Heavy Metal Armour: A Visual Study of Battle Jackets

Book excerpt: A lavishly illustrated study of the heavy metal battle jacket in a historical and cultural context. Since the 1970s, customized denim "battle jackets" have been worn by heavy metal fans to signify their devotion to the music and subcultures of metal. Embellished with patches, badges, and studs, these jackets are works of art that communicate the values of metal to the world at large. This book features a series of detailed paintings that visually document examples of jackets alongside photographic portraits of the fans that wear them. Reaching across a range of fields from art theory to ethnography and subcultural studies and informed by a series of interviews with metal fans, this book considers the significance of battle jackets in metal scenes and traces a lineage of customized clothing starting in the Middle Ages.