Technology that inspires: Cannon fever live in Zurich (August 5, 2024)
War is often played in metal: Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson waves the Union flag in uniform and sings about the “trooper” before going even deeper into the story, all the way to the conqueror Alexander the Great. Sabaton do nothing other than set the craft of war and battles to music. Even Heaven Shall Burn, itself a left-wing liberal, sings about a battleship of the Nazi fascist navy with “Tirpitz”. And thanks to Nargaroth we also know: “Black metal is war”. Ratatata!
Why all this? Maybe because both metal and war operate with heavy equipment and require precision. How war is waged corresponds to the state of the productive forces. The First World War would not have been a battle of trenches and attrition if the arms industry had been at a different level. Metal is also the result of a historical moment: electrified guitars, connected to the amplifier, with enough boom and with distortions that gave the power chords their powerful sounds.
“The electric guitar is the greatest instrument on earth,” says Kip, one of the main characters in John Wray’s novel “Among Wolves” (2024) about the metal scenes of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The joy of living at the right time: “The fact that we are able to experience this is incredibly lucky.”
Technology that inspires: Millions celebrated the start of the war in 1914 with similar enthusiasm before disillusionment set in, but the slaughter lasted for four years.
Euphoria, hardship, despair and madness – the Bamberg metal project Kanonenfieber has been negotiating the First World War since 2020. The head and singer of “Noise” sought advice from a barefoot historian and produced their debut album “menschenmühle” themselves in 2021. It’s supposed to be “Blackened Death Metal”, but it’s Death with a melodic touch.
The stage show, with Reichswehr uniforms and artificial snow, may certainly attract one or two Germano enthusiasts – but in terms of content, cannon fever smuggles anti-war propaganda into the double-footed steel storm. “Trench songs / When it snows blood / Death and fear / At Christmas time” – the decomposition of military strength in the song “Trench songs” and always included in others is a homoeroticism that tears holes in the masculine warrior image: “No Christmas tree and no family / Only men cower in the dugout. « Especially since fraternization in the face of miserable death, as in the acoustic finale of the debut, “Buried and Unpraised”: “We are in suffering same / eyes dull, faces pale / I lie dead in no man’s land / hand in hand with the enemy.”
This was followed by three EPs and a quick shot in the service of freedom and democracy after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which wasn’t just about the English language. A relative calm that Noise and Co. used for the anti-religious project Non Est Deus, which has existed since 2017 and released two albums with “Impious” (2022) and “Legacy” (2023).
Now the misfortune has happened: Kanonenfieber have signed with Sony subcontractor Century Media Records. “The Urkatastrophe”, as the title of the new album is, is exactly that for many in the metal forums of the Internet battlefield. Because whether you think the recruitment by major labels is an all too common move in the industry is good or bad, the commercialization will then become one but pressed too hard into the ear. Sure, cannon fever never had much to do with black metal or with niches where you’re only considered “authentic” if you record your string abuse on your childhood cassette recorder.
Kanonenfieber have now completely retooled and are making hall and festival metal that has become indistinguishable from Heaven Shall Burns for long stretches. The content also changes as a result: antimilitarism, which admittedly often struggles with fate rather than circumstances, is pushed to the back burner. The fact that the claustrophobic song “The Mole” is also about front-line suicide is lost when you build songs with a Santiano-like group shout as a refrain in the hope that the live audience will bellow “Dig and keep digging” along. Phenomenology also becomes apologetics: “Storm Squad”, “God with the Cavalry”, “Tank Executioner” and “Knights of the Skies” ennoble the division of labor at the front through narration and pathos that is only disturbed by undertones. And “Brothers in Arms” is probably already playing up and down the barracks as a bro anthem.
“Men’s Mill”, the title track of the first album, refers to the senselessness of the slaughter of nations. “Germany, Germany, Empire / war addiction and delusional illness” it says, flanked by the roar that has haunted us since “Babylon Berlin” and kills our last nerve. All the somnambulistic theses and catastrophe images, according to which there are no people responsible for the killing and murder, a bit of materialism penetrates the deconstruction here: “Trenches, wire entanglements / war bonds, weapons construction / meat grinder, mud grave, loss of men / annexation, land development / human mill, mass grave / steel factories, Workplace / Emperor moves and pawn dies / Chessboard world brings about war.«
But even if one wished for “never again war” with “Stop the War”, the fate of war as an ineradicable scourge of humanity seems to have something against it. Appropriately enough, during the “Bleeding Battle” over Verdun, the SPD centrist Gustav Scheidemann, who lives up to his name, speaks in the original sound, who supported the war (today he would say: “But with a stomach ache!”), which then only becomes true violent and long. Karl Liebknecht would have been allowed to have his say, but without war you can’t write new songs about it.
It’s actually only logical that “The Urcatastrophe” also ends with an acoustic piece (“When the weapons came”) that is far smoother than “Buried and Unfamed.” With fiddles in the background, John Lennon-style imaginations are created about what would happen if everyone – including the warmongers – switched to pacifism. “And only when the weapons came / Did the enemy get his name / And if no one held the weapon / There would be no enemies in the world.” Yes, for the time being, and if he is unarmed, then he hits and chokes just you.
In what ways can metal artists maintain their authenticity and anti-establishment messages while adapting to the commercial pressures of major record labels?
1. The article explores the relationship between metal music and war themes, and how metal bands like Cannon Fever, use their music to express anti-war sentiments while also addressing the history of war in their lyrics. How do you think metal music can be used as a tool for anti-war propaganda, and what role does it play in today’s society?
2. The article discusses the commercialization of Cannon Fever’s music as they sign with a major label, and how this change affects their content and sound. Do you think it’s possible for artists to maintain their anti-establishment stance and artistic integrity while working with major labels? How can they navigate this balance?
3. The article mentions the historical context of metal music, specifically the invention of the electric guitar which influenced its powerful sound. How does this connection to history contribute to metal’s popularity and message, and do you think it resonates differently with different generations of listeners?
4. The article mentions the appropriation of war imagery and language by metal bands, such as “No Man’s Land” and “Tank Executioner”. How do you think metal artists navigate the line between appropriation and glorification of violence in their lyrics, and what responsibility do they have in shaping public perceptions of war?
5. The article ends on a note of pessimism about the potential for peace, suggesting that the violence and atrocities of war may always remain. How can music, specifically metal, contribute to discussions about peace and nonviolence, and what role does it play in promoting social change?
