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Black metal
Stylistic origins:	Heavy metal Thrash metal
Cultural origins:	United Kingdom, Scandinavia Early 1980s
Typical instruments:	Guitar - Bass guitar - Drums - Vocals
Mainstream popularity:	Underground; varies in Scandinavia and South America
Derivative forms:	Viking metal, Unblack metal, NSBM
Fusion genres
Blackened death metal, Melodic black metal, Symphonic black metal, Black ambient
Other topics
Blast beat - Extreme metal - Bands

Black metal is an extreme heavy metal subgenre. It is typically characterized by the use of heavily-distorted guitars, high-pitched shrieking vocals, fast-paced rhythms and melodies, 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 and Bathory ^[1]. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a Second Wave emerged in Norway, including prominent bands like Mayhem and Darkthrone. This branch, by many considered a unique genre within the scape of heavy metal, is often called Norwegian Black Metal.^[1] 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 ^[2]. 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.

Contents 1 Characteristics 2 The Second Wave 3 Historical events in black metal 3.1 The Early Norwegian black metal scene 3.1.1 First black metal label 3.1.2 Church burnings 3.2 Social conflicts 4 Modern black metal 5 Ideology 5.1 National Socialist black metal 5.2 Viking metal 5.3 Unblack metal 6 Media 7 See also 8 Literature 9 References

Black metal can contain a variety of characteristics, depending on the band in question. Guitars are typically fast and highly distorted, with prominent low or mid-range frequencies 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 given 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 an altering of already established scales for a more dissonant, "evil" sound (such as the Diminished scale). Additionally, there is a rare use of guitar solos. Drum techniques used include double bass, blast beat, and D-beat drumming. Some bands, often solo artists, rely on drum machines instead of a human drummer.

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 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 universal theme among black metal bands. War, misanthropy, and suicide are often explored. Lyrics may also celebrate environmental origins of bands, celebrating darkness, 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 an imaginary kingdom called "Blashyrkh"). Bal-Sagoth also creates fantasy stories inspired by writers like Robert E. Howard, Francis Pryor and H. P. Lovecraft.

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). 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 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 ^[1] The "Second Wave" of black metal can 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 of black metal in the early 1990s came in part with the rise of Norwegian 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. In the documentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Canadian anthropologist Sam Dunn characterizes this genre as "punk rock meets Wagner, dressed as Alice Cooper."^[1] 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".^[3].

Slayer are also considered a big inspiration for various black metal artists such as Samoth of Emperor^[4], Darkthrone^[5], Behemoth^[6], Stormlord^[7], Satyr of Satyricon^[8].

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.

See main article Early Norwegian black metal scene

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.^[9] 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.

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.^[9] 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"^[9]). 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 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."^[1]. 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.^[10] 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.^[10]

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. He 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. As for Mayhem, Aarseth's murder 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 ^[11].

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,^[12] 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.^[13] 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 ^[14]) had been reported before tensions eventually calmed.

Alice Cooper makes a commentary on his appraisal of the authenticity and credibility of the Norwegian Black Metal bands in Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, stating, "I love going to Norway and Denmark, because I love picking up the Black Metal magazines. It's so Spinal Tap, 'cause each band is trying to be more wicked and evil than the other band [...] And you know these guys when you meet them and their mother 'Hello mr. Cooper. Nice to meet you. My mother is right over there. Could she have your autograph?' (parodizes in a feeble, timid voice). And I say, 'I thought you guys were like Satanists or something?' You know, it's like 'well.. yeah.. we are, but..' (same parodic voice–Cooper bursts into laugher)"^[1]

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^[15]. 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 traditional black metal, injecting their own indigenous mix of Dacian and Latin elements.

Other notable acts have emerged from France (Arkhon Infaustus), Sweden (Antaeus, Naglfar, 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. 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.^[16][17]

This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (November 2007)

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.

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.^[18]

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.

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.

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.
• 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". ^{[19] [20]}.

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").^{[citation needed]}.
• In the videogame Guitar Hero II, a character named Lars Umlaut resembles a black metal musician and blows fire. He also appears in the third installment and is portrayed on the cover.
• A Norwegian commercial for a laundry detergent once depicted black metal musicians as part of the advertisement.^[21]
• 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" ^[22].

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

• Moynihan, Michael. Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground. Venice: Feral House, 2006. ISBN 0-922915-48-2
• Khan-Harris, Keith. Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge. Oxford: Berg, 2006. ISBN 9781845203993

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Other topics	Fashion · Subgenres · Bands · Festivals · Umlaut

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Genres
Black metal - Death metal - Doom metal - Thrash metal
Sub-genres
Brutal death metal - Drone doom - Funeral doom - Melodic black metal - Melodic death metal - Progressive death metal - Sludge metal - Symphonic death metal/Symphonic black metal - Technical death metal - Viking metal
Fusion genres
Black/Doom - Blackened death metal - Crossover thrash - Death/Doom - Deathcore - Deathgrind - Grindcore