarnation of temptation leading to sin and indulging, sometimes as seen as wisdom symbol and guardians of temples.
In our community, we indulge in and accept all sorts of excesses, starting with the most simple and obvious: enjoying loud music. We have a taste for indulging in sinful ways and biting the apple with all our teeth.
There is also the serpent, “Mother of Waters,” symbolising duality and wisdom in folk pagan music, and we do appreciate what is “mystical and beyond this world.” The serpent fits and it slides from dream to reality and it is represented often in many Metal compositions.
Black Goat
In Christianity, the goat “symbolizes those damned in the last judgment and is shown to distinguish sinners from the righteous”.The scapegoat is Christ, burdened by the sins of the world.
The goat is also a familiar of witches and a form of the devil.
The Black Goat may represent Satan in the form of the satyr, a half-man, half-goat. In folklore, the satyr symbolized a man with excessive sexual appetites. The Black Goat may also be a female, earthly form of Shub-Niggurath, an incarnation she assumes to copulate with her worshipers.
Baphomet is an invented pagan or gnostic idol or deity that the Knights Templar were accused of worshipping, and that subsequently became incorporated into various occult and Western esoteric traditions.
The name Baphomet appeared in trial transcripts for the Inquisition of the Knights Templar, which started in 1307. A being with the head of a black goat represents Baphomet, and its head is the logo of the band Venom, considered the very first Black Metal band.
Baphomet is imagined as a “Sabbatic goat”, a hermaphroditic winged human figure with the head and feet of a goat adorned with numerous esoteric symbols.
We also have other reptiles, which represent adaptability, wisdom, and cold blood (lack of emotion); eagles, which represent freedom; and the Phoenix, a powerful, mystical creature that represents rebirth; and bears, boars, and tigers, which represent pure strength and also a wild ferocious trait.
To resume, we could say, “Birds of a feather flock together”. “Our feathers” are particularly interesting, and they are Raven Black.
We have a natural sense of community that is not culture-ethnically oriented, and we can feel this in any proper Metal festival.
We are not the easy-to-tame kind and are rather proud of our choices.
The Black goat represents our acceptance of the dark, whether within or external and also acceptance of our primal impulses and instincts. The Dragon represents creativity and a powerful, rich inner world.
What is your favorite Metal animal?
Here is an extensive list of many songs featuring these animals. I also created a Dragons, Raven, and Wolf Playlist on Spotify. I hope you enjoyed the reading and the songs.
Raven and Crows
When Crows Tick on Windows, Crach Angren
Murder of Crows, Semblant
The Raven, Rotting Christ
Raven of my Funeral, Mutiilation
Raven’s Cr of Despair, Scythe of Sorrow (Album)
Too many Raven songs! Click to see our Spotify Playlist.
Repas de Corbeaux, Pensées Nocturnes
Raven Wing, Iced Earth
Raven of Dispersion, Therion
The Eclipse- The Raven, Carpathian Forest
L’Envol des corbeaux, Les Discrets
Band name Raven
Those Damn Crows
See playlist
Baphomet’s Throne, Samael
Baphomet, Belphegor
Baphomet’s Altar, Black Sanctuary
Baphomet, Dark Fortress
Baphomet, Angel Witch
Obey Baphomet, Black Death
Goatwhore
Scorpion
The Shooting Star, Gojira
Scorpions
Snake /Serpent
Law of The Serpent, Coronation of The Serpent, Rotting Christ
Eight-Headed Serpent, Impaled Nazarene
The Serepnts’s Chalice, Watain
Suivant L’antique Srpent, Daedalion
Serpens Caput, Agalloch
Snake Eyes, Sworn In
Smoking Snakes, Sabaton
Year Of The Snake, Chimaira
The Serpent’s Kiss, Cemetary
Serpent”s Embeace, Agathodaimon
Snakes, Solence
Serpent Sermon, Marduk
The Serpents head, Dodsengel
Reptile, Dimmu Borgir
Love me like a Reptile, Motorhead
Reptile, NIN
Band name
Thy Serpent (Finish Black Metal)
Phoenix
Phoenix Rising, Annihilator
Phoenix, Satyricon
Phoenix, White Ward
Wolf Moon, Type O
Wolf, Iced Earth
She Wolf, Megadeth
In the Year of the Wolf, Motorhead
The Howling, Within Temptation
To The Wolves At My Door, Soulfallen
Howl of the Wolf, Double Dealer
The Wolves of Fenris, Lorcan Ward
Legend of the Ice Wolf, Spellblast
Beware The Wolf, Exhorder
Bark at the moon, Ozzy
Night of the Wolf, Saxon
Louve, Moonaadem
Wolves of Siberia, Behemoth
Unchain the wolves, Lone wolf winter, Destroyer 666
The Wolf You Feed, Alyssa White Gluz and Nita Strauss
A Dream of Wolves in the Snow; Cradle of Filth
Of Wolf and Man Metallica
A Wolf Cries in Anger, Satanic Warmaster
Werewolves of Armenia, Where The Wild Wolves Have Gone, Lupus Dei, Powewolf
Thrown to the wolf, Death Angel
Wolf’s Blood, Misfits
Wolf’s Blood, Pentagram
Lycanthropy, Six Feet Under
Wolf’s Trail, SatanaKozel
The Wolf is Lose, Mastodon
Wolf Bands
Wolf at the throne room
Wolfheart
Powerwolf
Wolfchant
Lair of the dragon, Wolf and Raven
Black Dragon Dissection
Apophis Black Dragon, Belphegor
Blck Dragon, Luca Turilli
Black Dragon”s Tale, Samorra Shadow
Dragon Mistress, Marty Friedman
The Dragon Lies Bleeding, Hammerfall
Power of the Dragon Flame, Rhapsody of Fire
Dragon Reborn, Black Majesty
Fight the Dragon for the Village, Manowar
In the Dragon’s Den, Symphony X
Dragonborn and many Dragon songs, Twilight Force
Dragons Awakening, Heroes of Forgotten Kingdoms
In the Court of The Dragon by Trivium, many Dragon songs like Becoming the Dragon, Feast of Fire
Tears Of The Dragon, Bruce Dickinson
Dragon’s Tale, Dracovallis
Dragons of the North, Einherjer
Rise Of The Dragon Empire, War of Dragons and Tears of a Dragon Heart Bloodbound
Flying Sea Dragon, Persephone
Dragon Bands
Dragon
Dragonforce
Dragoncorpse
Dragonlord
Eagle
Eagle Fly Free, Helloween
The Eagle Flies Alone, Arch Enemy
Bears
The Shooting Star, Gojira talks about Bears, SCorpions and tigers lol
Tigers
Tigers of Pan Tang
Lions
The Lon’s Roar, Cynic
Jackal
When the Jackal Come