View source for Metal umlaut

{{short description|Gratuitous diacritic used in the names of some rock bands}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{too many examples|date=September 2025}}
[[File:MötleyCrüe Star.jpg|thumb|[[Mötley Crüe]]'s [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] star, which shows the two metal [[Umlaut (diacritic)|umlauts]] used in the band's name.]]
A '''metal umlaut''' (also known as '''röck döts''')<ref>{{cite book | last=Gray | first=R. | title=Great Brand Blunders: The Worst Marketing and Social Media Meltdowns of All Time...and How to Avoid Your Own | publisher=Hodder & Stoughton | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-78059-230-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FtLnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT164 | access-date=May 10, 2024 | page=164}}</ref> is a [[diacritic]] that is sometimes used gratuitously or decoratively over letters in the names of mainly [[hard rock]] or [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] bands—for example, those of [[Blue Öyster Cult]], [[Queensrÿche]], [[Motörhead]], [[the Accüsed]], [[Mötley Crüe]], [[Hüsker Dü]], and the parody bands [[Spinal Tap (band)|Spın̈al Tap]] and [[Green Jellÿ]].

==Usage==
Among English speakers, the use of [[Umlaut (diacritic)|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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Garofalo |first=Rebee |title=Rockin' Out: Popular Music in the USA |publisher=Allyn & Bacon |year=1997 |isbn=0-205-13703-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/rockinoutpopular00garo_0/page/292 292] |quote=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. |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/rockinoutpopular00garo_0/page/292 }}</ref> 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]],<ref name="Blue_Öyster_1">{{cite web |url=http://www.blueoystercult.com/History/history3.html |title=BÖC Retrospectively: Stalk Forrest Group 1969–1970 |access-date=September 12, 2006 |work=blueoystercult.com}}{{dead link|date=September 2025}}</ref> 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 [[Richard Wagner|Wagnerian]] aspect anyway."<ref name="Sandy_Pearlman">{{cite web | url=http://www.spiraling.com/words/umlaut.html |title=Hell Holes: Spin̈al Tap's main man explains the importance of the umlaut |access-date=September 12, 2006 |author=Lisa Gidley |publisher=CMJ |year=2000}}</ref>

==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!{{'"}}<ref name=boobs>{{cite news |author=Eric Spitznagel |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2009/11/motley-crues-vince-neil-is-finally-bored-with-boobs |date=November 27, 2009 |magazine=Vanity Fair |title= Motley Crue's Vince Neil is Finally Bored With Boobs |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

These decorative umlauts have been parodied in film and fiction; in an interview about the [[mockumentary]] film ''[[This Is Spinal Tap|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."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zioEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22looking+at+the+umlaut%22&pg=PA11|title=CMJ New Music Monthly|date=Oct 29, 2000|publisher=CMJ Network, Inc.|access-date=Oct 29, 2020|via=Google Books}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Gwar-Hell-O/release/1973195|title=Gwar - Hell-O!|website=Discogs|date=1988 }}</ref> In 1997, the satirical newspaper ''[[The Onion]]'' published an article titled "Ünited Stätes Toughens Image With Umlauts."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theonion.com/united-states-toughens-image-with-umlauts-1819564308|title=Ünited Stätes Toughens Image With Umlauts|website=The Onion|date=30 April 1997 }}</ref>

