Black metal

This article is about the musical genre. For the 1982 Venom album, see Black Metal (album).

Black metal
Stylistic origins	Heavy metal, Thrash metal
Cultural origins	United Kingdom and Scandinavia, early 1980s
Typical instruments	Electric guitar - Bass - Keyboards - Drums - Vocals
Derivative forms	Viking metal, Unblack metal, NSBM

Black metal is an extreme heavy metal subgenre. It is typically characterized by the use of fast tempos, high-pitched guitars often played with tremolo picking, high-pitched shrieking vocals, and unconventional song structures.

The first bands to pioneer the style were mostly thrash metal bands that formed the prototype for black metal in the early 1980s; they are referred to collectively as the First Wave, and consist of a few bands, such as Venom, Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost and Bathory. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a Second Wave emerged, primarily of Norwegian bands like Burzum, Mayhem and Darkthrone. Although there is no well-defined Third Wave, modern black metal bands have incorporated new musical and lyrical trends into their music.

Black metal has been met with considerable hostility from mainstream culture, mainly because of the misanthropic and anti-Judeo-Christian attitude of many bands. This iconoclastic ideology is typical of black metal bands. Additionally, a few black metal bands have been known to have associations with church burnings, murder, and National Socialism . Black metal is generally seen as an underground form of music, in part because it does not appeal to mainstream tastes and because its musicians often choose to remain obscure.

Characteristics

Instrumentation

While black metal musicians are bound by some common traits, the genre can contain a variety of characteristics. Electric guitars are played with distortion at a fast tempo, often using tremolo picking. Prominent low or mid-range frequencies are typically absent or undervalued, resulting in a metallic or "scooped" tone. There is a frequent use of chromatics shifted up and down by semitones from a central tonic to create an uneasy atmosphere (commonly featuring the tritone interval). Pendulum strumming may be applied to fully voiced chords (usually minor, sometimes diminished) in a denser portion of a piece, and there may be an altering of already established scales for a more dissonant, "evil" sound. Additionally, there is a rare use of guitar solos. Drumming is also fast paced, and is often performed using double bass, blast beat, and D-beat techniques. Some bands, often solo artists, rely on drum machines instead of a human drummer.

Song structures are unconventional, devoid of typical verse/chorus segments, and contain extended or repetitive instrumental passages with very fast-paced rhythms, often exceeding the speed of many other genres of music. Black metal rhythms are often simplistic, though some bands employ complex rhythmic sections. Occasionally, electronic keyboards are used. The harpsichord, violin, organ, and choir settings are most common, which provides an orchestral or cathedral-like sound. Some bands use keyboards very frequently, as either a background instrument or the basis of their entire sound (see symphonic black metal). Certain bands, such as Dimmu Borgir, have recorded with full symphony orchestras.

Low-cost production quality began as a must for early black metal bands with low budgets. However, even as bands moved to increase their production quality over time, low fidelity was often intentional for some bands to remain true to the genre's roots (Transilvanian Hunger by Darkthrone).

Vocals and lyrics

Vocally, a distinct, harsh style is required, often a very guttural rasp or a high-pitched shriek. This style is nearly universal in the black metal genre, and is distinct from death metal in this respect, as death metal bands, for the most part, employ low-pitched, growling vocals. Often there is a reverberation effect to make vocals sound cavernous and atmospheric. Some bands, particularly symphonic black metal bands, incorporate traditional ("clean") vocals, in part or entirely. Some songs are complemented with choir-like vocals by males and/or females, much like a Gregorian chant ("Vikingland" by Satyricon, for example). The most common and founding lyrical emphasis revolves around Satanic, Pagan, and/or occult themes. Opposition to Christianity is a nearly universal theme among black metal bands. War, misanthropy, and suicide are often explored. Lyrics may also celebrate environmental origins of bands, celebrating darkness, winter, snow, blizzards, forests, and other natural surroundings of northern European countries, as well as their folklore and history. Lyrical content may also be inspired by fantasy. The Austrian band Summoning focuses almost exclusively on J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth for its lyrical content. Other bands create their own fictional realms (for instance, certain songs by Immortal depict a fictional kingdom called "Blashyrkh"). Bal-Sagoth also creates fantasy stories inspired by writers like Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft.

