This article was on waffles.fm, i thought it was really insightful, and outlines some awesome bands, take a look:
Anyone who habitually listens to and explores metal will almost inevitably encounter the seemingly strange genre of “black metal”. My first experience with the genre occurred as I was drawn to the imagery black metal bands utilize in album design and t-shirts. Everything that I found beautiful in design was used in their art; an aesthetic of mature darkness and youthful anger. I bought a Bathory t-shirt before I even listened to their albums. Walking around with a goat’s head pentagram made me feel powerful. I felt like the guy in high school who rode a motorcycle and thought girls would flock to me because of my dangerous taste in music. I began buying more t-shirts for bands I had never listened to and admired their stark minimalism enthroning prominent, unreadable logos. It was amazing.
Canonical Black Metal
Black metal was created, in part, to be a more extreme version of death metal.
Instead of deep guttural growling, black metal bands would use high-pitched shrieking.
Instead of the gruesome imagery and descriptions of dismemberment often used by death metal bands, black metal bands would openly worship Satan and in their lyrics.
Instead of simply having long hair and a surly disposition on stage, black metal bands would wear make-up and full costumes.
It is almost impossible to talk about Black Metal without first mentioning the “Norwegian Inner Circle”. The Norwegian Inner Circle was a group of black metal musicians located around Oslo, Norway. These musicians included members from famous black metal bands such Emperor, Thorns, Hades, Mayhem and Burzum. During the early 1990’s, the inner circle not only cultivated the sound of black metal, but also popularized its image with vandalism, arson and murder. “Lords of Chaos”, a book written by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind, chronicled the rise of church burnings, homicides and satanic worship, during the onset of black metal. The acts of a few Norwegian black metal musicians not only sensationalized their music to an extreme degree, but effectively immortalized it into a “canon”.
“Really....the band members ate his brains?”
“And took a picture of his corpse?”
“To use on their album!?"
“That’s disgusting!...”
“...do you have any of their music?”
A canon is defined as a set of standards or classics chosen formally or informally by an undefined group. The word itself, by definition, means “a body of principles, rules or codes that define a certain ‘idea’”. The “Western Canon”, for example, comprises the works of major artists, writers, and composers who shaped the foundation of European artistic culture. Similarly, the Black Metal Canon involves precursors, major works, and secondary artists associated with the development of Norwegian Black Metal.
The two generally classified as precursors are:
Venom - Black Metal (1982)
Bathory - Blood Fire Death (1988)
The original black metal canon includes the following albums:
Darkthrone - Blaze in the Northern Sky (1991)
Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse (1994)
Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1993)
Burzum - Burzum- Filosofem (1992-1996)
Other albums commonly associated with the black metal canon as secondary contributors include:
Enslaved - Vikingligr Veldi - Frost (1993-1994)
Immortal - Pure Holocaust (1993)
Satyricon - Dark Medieval Times (1993)
Ulver - “Black Metal Trilogy” Bergtatt/Kveldssanger/Nattens Madrigal) (1994-1996)
Sigh - Scorn Defeat (1993)
Dimmu Borgir - For All Tid (1995)
Most early black metal generally maintains a few major constants in their style aside from the obvious aural qualities of metal. These include a fairly consistent use of lo-fi recording, blast beats and the use of Satanic or Pagan lyrics. Attributes like these define black metal as different from death metal, doom metal, or any other variation of heavy metal available.
The principle of recognizing landmark achievements in music, such as the establishment of new genres, is not a new concept. The above list is an approximate summation of black metal classics and standards. My intent is not to reiterate common knowledge, but to shed light on the difficulty many bands face in maintaining loyalty to the canonical sound. When a genre such as black metal is formed, especially in a canonical structure where its origins are generally accepted and traceable, its primary components obviously utilize its original standards and principles. It is these baseline characteristics that keep the genre well-defined without much ambiguity.
A problem arises when those standards are used to judge further developments within a genre. Many who abide strictly by the original doctrine of a genre, such as jazz purists for example, deem themselves as “purer” than those who do not. Even the earliest members of black metal (Emperor, Enslaved, Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon, Sigh) have been chastised for making later albums which strayed outside the original boundaries of the black metal sound. Despite whether this attitude of “purist” authenticity is valued by a band, I always tend to wonder whether or not this authenticity hinged on the idea of worshiping the past.
It is important to note many contemporary acts such as 1349, Craft, Leviathan, and Watain have used the old template of black metal quite successfully. While these bands have found an identity with the classics, others have found it elsewhere. It is my opinion that the value of any band of any genre should be merited on the quality of their work and not their devotion to classics.
I believe that the longevity of any genre of music is defined by its ability to adapt to present musical/cultural circumstances. This is not necessarily the result of a change in the music, but rather an acknowledgment that the past will never be the present again. While I enjoy the works of canonical black metal, I find the idea of “mixed” black metal far more appealing. I feel that bands that use the original black metal sound as a starting point rather than the end goal are the future of this genre. Some of my friends say that I have an affinity for experimentation; if a black metal band incorporated a tuba into their act, I would be the first to buy tickets for their show. While the possibility of “tuba metal” could interest me, the sheer amalgamation of sound does not (see Aes Dana). The past should be a history lesson rather than a yard stick for the present, and one should never have to exchange authenticity for innovation.
Canonical Black Metal
Sigh - Hail Horror Hail (1997)
Japanese band Sigh has torn the black metal genre down and built cities on top. The only non-European band included in the canon, and rapidly changing from black metal to jazz to video game music, Hail Horror Hail chronicles Sigh’s epic ascent into other dimensions. The album's dissociative nature is acknowledged within the inside sleeve: In essence, (the album) is a movie without pictures; a celluloid phantasmagoria. Accordingly, the film jumps, and another scene, seemingly unconnected with the previous context, is suddenly inserted in between frames.
Canonical Black Metal
Emperor - Prometheus: The Disciple Of Fire And Demise (2001)
Emperor's final album has been called by many their most clean and “progressive.” When I hear the word "progressive," I usually think of ascending bass lines and lyrics revolving around the plight of space unicorns. What I do not think, when hearing the word "progressive," is harsh black metal filled with choirs and strings. I have always appreciated bands who end on an experimental note instead of ones who try to reignite their past. (See Metallica)
Canonical Black Metal
Melechesh - Sphynx (2003)
While any black metal band is certainly allowed to embrace what ever ideology they please, ones who utilize relevant identity always feel more honest than ones who do not. Melechesh is one of the strongest middle Eastern Black Metal bands in recent years. Sphynx has helped me understand black metal not as a Western evil, but an evil which assumes different avatars across time periods.
Canonical Black Metal
Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters (2007)
Remember a few years ago when marketing executives caught onto the popularity of indie rock and hipsters caught onto the marketing executive’s catching onto the popularity of indie rock and hipsters ran screaming to the most non commercial form of music and every metal elitist ran screaming from everything the hipsters touched?
One of the most popular bands in the United States Black Metal Scene. Two Hunters is a glorious mixture of Norwegian black metal and contemporary post rock. After much consideration, and long edits of this article, I feel no shame in recommending this album.
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I suppose my goal here is obviously to convince readers to listen to my recommendations, but it is also to expose black metal as more than a Norwegian phenomenon which ended in 1995. It would have been easier to review a couple of Mayhem albums and end with a funny picture. Black metal is not static, nor relegated to a time period or country. Every genre in existence started with its staple qualities and traceable beginnings, and I am certain that everyone can agree that none of these genres has stayed entirely “pure” over the years. One of the most interesting aspects of music is its ability to evolve and reflect over time. Nothing stays the same; not even evil music.