==Band or album name examples==
===English-speaking countries===
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* [[The Accüsed]] – American [[Crossover thrash|сrossover thrash]] band.
* [[Assück]] – American [[grindcore]] band.
* [[Barbariön]] – Australian metal band.
* [[Beowülf]] – California thrash metal band.
* [[Blue Öyster Cult]] – American [[hard rock]] band.
* [[The Crüxshadows]] – American [[alternative rock]] band.
* [[Dälek]] – American hip-hop band.
* [[Daniel Amos]] – American [[Christian alternative rock]] band released their ninth album in 1991 titled ''[[Kalhöun]]'' with band's name contracted to dä.
* [[Death in June]] – British dark folk/experimental band used umlauts and accented "e"s in their name and titles on the original releases of their albums ''The Wörld Thät Sümmer'' (1985) and ''Thé Wäll Öf Säcrificé'' (1989), spelling their name, Deäth In Jüne and Déäth In Jüné, respectively on each.
* [[Deströyer 666]] – [[thrash metal]]/[[black metal]] band.
* [[Dethklok]] – fictional metal band from the cartoon ''Metalocalypse'', sometimes spelled as "Dëthkløk" in the band's logo.
* [[Green Jellÿ]] – comedy metal band, originally spelled (and still pronounced) Green Jellö.
* [[Grotus|G̈r̈oẗus̈]] – Experimental band, their logo design has umlaut marks over only the consonants.
* [[Hüsker Dü]] – American [[punk rock|punk]] band (the game "[[Hūsker Dū?]]" was published with [[Macron (diacritic)|macron]]s instead of umlauts).
* [[Infernäl Mäjesty]] – Canadian thrash metal band.
* [[Jack Ü]] – American [[Electronic dance music|EDM]] DJ duo, side group and collaborative project, consisting of [[Mad Decent]] founder [[Diplo]] and [[Owsla]] founder [[Skrillex]].
* [[Kïll Cheerleadër]] – Canadian punk metal band.
* [[King Creosote]] – Scottish band sometimes used a three-dot "umlaut" in some of their artwork, over the "i."
* [[Lȧȧz Rockit]] – American thrash band. German pronunciation would roughly be "Let's rock it."
* ''[[Läther]]'' – album by [[Frank Zappa]], used an umlaut in its title.
* [[Leftöver Crack]] – American [[anarcho punk]] band.
* [[Living Colour]]'s stylized logo has an umlaut over the ''u''.
* ''[[Love_(Aaron_Carter_EP)|Løvë]]'' – [[Aaron Carter]] EP
* [[Maxïmo Park]] – British indie rock band.
* [[Mïngle Härde]] – British [[hardcore punk]]/[[noise rock]] band.
* [[Mötley Crüe]] – American [[glam metal]] band.
* [[Motörhead]] – English rock band.
* [[Moxy Früvous]] – Canadian political satire band.
* ''[[Night on Bröcken]]'' – debut album by American progressive metal band [[Fates Warning]]. Apparently a reference to the German mountain [[Brocken]], which is not spelled with an umlaut.
* [[Queensrÿche]] – American progressive metal band.
* ''[[Rrröööaaarrr]]'' and ''[[Dimension Hatröss]]'' – albums by Canadian thrash metal band [[Voivod (band)|Voivod]]. They also used it for their songs "Korgüll the Exterminator" and "Chaosmöngers", which appear on ''Rrröööaaarrr'' and ''Dimension Hatröss'' respectively. The band's name is also occasionally spelled "Voïvod" such as on the cover of the album [[Phobos (album)|Phobos]].
* [[Rusted Root|Ruste⃛d Root]] – American [[jam band]] uses a [[Combining Diacritical Marks for Symbols|three-dot umlaut]] over the "e" in its logo, as seen on its album covers.
* [[Spinal Tap (band)|Spın̈al Tap]] – British semi-fictional band, with a [[Dotless i|dotless letter ''i'']] and a [[n-diaeresis|metal umlaut over the ''n'']].
* [[Stöner]] – American [[stoner rock]] band.
* [[Toilet Böys]] – American laser punk band from New York City.
* [[Ünloco]] – American [[nu metal]] band.
* ''[[Up 2 Më]]'' – album of [[Yeat]], used an umlaut in its title.
* [[Yachtley Crew | Yächtley Crëw]] – [[Yacht rock|Yacht-rock]] band from Los Angeles
* [[Znowhite|Znöwhite]] – American thrash band.
* ''[[2 Alivë]]'' – album of [[Yeat]], used an umlaut in its title.

===Other countries===
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* [[Aquarium (band)|Аквариум]] – Russian rock band, whose name is stylized as "Åквариум" on their logo, and they use "Å" as their symbol.
* [[Die Ärzte#Band_name|Die Ärzte]] – German band, correctly spelled with an "ä", whose logo features a triple dot over "a" instead of the correct two dots.
* [[Crashdïet]] – Swedish glam metal band.
* [[Dün (band)|Dün]] – French progressive rock and [[zeuhl]] band.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Booklet CD Eros |url=https://musicbrainz.org/release/83c5c266-ed14-425d-ac9d-1b5613d33291/cover-art |publisher=Soleil Zeuhl |date=2000 |language=en, fr |access-date=2024-04-10}}</ref>
* [[Girugamesh|Girugämesh]] – Japanese rock band often stylise their name with an umlaut over the a.
* [[Infernal (Danish band)|Infernal]] – Danish electronic band, was stylized as ''Infërnal'' on their album ''[[Waiting for Daylight (Infernal album)|Waiting for Daylight]]''.
* [[Insidiöus Törment]] – Liechtenstein-based old school heavy metal band who use gratuitous umlauts, but pronounce them nonetheless.
* [[Kobaïan]] – French [[progressive rock]] band [[Magma (band)|Magma]] sings in this [[constructed language]], which has many diacritic symbols in its written form. 
* [[Közi]] – Japanese rock musician.
* [[Mägo de Oz]] – Spanish folk metal band.
* [[Moottörin Jyrinä]] – Finnish heavy metal band, the umlaut in ''Moottörin'' is gratuitous, but the one in ''Jyrinä'' is not.
* [[Motör Militia]] – Bahraini thrash metal band.
* [[Mütiilation]] – French black metal band.
* [[Püdelsi]] – Polish rock band.
* [[Röyksopp]] - Norwegian electronic duo (the correct Norwegian would be "Røyksopp")
* [[Törr]] – Czech black metal band.

