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| Black Metal, History, Description and Notable Bands in the Genre.... | |||
| '''Black Metal''' is a subset of ] ]. Black metal generally consists of heavily distorted, extremely fast guitar playing, screamed vocals, and fast drumming. Repetition is used to great effect, with some songs being quite simple. An abraded, very low-fidelity recording style is common. This genre of metal frequently uses overtly ] lyrics in which bands emphasize ] against ] and other ] themes. There has been some appeal in recent years between black metal and various ] ] movements in certain countries. | |||
| This is an un-biased article on black metal | |||
| The immediate ancestors of modern black metal are bands like '''Celtic Frost''' and '''Venom'''. The movement is often said to have reached its current form with the recordings of Bathory in the late 80's and early '90's. From there, Norwegian bands such as ], ], '''Mayhem''', and '''Immortal''' popularized the style to an underground audience. Mass media attention came when the only member of Burzum murdered the guitarist of Mayhem. By the last few years of the 90's, it seemed that the movement was dying, when commercially oriented bands such as ] using classical-sounding keyboards began to hit European airwaves. | |||
| Far from the rough, DIY sounds of the earlier Norwegian bands, these bands employed polished sounds suitable for mass audiences favorable to heavy metal. | |||
| '''Black Metal''' is a subset of ]. | |||
| However, since the mid 90's, an Eastern-European black metal scene has been developing. Bands from these former ] lands are recording albums with perhaps more primitive fury than the Norwegians ever achieved. Most of these bands are buried deep into the underground scene, but are being heard by more and more fans of the original, non-symphonic style of black metal ala Darkthrone. Many of these bands emphasize the pagan roots of their countries, occasionally injecting elements of indiginous folk music into their recordings. The Latvian band Skyforger is an excellent example of this. The black metal scene in Russia and Ukraine has produced many bands sounding much like Emperor and Dummu Borgir, but with very low-budget recordings. The Ukrainian band Nokturnal Mortum has acheived some fame in the west; their earlier albums were keyboard drenched, but their current work has a grim, abrasive feel flavored with (good old-fashoned, non-sampled) Slavic folk instruments. | |||
| Black metal generally consists of heavily distorted, extremely | |||
| There are a relatively small number of American bands playing Black Metal (sometimes called USBM bands). | |||
| fast, frozen sounding, grim guitar playing, harsh vocals, and fast drumming. An | |||
| As of yet, this movement has not taken a particularly clear form, but more well know groups are Judas Iscariot (sounding very much like Darkthrone) and Averse Sefira (death metal influenced). | |||
| abraded, very low-fidelity recording style is used to create an atmosphere of a | |||
| frozen, harsh enviroment. This genre of metal frequently uses | |||
| ] lyrics in which bands emphasize anger against the | |||
| ] religion and, supporting other ] themes. | |||
| The main influences of modern black metal are Celtic Frost, Bathory and Venom. | |||
| There are quite a number of Sub-Genres of Black Metal. Here are the main ones: | |||
| The music made by these bands heavilly influenced the re-invented wave of | |||
| modern black metal as seen today. Their influences are most notable in the | |||
| satanic imagery, blasphemous lyrics and occult themes. | |||
| From there, Norwegian bands such as ], ], '''Mayhem''', | |||
| *] (Immortal, Enslaved) | |||
| and '''Emperor''' took this style and transformed it into a distinct sound | |||
| *] (Cruachan, Geasa) | |||
| combining elements from metal, classical and other chaotic music styles, | |||
| *] (Arckanum, Mortiis) | |||
| creating musical harmonies deemed impossible by many music critiques of the | |||
| *] (Bal-Sagoth, Mortiis) | |||
| early 80's. Thus creating black metal. | |||
| *] (Abyssos, Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir) | |||
| *] (As You In Agony Cry, some Satyricon) | |||
| *] (Isengard, Summoning, Suidarka) | |||
| The ring of the origional norwegian scene was known as Euronymous who was also | |||
| There is A LOT more genres, so you can explore and find them! | |||
| the guitarist in the band Mayhem. In essence he was the godfather of the | |||