Imagery and performances

Unlike most other genres, many black metal bands do not play live. Some bands (Burzum, Xasthur) are single-member bands that choose not to play live. However, other one or two-member bands (Nargaroth, Satyricon, Satanic Warmaster), perform with extra session musicians specifically for live performances. Bands that perform live often make use of stage props and theatrical techniques. Mayhem and Gorgoroth are noted for their gruesome and controversial stage shows. Many musicians adopt a 'neo-medieval' costume style that may include leather, spikes, bondage gear, armor and weaponry. Some musicians adopt a stage name, often based in mythology or folklore (for example, Emperor's Bård Eithun referred to himself as Faust). Album covers are usually atmospheric or iconic; some feature natural or fantastical landscapes (Burzum's Filosofem, Emperor's In The Nightside Eclipse) while others may be violent, perverted, or iconoclastic (Marduk's Opus Nocturne). Inverted pentagrams and/or inverted crosses are symbols used prevalently to enhance the experience .

One of the most noticeable features in black metal is facial corpsepaint; black and white makeup (sometimes detailed with "blood") used to simulate a corpse-like appearance. In modern times, the concept has faded, with bands like Emperor claiming the image has lost its original meaning, which was to separate black metal bands from other types of performers. However many bands still wear corpsepaint, such as Gorgoroth and Immortal.

The First Wave

The First Wave of black metal refers to the bands that first influenced the black metal sound, often starting as thrash metal bands.

The term "black metal" was first coined by the British band Venom with their 1982 sophomore album Black Metal. Although the musical style was much like thrash metal, a heavy and glorified emphasis on Satanic and occult themes, both in lyrics and imagery, was distinct. The music was in many ways unpolished in production. Guitars were far more blistering than other subgenres of heavy metal, and very "unclean" vocals relied less on melody than they did on raw, shrieking screams. Venom's members also adopted pseudonyms (the original lineup being Cronos, Mantas, and Abaddon), something not common for metal bands at the time.

Another band that can be considered pioneers of the genre was the Swedish band Bathory, led by Thomas Forsberg (under the pseudonym Quorthon). Bathory focused on suboptimal production standards to better suit their raspy vocals and furiously fast tempo, as heard on early albums such as The Return. They would also become responsible for being the first band to add an element of Norse mythology next to their occult themes, in both lyrics and album art. This was a concept that would become influential enough to spawn an entire ideological off-shoot known as Viking metal, preserved for bands which focus strictly on such mythological ideals.

Other influences early on include Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, early Sepultura, Bulldozer, and the Danish band Mercyful Fate. King Diamond of Mercyful Fate was also one of the first to frequent the use of corpsepaint, along side Sarcófago, which Metal Storm magazine claims to be the first band to sport "true" corpsepaint. The "Second Wave" of black metal can also be said to owe a debt to the Italian band Death SS, which mixed horror themes with thrash metal in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The Second Wave

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas by Mayhem. The title translates to Of the Mysteries of Lord Satan.

The Second Wave of black metal in the early 1990s came in part with the rise of Norwegian black metal bands such as Mayhem, Burzum, Satyricon, Immortal, Darkthrone, Enslaved and Emperor. This wave not only added new atmospheric elements, but many of these bands would also be responsible for a rash of criminal controversy, as seen below. Classical elements were also introduced to a small degree and popularized the genre for a growing underground audience. Philosophically, an abrasive anti-Right Hand Path sentiment became a must for any band to be finalized as "black metal". In fact, bands that didn't exemplify such beliefs through actions beyond their music were often criticized by extremists within black metal's subculture. Ihsahn of Emperor believes that this trend may have developed simply from "an opposition to society, a confrontation to all the normal stuff." A dark, misanthropic mentality was complemented visually with the use of corpsepaint, which was also most prevalent during this wave as a statement to separate black metal bands from other rock bands of the era.

Besides the influence of Norwegian bands, a black metal scene in Sweden began to grow with the popularity of bands such as Marduk and Dissection in the early 1990s. Finnish bands like Beherit and Impaled Nazarene also emerged. Additionally, Euronymous of Mayhem also mentioned Sodom and Destruction as underestimated influences and "masterpieces of black stinking metal".