==Other examples==
===Video games===
* ''[[Brütal Legend]]'' – action-adventure video game
* ''[[Dynamite Düx]]'' – a beat 'em up video game
* Lars Ümlaüt – a character in the ''[[Guitar Hero]]'' series
* ''[[DieselStörmers]]'' – a crowdfunded in 2014 pre-released [[steampunk]] multiplayer [[platformer]]
* ''[[Crüe Ball]]'' – a Pinball game featuring the music of [[Mötley Crüe]]

===Other===
* [[Häagen-Dazs]] – an ice cream brand (introduced 1961)
* [[Stüssy]] - the skateboard / punk / streetware brand started by Shawn Stussy (introduced 1984)
* [[Cröonchy Stars]] – a discontinued breakfast cereal (introduced 1988)
* [[Scab (band)|Scäb]] - the name of a fictional band in the 1999 animated sitcom [[Home Movies (TV series)|Home Movies]]
* [[Tonfön]] – the Tongan telephone company (introduced 2002)
* ''[[Brüno]]'' – film by [[Sacha Baron Cohen]] (2009)
* [[Jason Derulo]] stylised his stage name as "Jason Derülo" on his 2010 debut album and its promotion
* Löded Diper – name of the fictional band that [[List of Diary of a Wimpy Kid characters#Rodrick Heffley|Rodrick Heffley]] plays in the ''[[Diary of a Wimpy Kid]]'' book series
* Deathtöngue – the original name of a metal band in the comic ''[[Bloom County]]'' (changed, after media publicity, to "Billy and the Boingers")
* [[Asüna]] - Canadian automobile brand
* In a series 8 episode of ''[[Taskmaster (TV series)|Taskmaster]]'', [[Joe Thomas (actor)|Joe Thomas]] and [[Sian Gibson]] created the fictional 1980s band "Shoë" (pronounced "show") in a task to design an iconic album cover. Thomas's description of using a "rock 'n' roll umlaut" coined the episode's title.

==See also==
* [[Sign of the horns|Devil horns]], heavy metal hand signal
* [[Disemvoweling#Use in company and band names|Disemvoweling in band names]]
* [[Faux Cyrillic]] (Faцx Cуяillic)
* [[Foreign branding]]
* [[IDN homograph attack]]
* [[Leet]]
* [[Nu metal]], also stylized as ''nü-metal''
* [[Sensational spelling]]
* [[Pseudolocalization]], a technique of testing software's ability to be localized, using diacritical marks, faux Cyrillic and other lookalikes of (usually) English characters to simulate other languages for purposes of string handling 

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Heavy_Metal_Umlaut.ogg|date=2006-06-13}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050327011411/http://www.arrivistepress.com/salmondheavymetal0503page1.shtml ''My Life in Heavy Metal''] by Steve Almond (excerpt)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030402233054/http://www.rockdots.com/thedots.html The Döts] (Dave Krinsky)
* [https://www.clicknation.com/snoof/stuff/umlaut.pdf Would you like umlauts with that?] (PDF) by Bruce Campbell
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030522111419/http://liff.comegetsome.at/search.php?browsed=1&searchme=Doetinchem The Metal Umlaut in the Liff Dictionary]
* [https://jonudell.net/udell/gems/umlaut/umlaut.html Early history of this page] (screencast) by [[Jon Udell]]

{{Heavymetal}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metal Umlaut}}
[[Category:Heavy metal subculture|Umlaut]]
[[Category:Latin-script diacritics]]
[[Category:Nonstandard spelling]]