Under Construction @ Keele 2016 Volume 2 Issue 1 | Page 16

8 existence.13 Her lexicon suggests disgust, as is appropriate for black metal theory, since black metal is notorious for actively seeking out the grossness in life and death. From the microcosm of the worms to the macrocosmic dissemination enshrined by Stephanou's "Black Sun."14 Her utilisation of Bataille's 'solar anus' (from his 1931 text of the same name) states how the darkest hole of the sun attracts us to stare at it and 'be annihilated.'15 She highlights the notion that our beautiful, lifegiving sun, when placed under scrutiny can become dangerous and destructive. This metaphor offers a succinct portrayal of how melancology views the natural world: powerful forces to be respected and subjugated to, as opposed to dominated over. The twinned entities of flora and fauna hold the key to humanity's destruction and their proverbial fingers sit perilously close to the trigger, but in a twist of Lovecraftian proportions, they are seemingly apathetic to the situation. Both geo- and cosmocentric essays in this collection maintain the vocabulary of repugnance, furthering the confirmation of attachment of black metal to each of the central themes. Drawing philosophical influence from Bataille and Kierkergaard, amongst others, it is a delight to hear the ideas of such noted writers given equal audience alongside that of musicians such as the esoteric Satanist-influenced Blut Aus Nord. This exemplifies both the very nature of black metal theory as a multitudinous discipline and the wave of intellectualism that this section of the subculture is quickly becoming recognised for; considering its contemplations towards an ecological position. Throughout the text, melancology is s