| norwegian black metal scene. The scene or movement, as some called it, was | |||
| origionally created to get the influences of christianity and other influencial | |||
| religions out of Norway and to take back the country and instil the almost lost | |||
| viking lifestyle. The movement was controlled by an inner circle, made up of | |||
| Euronymous and a few of his trusted collegues. The Movement was run from the | |||
| cold damp basement of a store known as Helvete. this basement also served as a | |||
| recording studio for bands such as mayhem, and any other band that was signed | |||
| to Euronymous' label. Helvete (which translates into Hell) also served as one | |||
| of the economic foundations for the movement, but the main one was the | |||
| label "Deathlike Silence", who refused to sign any band that wasn't purley | |||
| evil. | |||
| Also around this time various churches where going up in flames in norway due | |||
| to the black metal movements distaste for the corruption of the christian | |||
| influenced government and belief system, that they believed plauged their | |||
| country. The Most notable church was Norway's Fantoft Church Burned by Varg | |||
| Vikernes or "Count Grishnackh" as was his inner circle name. The movement also | |||
| started terrorizing other notable "death metal" bands that where touring their | |||
| country or in neighboring countries, on the basis of their lack of | |||
| apparent "evilness". | |||
| The real media attention didn't come until Mayhems Frontman "Dead" commited | |||
| suicide by a shotgun blast to his head. His note simply read "Please Excuse the | |||
| mess". Instead of calling the police Euronymous ran to the nearest convenience | |||
| store and bought a disposable camera which he used to then photograph the | |||
| corpse for a future album cover. Then he took some peices of Dead's splattered | |||
| brains and made a stew out of them. Then the band proceeded to take bone | |||
| fragments and made necklaces out of them. | |||
| '''Reference''' | |||
| But it doesn't stop there. | |||
| *Michael Moynihan, ''Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground'' (Feral House) ISBN 0922915482 | |||
| It seems a feud sprung up between Varg Vikernes (Euronymous' right hand man" | |||
| and Euronymous himself. First it was a few arguements here and there about the | |||
| record deal with Vargs band Burzum. Which eventually led to the murder of | |||
| Euronymous. He was found dead on 10th 1993. When the police inquired the black | |||
| metal movement about the murder the tightly organized movement became a bunch | |||
| of stool pigeon children telling on each other about everything, even events | |||
| not related to the count. Soon all the fingers started to point to Count | |||
| Grishnackh which eventually lead to vargs arrest and imprisonment where he | |||
| distanced himself from black metal and writes aryan neo nazi music at the | |||
| moment. | |||
| From that point the black metal movement deteriorated for a few years but | |||
| than picked back up as Immortal, Satyricon, Darkthrone and a newer wave of grim | |||
| black metal brought the underground scene back to life. sinc ethen it has | |||
| rooted itself in many countries, and influenced dozens of metal subgenres. | |||
| From well polished black metal dripping with keyboards inspired by the more | |||
| gothic aspects of black metal to the raving grimness of the furious not so ear | |||
| friendly crowd. | |||
| Some of the most notable bands today come from Norway, Sweden, Canada (can't | |||
| forget this northern majesty), Australia, Brazil and all over the world. | |||
| If you are just getting into the genre than here are some recommendations according to preference (there are many subgenres i will only name the most notable) | |||
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |||
| Gothic Influenced Keyboard dripping Black metal - The Sins of Thy Beloved, | |||
| Tristania, etc. The interesting thing about this sub-genre is that it is the | |||
| easiest to find. | |||
| http://www.tristania.com | |||
| http://www.tsotb.com | |||
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |||
| Black influenced gothic Metal or "Norse-core" - (this genre has notable been | |||
| mistaken for black metal because the bands that are in it have black elements | |||
| but they are not really totally black metal) this genre features Dimmu Borgir, | |||
| and the like. | |||
| http://www.dimmu-borgir.com | |||
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |||