An abraded, very low fidelity recording style was common in most black metal at the time, and was often intentional to preserve an underground quality of the genre. Sometimes artists would branch off into related subgenres, such as death metal, keeping their Satanic and occult mentality intact. Such a style has been deemed "Blackened Death Metal." Mayhem's career, for example, began mostly in the death/black roots, moved to pure black, then towards progressive black in their later career. It was experimentation like this that aided black metal's growth, but would ultimately mean the end of the Second Wave by the mid-1990s, as more modern black metal bands started to raise their production quality and introduce new instrumentation such as synthesizers (commonly seen in industrial metal) and full-symphony orchestras.

Historical events in black metal

First black metal label

Main article: Black Metal Inner Circle

Øystein Aarseth's independent label, Deathlike Silence Productions, became the first label to dedicate itself purely to black metal. Deathlike Silence's stated goal was to release records by bands "that incarnated evil in its most pure state". The label would become home to Aarseth's own band, Mayhem, as well as other black metal acts like Burzum. Aarseth also opened his own record store, Helvete (Norwegian for "Hell"), as a prime outlet for black metal records. With the rising popularity of his band and others like it, the underground success of Aarseth's label is often credited for encouraging other record labels that previously refused black metal acts to then reconsider and release their material.

Church burnings

Headliners of the black metal scene claimed responsibility for inspiring (if not necessarily perpetrating) over 50 arsons directed at Christian churches in Norway from 1992 to 1996. Many of the buildings were hundreds of years old, and widely regarded as important historical landmarks. The most notable church was Norway's Fantoft stave church, which the police believed was destroyed by the one-man band Burzum (Varg Vikernes, aka "Count Grishnackh"). However, Varg would not be convicted of any arson offences, until his arrest for the murder of Øystein Aarseth in 1993 (see below). The cover of Burzum's EP Aske (Norwegian for "Ash") portrays a photograph of the Fantoft stave church after the arson; it is still unconfirmed whether or not he took this picture himself.

Today, opinions differ within the black metal community concerning the legitimacy of such actions. Former guitarist Infernus and vocalist Gaahl of the band Gorgoroth have praised the church burnings in interviews, with the latter also opining "there should have been more of them, and there will be more of them." However, Necrobutcher, one of the founding and current members of Mayhem, was quoted as saying "I think it's ridiculous, especially the people that lit up our old fuckin' churches. They don't realize that these were actually Heathen churches, before Christianity. So they fucked themselves in the ass by doing that."

Ohlin's suicide

In 1991, attention towards black metal increased when Mayhem's frontman Per Yngve Ohlin (stagename Dead) committed suicide via shotgun blast to the head, which followed a series of self-inflicted lacerations to his arms. His note simply read "Excuse all the blood" and contained an apology for firing the weapon indoors. Some sources say it explicitly said "The knife was to dull, so I used then shot gun".The ammunition was supplied weeks prior to the incident by Varg Vikernes, who played bass for Mayhem on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. Dead's body was discovered by fellow bandmate Øystein Aarseth (also known as Euronymous), who, instead of calling the police, ran to a nearby convenience store and bought a disposable camera to photograph the corpse, modeling the body in various positions. The pictures were later stolen and one was used as the cover image for a bootleg Mayhem album (Dawn of the Black Hearts). Claims that Aarseth took pieces of Dead's brains and made a stew out of them eventually surfaced, as well as claims that the members of the band made a necklace from the bone fragments of their friend's skull. The former claim was later declared false (although admittedly, he planned to) by the band, although the latter turned out to be true. They then proceeded to give pieces of the necklace to different bands they deemed "worthy".

Murder in Lillehammer

In 1992, Bård "Faust" Eithun of Emperor was in Lillehammer to see the newly constructed Olympic park. According to Faust (in Lords of Chaos), a homosexual man named Rhys Adamec approached him and suggested that they go together in the nearby forest. Faust claims he agreed and that, once in the forest, the man made potent sexual advances on him. Faust retaliated and stabbed the man to death with a hunting knife, later citing the incident as a crime of passion. The case went unsolved until late 1993, when police began to investigate the church burnings and murder surrounding Varg Vikernes; such investigation of the black metal scene led police to Faust, and he served just over 9 years of a 14 year sentence before being released in 2003.

