A metal umlaut is an umlaut that is sometimes used gratuitously or decoratively over letters in the names of heavy metal bands, such as in Mötley Crüe or Motörhead. Among English speakers, the use of umlauts and other diacritics with a blackletter style typeface is a form of foreign branding intended to give a band's logo a Teutonic quality. It is a form of marketing that evokes stereotypes of boldness and strength commonly attributed to peoples such as the Vikings; author Reebee Garofalo has attributed its use to a desire for a "Gothic horror" feel.[1] The metal umlaut is never referred to by the term diaeresis in this usage, nor is it generally intended to affect the pronunciation of the band's name.
These decorative umlauts have been parodied in film and fiction. In the mockumentary film This Is Spın̈al Tap(spelled with an umlaut over the n), 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." In 2002, Spin magazine referred to the metal umlaut as "the diacritical mark of the beast."[citation needed]
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