Metal umlaut explained

A metal umlaut (also known as röck döts)[1] is a diacritic that is sometimes used gratuitously or decoratively over letters in the names of mainly hard rock or heavy metal bands—for example, those of Blue Öyster Cult, Queensrÿche, Motörhead, the Accüsed, Mötley Crüe and the parody bands Spın̈al Tap and Green Jellÿ.

Usage

Among English speakers, the use of umlaut marks and other diacritics with a blackletter typeface is a form of foreign branding, which has been attributed to a desire for a "gothic horror" feel.[2] The metal umlaut is not generally intended to affect the pronunciation of the band's name, unlike the umlaut in German (where the letters u and ü, a and ä, as well as o and ö, represent distinct vowels) and the Scandinavian languages (where å/ä and a, ö/ø and o are distinct letters).

History

The first gratuitous use of the umlaut in the name of a hard rock or metal band appears to have been by Blue Öyster Cult in 1970. Blue Öyster Cult's website states it was added by guitarist and keyboardist Allen Lanier,[3] but rock critic Richard Meltzer claims to have suggested it to their producer and manager Sandy Pearlman just after Pearlman came up with the name: "I said, 'How about an umlaut over the O?' Metal had a Wagnerian aspect anyway."[4]

Reactions

Speakers of languages which use an umlaut to designate a pronunciation change may understand the intended effect, but perceive the result differently. When Mötley Crüe visited Germany, singer Vince Neil said the band couldn't figure out why "the crowds were chanting, 'Mutley Cruh! Mutley Cruh![5]

These decorative umlauts have been parodied in film and fiction; in an interview about the mockumentary film This Is Spın̈al Tap, fictional rocker David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) says, "It's like a pair of eyes. You're looking at the umlaut, and it's looking at you."[6] The heavy metal band Gwar parodied the use of metal umlauts in a lyric insert included with its first record, stylizing the song names with gratuitous diacritics.[7] In 1997, the satirical newspaper The Onion published an article titled "Ünited Stätes Toughens Image With Umlauts."[8]

Band or album name examples

English-speaking countries

Other countries

Other examples

Video games

Other

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Gray, R. . Great Brand Blunders: The Worst Marketing and Social Media Meltdowns of All Time...and How to Avoid Your Own . Hodder & Stoughton . 2014 . 978-1-78059-230-5 . May 10, 2024 . 164.
  2. Book: Garofalo, Rebee . Rockin' Out: Popular Music in the USA . Allyn & Bacon . 1997 . 0-205-13703-2 . 292 . Some groups, for example Blue Öyster Cult and Motörhead, added gratuitous umlauts to their names to conjure up a more generic gothic horror, a practice that continued into the 1980s with Mötley Crüe and others. . registration .
  3. Web site: BÖC Retrospectively: Stalk Forrest Group 1969–1970 . September 12, 2006 . blueoystercult.com.
  4. Web site: Hell Holes: Spin̈al Tap's main man explains the importance of the umlaut . September 12, 2006. Lisa Gidley . CMJ . 2000.
  5. News: Eric Spitznagel . Motley Crue's Vince Neil is Finally Bored With Boobs . November 27, 2009 . Vanity Fair .
  6. Web site: CMJ New Music Monthly. Oct 29, 2000. CMJ Network, Inc.. Oct 29, 2020. Google Books.
  7. Web site: Gwar - Hell-O!. Discogs. 1988 .
  8. Web site: Ünited Stätes Toughens Image With Umlauts. The Onion. 30 April 1997 .
  9. Web site: Booklet CD Eros . Soleil Zeuhl . 2000 . en, fr . 2024-04-10.
  10. Web site: 2022, Djerbä Francophonie summit 1v . PostBeeld . 1 September 2023 . 13 June 2024.