Aarseth's murder

In 1993, Varg Vikernes became responsible for the murder of Øystein Aarseth (also known by his stage name, Euronymous) of Mayhem during a late night confrontation at Aarseth's home. According to official reports, Øystein received a total of twenty-three stab wounds: two to the head, five to the neck, and sixteen to the back. The circumstances of the murder are not entirely clear, and numerous stories have surfaced as a result. Rumors stated the act was merely Varg's attempt at "out doing" the stabbing committed by Faust in Lillehammer the year before . Realistically, however, the crime can most likely be attributed to a power struggle between Vikernes and Aarseth. The closing of Aarseth's record store (Helvete) may have alluded to a financial dispute over the profits from Varg's records as Burzum (Det Som Engang Var, Aske). Despite this, Vikernes himself claims the murder was not premeditated and was an act of self-defense, and that Aarseth had conspired to videotape the torture and eventual murder of Varg as a result of jealousy. Varg asserts that he had been informed of this plan by friends whom Aarseth attempted to conspire with, and that Aarseth attacked him first upon their visit that night, resulting in the murder. Additionally, Vikernes defends that most of the cut wounds found on Aarseth's body were caused by broken glass shards he had fallen on during the conflict.

Regardless of the circumstances, Vikernes was arrested within days, and in 1994, was sentenced to 21 years in prison in conjunction with a few arson charges. In a controversial display, Vikernes actually smiled at the moment his verdict was read , an image that was widely reprinted in the news media during the following weeks. Varg has since released two albums of a more ambient and electronic nature (Dauði Baldrs, Hliðskjálf) but implied in interviews that he would write material similar to his older works upon his release from prison. While granted a short leave in 2003, Vikernes attempted to escape his bounds in Tønsberg, Norway, resulting in another arrest, during which he was caught with a stolen vehicle and various firearms . As a result, his request for parole was denied in 2006, and he is currently awaiting another chance in April 2008 .

As for Mayhem, the murder of Aarseth nearly rendered the band extinct. However, the band continues to perform, fronted by original member Necrobutcher. Controversy still follows the band, albeit rarely. In 2003, a concert-goer in Norway received a fractured skull as a dead sheep's head flew from the stage while band member Blasphemer was cutting the head away from the torso .

Social conflicts

A brief conflict known as the "Dark War" between Norwegian and Finnish scenes had gained some media recognition from 1992 to 1993. Part of this was motivated by seemingly harmless pranks; Nuclear Holocausto of Beherit started to make prank calls in the middle of the night to Samoth of Emperor and Mika Luttinen of Impaled Nazarene. The calls were mainly just babbling and playing of children's songs, however, Luttinen somehow got the idea that the language babbled was Norwegian and most likely death threats. These speculations were probably made due to the tensions between Finnish and Norwegian scenes at the time, as Euronymous wanted to lead his movement towards a more cult-like status (see Black Metal Inner Circle), where as the Finnish scene continued with the more easy going attitude of LaVeyan Satanism.

Noteably, the album cover of Impaled Nazarene's Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz contains texts like "No orders from Norway accepted" and "Kuolema Norjan kusipäille!" (Death to the assholes of Norway!). After their first LP, Impaled Nazarene quit playing black metal and defined their style as "Satanic death metal" (or "Nuclear Metal"), disassociating themselves from the church burnings in Norway. The Finnish band Black Crucifixion also became known to criticize Darkthrone once or twice as "trendies" due to the fact that Darkthrone began their career as a death metal band. Beherit didn't participate much in the conflict, yet in Norway there was a band called Fuck Beherit which released two demos mocking the band.

Many recall a strong Swedish death metal and Norwegian black metal rivalry during the 1990s. It was common for black metal enthusiasts in Europe to terrorize notable death metal bands that were touring their country or neighboring countries, on the basis of their lack of apparent "evilness" (the death metal subgenre focuses strictly on theatrics, and is mostly devoid of major criminal attempts and controversy, unlike black metal). Street fights at shows (and even an attempted fire bomb at a 1992 Deicide show in Stockholm ) had been reported before tensions eventually calmed.

