42

This article aims to study the metal music DVD as a mediation device. The communicational approach allows the analysis of the modalities for creating the sense of “being together” ( être-ensemble), which is so important to metal fans, even when the DVD is watched alone in private. This mediation is created primarily in three different ways, which are constructed at three levels: enunciation, textuality, and representations transmitted by the films. Thus, while Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Motorhead base the relationship with their audience on revealing the band members’ private moments (using techniques that closely resemble those used in reality TV), Slipknot or Down prefer to immerse the spectator in the ambiance (and discomfort) of the concert, while exploiting the most “rebellious” codes and images of metal.