| Grim Black Metal - This type is becoming the most common usually with little | |||
| or no keyboards, it is also the most overlooked and underated subgenre. Som | |||
| enotable Bands are | |||
| Frozen Shadows - Quebec Canada | |||
| Hellacaust, Nova Scotia Canada - http://welcome.to/hellacaust | |||
| Darkthrone, Norway - http://www.darkthrone.no | |||
| Burzum, Norway (R.I.P) - http://www.burzum.com | |||
| Immortal, Norway - http://www.immortal.nu | |||
| Mayhem, Norway - http://www.thetruemayhem.com | |||
| Emperor, Norway - http://www.emperorhorde.com | |||
| more information can be found if you search using yahoo or google as this list | |||
| is massive, so i compiled some of the most notable that i have ever heard. | |||
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |||
| N.S. Black Metal or National Socialist black metal - This Genre is a very | |||
| touchy one because it involves the radical ideas of racial seperatism and | |||
| upholdence of the Aryan race, being applied into the music of black metal. | |||
| most bands of this type of black metal are fueled by the conservation of pagan | |||
| beliefs and traditions from total oblitheration by the christian beliefs. | |||
| In this genre some very notable bands are | |||
| Absurd | |||
| Graveland | |||
| Infernum | |||
| Kataxu | |||
| Legion of Doom | |||
| Order from Chaos | |||
| Thor's Hammer | |||
| Thunderbolt | |||
| Veles | |||
| and the like | |||
| for more info on these bands | |||
| go to http://www.paganfront.net or search using www.google.com or any other search engine | |||
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |||
| Viking Metal - This style is not really totally black metal but draws upon | |||
| the same, pagan, wilderness influence as most black metal does. | |||
| Vintersorg, Norway - http://www.vintersorg.com | |||
| Finntroll, - http://www.finntroll.com | |||
| alot more information can be found here http://www.vikingmetal.cjb.net | |||
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |||
| if you wish to find out more information on black metal bands or record labels | |||
| than here are some references | |||
| http://www.barbarianwrath.org/ | |||
| http://www.darksymphonies.com/ | |||
| http://www.fmp666.com/ | |||
| http://www.arkana.de.vu/ | |||
| http://www.geocities.com/james_montague/ed4.htm | |||
| Article RE-written, by Chase Sutherland | |||
Revision as of 00:20, 18 August 2002
Black Metal, History, Description and Notable Bands in the Genre.... This is an un-biased article on black metal
Black Metal is a subset of heavy metal.
Black metal generally consists of heavily distorted, extremely fast, frozen sounding, grim guitar playing, harsh vocals, and fast drumming. An abraded, very low-fidelity recording style is used to create an atmosphere of a frozen, harsh enviroment. This genre of metal frequently uses Satanic lyrics in which bands emphasize anger against the Christian religion and, supporting other occult themes.
The main influences of modern black metal are Celtic Frost, Bathory and Venom. The music made by these bands heavilly influenced the re-invented wave of modern black metal as seen today. Their influences are most notable in the satanic imagery, blasphemous lyrics and occult themes.
From there, Norwegian bands such as Darkthrone, Burzum, Mayhem, and Emperor took this style and transformed it into a distinct sound combining elements from metal, classical and other chaotic music styles, creating musical harmonies deemed impossible by many music critiques of the early 80's. Thus creating black metal.
The ring of the origional norwegian scene was known as Euronymous who was also the guitarist in the band Mayhem. In essence he was the godfather of the norwegian black metal scene. The scene or movement, as some called it, was origionally created to get the influences of christianity and other influencial religions out of Norway and to take back the country and instil the almost lost viking lifestyle. The movement was controlled by an inner circle, made up of Euronymous and a few of his trusted collegues. The Movement was run from the cold damp basement of a store known as Helvete. this basement also served as a recording studio for bands such as mayhem, and any other band that was signed to Euronymous' label. Helvete (which translates into Hell) also served as one of the economic foundations for the movement, but the main one was the label "Deathlike Silence", who refused to sign any band that wasn't purley evil.
