BTF IV includes specially commissioned essays, interviews and illustrations, by animists, philosophers, artists and musicians, including: an essay on panpsychism as a possible answer to the climate crisis; a philosophical-historical overview of the relationship between black metal and the forest; a magical-realist account of a sylvan trip gone wrong; an in-depth interview with Rune from Nordic Animism, whose project looks to Scandinavian folklore and customs for “hidden animist knowledge” and more respectful ways of living with other subjectivities.
The symbolism of the primstav (a calendar staff used by the agricultural societies of old Scandinavia), runs through the issue. Its seasonally-based, cyclical view of time hints towards a worldview which was embedded in its environment, and which placed man as part of - and at the mercy of- nature, rather than above it.
PUBLISHED BY:
Becoming the Forest
'Treading the arboreal pathway through the backwoods of black metal'
Becoming the Forest is an arts and music publication which looks at the relationship we have to our surroundings. It is part of a long running arts project by Úna Hamilton Helle which is inspired by how the Northern hemisphere’s dense spruce forests defined the aesthetic and philosophy of the musical subculture of black metal. Since its inception in the late 80’s, the genre has become entangled with this topography through its imagery, mythology and lyrics. Its focus on the natural world, heritage and atmosphere forms the starting point for an exploration in zine form that stretches beyond the musical genre, resulting in a project that wishes to both highlight and counter the anthropocentric interpretation of the world.
