Page - 68 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 06/02

68 | Lavinia Pflugfelder www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/2, 65–85 textualization, while at the same time the “delimited” elements remain globally mobile and communicable. The possible return to previous embed- dings of the motif or element offers authority through the construction of a line of continuity, and hence tradition: “Post-modern, eclectic bricolage has taken hold even among members of mainstream religions, so why should we expect those outside organized religion to be different?”, asks Asbjørn Dyrendal.10 The “de-limitation” of religious concepts and images can also take place strategically as “de-traditionalization” and forms of disembedding and re-embedding.11 Any disembedding can release single elements from certain constraints and free them up for use. This is necessary if these restrictions could prevent embedding, such as a lack of a sense of authority over these elements. Véronique Altglas uses examples from new religious movements (NRM) to demonstrate how contemporary religious bricolage is still organ- ized by pre-constraints. Social status, knowledge and power structures all determine the coherence (pattern) and the availability of elements for bri- colage.12 Shared knowledge of the visual language in heavy metal creates an in-feel- ing, while the demand for authenticity requires innovation. Moreover, bal- ance is kept between authenticity-generating transgression and marketabili- ty, reinvention and tradition. While transgression is key for heavy metal, too much “realness” is counterproductive and acceptance of authentic inauthen- ticity is necessary.13 For example, a member of the German metal band Ketzer distanced themselves in an interview from rituals onstage, referring to them as “overloaded Kabuki”.14 The genre in which bands are writing or performing constrains their aes- thetic decisions, as does the greater community and world. Likewise, each aesthetic decision made by a band is a creative repetition of the intersubjec- tive understanding of the scene.15 Therefore, despite the great differentia- tion within the heavy metal genre, this milieu is constituted as a subculture that has emerged with music as a centre, without ideological obligation or 10 Dyrendal 2008, 74. 11 Petersen 2009, 11. 12 Altglas 2014, 479–487. 13 Watts/Fisher 2017. 14 Esteban 2019. 15 Unger 2016, 62.