Modern black metal

See also: Dark ambient § black ambient

Despite a few recent controversies surrounding members of Gorgoroth, the black metal scene has lost much of the violence it had become known for in the early 1990s. Towards the mid-1990s, bands began to take new directions and increase their production quality. The introduction of electronic instruments, such as synthesizers, signaled the end of the Second Wave.

However, since the mid-1990s, an Eastern European black metal scene has been developing. Bands from the former Communist Bloc are recording material with the deliberate primitive nature of early Norwegian artists. Bands in Russia and Ukraine have also demonstrated appreciation for the low fidelity aesthetic of early black metal. Many of them portray lyrics that glorify the Pagan roots of their home countries, some injecting elements of indigenous folk music. The Czech band Trollech are an example of "old-school" Pagan black metal. Graveland of Poland may be considered a pioneer of the Eastern European scene. Svarrogh from Bulgaria has gained recognition in Western Europe, and the Ukrainian NSBM band Nokturnal Mortum; their earlier albums relied heavily on synthesizers, but their current work makes heavy use of Slavic folk instruments. From Romania, Negură Bunget is a prime example of experimental black metal, injecting their own indigenous mix of Dacian and Latin elements.

Other notable acts have emerged from France (Arkhon Infaustus, Antaeus), Sweden (Naglfar, Watain, Ofermod) and the United States (Xasthur, Leviathan, and Averse Sefira). The French label Norma Evangelium Diaboli has come to be associated with a movement of artists claiming to be more interested in Theistic Satanism (as opposed to LaVeyan Satanism) and/or Occultism than bands of previous waves (Funeral Mist, Watain). Some bands have begun to experiment with other styles; Deathspell Omega (who are also aligned with Norma Evangelium Diaboli) have employed Gregorian chant in recent works, and Blut Aus Nord now incorporate elements of ambient industrial. Further experimentation has led bands such as Aborym to feature dance-based industrial elements. There is controversy surrounding these aspects; many black metal fans feel that this industrial influence and the increased production mean such bands do not fit within the black metal genre. Therefore, some modern black metal bands continue with the style and quality of previous waves, such as 1349.

Some bands, such as Velvet Cacoon or Xasthur, play a style of black metal sharing similarities with dark ambient and ambient music. Some have labeled this heavy use of synthesized atmospheres and black metal elements as black ambient. Other characteristics include lo-fi production, black metal vocals, slow tempos, and the use of noise.

Ideology

Any attempt to lay out the ideology of a musical genre is bound to generalize to the extent that some traits are unfairly played up with respect to certain artists, while others are laid out which do not apply to all. Nonetheless, there is a clear pattern which can be sketched out to capture the fundamental elements behind black metal. To a large extent, aesthetics are visual manifestations of ideology. Black metal is generally held to embrace anti-Christian sentiment, misanthropy, nihilism, Paganism, and/or Satanism, and in rare cases, nationalism. As an extension of misanthropy, there is often a link to nature emphasized, being a type of naturalism, with a heavy emphasis on mortality and the unknown aspects of death. More generally, most black metal musicians like to appear as strongly anti-collectivist, critics of religion and advocates of individualism.

The majority of those involved in the scene are not outspoken with regard to either nationalism or xenophobia (values common to National Socialist black metal), and prefer to let their music speak for itself. Nonetheless, many black metal bands espouse a form of anti-racist nationalism; they are proud of their culture/nation, but do not deny the right of people from other nations to be proud of theirs. Homogenisation between peoples is seen as something to be avoided, and one way to avoid this is to take pride in being a representative of one's own culture, and produce art that is distinct to it. These ideas are sometimes realised musically by the incorporation of folk elements to their works.