Also around this time various churches where going up in flames in norway due to the black metal movements distaste for the corruption of the christian influenced government and belief system, that they believed plauged their country. The Most notable church was Norway's Fantoft Church Burned by Varg Vikernes or "Count Grishnackh" as was his inner circle name. The movement also started terrorizing other notable "death metal" bands that where touring their country or in neighboring countries, on the basis of their lack of apparent "evilness".
The real media attention didn't come until Mayhems Frontman "Dead" commited suicide by a shotgun blast to his head. His note simply read "Please Excuse the mess". Instead of calling the police Euronymous ran to the nearest convenience store and bought a disposable camera which he used to then photograph the corpse for a future album cover. Then he took some peices of Dead's splattered brains and made a stew out of them. Then the band proceeded to take bone fragments and made necklaces out of them.
But it doesn't stop there.
It seems a feud sprung up between Varg Vikernes (Euronymous' right hand man" and Euronymous himself. First it was a few arguements here and there about the record deal with Vargs band Burzum. Which eventually led to the murder of Euronymous. He was found dead on 10th 1993. When the police inquired the black metal movement about the murder the tightly organized movement became a bunch of stool pigeon children telling on each other about everything, even events not related to the count. Soon all the fingers started to point to Count Grishnackh which eventually lead to vargs arrest and imprisonment where he distanced himself from black metal and writes aryan neo nazi music at the moment.
From that point the black metal movement deteriorated for a few years but than picked back up as Immortal, Satyricon, Darkthrone and a newer wave of grim black metal brought the underground scene back to life. sinc ethen it has rooted itself in many countries, and influenced dozens of metal subgenres. From well polished black metal dripping with keyboards inspired by the more gothic aspects of black metal to the raving grimness of the furious not so ear friendly crowd.
Some of the most notable bands today come from Norway, Sweden, Canada (can't forget this northern majesty), Australia, Brazil and all over the world.
If you are just getting into the genre than here are some recommendations according to preference (there are many subgenres i will only name the most notable)
Gothic Influenced Keyboard dripping Black metal - The Sins of Thy Beloved, Tristania, etc. The interesting thing about this sub-genre is that it is the easiest to find.
Black influenced gothic Metal or "Norse-core" - (this genre has notable been mistaken for black metal because the bands that are in it have black elements but they are not really totally black metal) this genre features Dimmu Borgir, and the like.
Grim Black Metal - This type is becoming the most common usually with little or no keyboards, it is also the most overlooked and underated subgenre. Som enotable Bands are
Frozen Shadows - Quebec Canada
Hellacaust, Nova Scotia Canada - http://welcome.to/hellacaust
Darkthrone, Norway - http://www.darkthrone.no
Burzum, Norway (R.I.P) - http://www.burzum.com
Immortal, Norway - http://www.immortal.nu
Mayhem, Norway - http://www.thetruemayhem.com
Emperor, Norway - http://www.emperorhorde.com
more information can be found if you search using yahoo or google as this list is massive, so i compiled some of the most notable that i have ever heard.
N.S. Black Metal or National Socialist black metal - This Genre is a very touchy one because it involves the radical ideas of racial seperatism and upholdence of the Aryan race, being applied into the music of black metal. most bands of this type of black metal are fueled by the conservation of pagan beliefs and traditions from total oblitheration by the christian beliefs.
In this genre some very notable bands are
Absurd
Graveland
Infernum
Kataxu
Legion of Doom
Order from Chaos
Thor's Hammer
Thunderbolt
Veles
and the like
for more info on these bands go to http://www.paganfront.net or search using www.google.com or any other search engine
Viking Metal - This style is not really totally black metal but draws upon the same, pagan, wilderness influence as most black metal does. Vintersorg, Norway - http://www.vintersorg.com Finntroll, - http://www.finntroll.com alot more information can be found here http://www.vikingmetal.cjb.net
if you wish to find out more information on black metal bands or record labels than here are some references http://www.barbarianwrath.org/
http://www.darksymphonies.com/
http://www.geocities.com/james_montague/ed4.htm
Article RE-written, by Chase Sutherland