metal umlaut

metal umlaut (plural metal umlauts)

1. Synonym of heavy metal umlaut.
   • 2000 October, Lisa Gidley, “Hell Holes”, in Scott Frampton, editor, CMJ New Music Monthly, number 86, New York, N.Y.: CMJ, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 11:

     Metallurgists from Motörhead to Mötley Crüe have proven the eensy diacritic as iconic as Spandex, pyrotechnics and Aqua-Net. Spin̈al Tap’s David St. Hubbins explains the umlaut’s universal appeal: “It’s like a pair of eyes. You’re looking at the umlaut, and the umlaut is looking at you.” But unlike the legitimate ’louts gracing the names of Björk or Hüsker Dü, the metal umlaut doesn’t have any phonetic purpose, simply serving as shorthand for “We rawk!” and making confused Germans shout “Mo-ET-ley Cru-UH!”

   • 2006, Björn Türoque with Dan Crane, “Björn Is Born”, in To Air Is Human: One Man’s Quest to Become the World’s Greatest Air Guitarist, New York, N.Y.: Riverhead Books, →ISBN, part 1 (Welcome to the Jungle), footnote 5, page 16:

     Even Hüsker Dü’s umlauts were gratuitous. They named themselves after a Danish game called Husker Du, which means “Do you remember?” but added metal umlauts to make it look edgier.

   • 2014, Rob Gray, “Lost in translation: Causing cross-cultural confusion and international offence”, in Great Brand Blunders: The Worst Marketing and Social Media Meltdowns of All Time … and How to Avoid Your Own, Bath, Somerset: Crimson Publishing, →ISBN, page 201:

     Blue Öyster Cult, Motörhead, Mötley Crüe and Queensrÿche are among the leading exponents of the metal umlaut – which sounds as if it should be a traditional typesetting term.