National Socialist black metal

Main article: National Socialist black metal

A black metal movement that deals with Neo-Nazi ideologies, often mixed in with topics pertaining to European pagan religions, National Socialist black metal (NSBM) is more interpreted as an ideology than a subgenre as there is not any developed "style" to play black metal in a National Socialist way. However, the term has stuck around not only because there are traceable movements and labels that sell NSBM exclusively, but also because it is such a hotly debated topic; giving rise to questions like whether it does or does not coincide with traditional black metal characteristics, or whether it should even be considered a subform, as most black metal bands do not adhere to the ideology. Even though NSBM bands usually have topics that concern Paganism, it should be noted that most black metal bands celebrating Paganism are not NSBM.

Several popular black metal musicians, such as Frost of Satyricon and Ihsahn of Emperor, are opposed to NSBM, in part because of false accusations regarding racism that have surrounded such artists. Varg Vikernes, however, has espoused racist views in the past, although he self-identifies as an Odalist now rather than a Neo-Nazi.

Viking metal

Main article: Viking metal

Viking metal is a term used in reference to metal music with a dramatic emphasis on Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the life and times of Northern and Central Europeans prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia. The origin of the style can be attributed to the Swedish band Bathory, with the release of their fourth album in 1988, Blood Fire Death. The album blended the aesthetics of black metal with an atmosphere of war and Norse mythology. Since then, many black metal bands (Enslaved, Satyricon) have borrowed such concepts either in part or entirely to further elaborate on anti-Christian sentiment and general disdain for religious institution. The same goes for some death metal bands like Amon Amarth and Unleashed. Distinctively, Viking metal bands are likely to identify with historical cultural groups (Norse speakers or Vikings, for example) rather than their modern state or country, although some may identify with both.

Unblack metal

Main article: Unblack metal

A controversial take on the black metal sound with lyrics that depict Christianity positively has been dubbed "unblack metal". The style emerged in 1991, when one of the first known unblack metal bands Antestor released their demo The Defeat of Satan. In 1994, Horde also gained wide recognition with their own anti-Satanic themes, as evidenced by song titles like "Silence the Blasphemous Chanting" and "Invert the Inverted Cross". Several bands adopting the concept have emerged since then, however, traditional black metal bands often do not condone the ideology. The release of Antestor's The Return of the Black Death on the label Cacophonous Records in 1998 proved influential on the Christian black metal movement, however, once Cacophonous found out Antestor held Christian beliefs, they dropped them from the label.

Media

Films on black metal:

• The 1998 Norwegian documentary Satan Rides The Media detailed the conviction of Varg Vikernes, his murder of Øystein Aarseth, and some related church burnings.
• The 2005 documentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey touches on black metal in the early 1990s, and includes an extensive 25-minute feature on the DVD release.
• In early 2007, online broadcasting network VBS.tv released a 5-part feature titled True Norwegian Black Metal, detailing the lifestyle, beliefs, and controversies surrounding Gorgoroth frontman Gaahl. The feature can be viewed on YouTube.
• An independent documentary titled Until The Light Takes Us completed production on October 5, 2007. The film explores black metal's origins and subculture, including "exclusive interviews" and "rare, seldom seen footage from the "Black Circle"s earliest days". .

References in media:

• The cartoon show Metalocalypse is a show about an extreme metal band called Dethklok, with many references to leading black metal artists on the names of various buildings such as "Fintroll's" "Dimmu Burger"(Borgir), "Gorgoroth's" electric wheelchair store, "Carpathian Forest High School", "Marduk's" Putt & Stuff, "Burzum's" hot-dogs and "Behemoth" studios (as well as the man who owns Behemoth studios, whose name is "Mr. Grishnackh").
• A Norwegian commercial for a laundry detergent once depicted black metal musicians as part of the advertisement.
• Black metal bands such as 1349, Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Enslaved and Satyricon have had their videos make appearances on MTV's Headbangers Ball.
• Comedian Brian Posehn makes a visual reference to Norwegian black metal bands in the music video for his comedy song "Metal By Numbers" .

See also

• Black Metal Inner Circle
• List of black metal bands
• Black metal fashion

Literature

• Moynihan, Michael. Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground. Venice: Feral House, 2006. ISBN 0-922915-48-2
• Kahn-Harris, Keith. Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge. Oxford: Berg, 2006. ISBN 9781845203993
• (Source: Christe, Ian. Sound of the Beast: the Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2004.)