The Evolution of Music Part - XV
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The Evolution of Music Part - XV
Black Metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It often uses fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking,
blast beat drumming, and unconventional song structure.
During the 1980s, certain thrash metal bands formed a prototype for black metal. This so-called “first wave” included bands such as Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. A “second wave” arose in the early 1990s, mostly of Norwegian bands such as Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, Immortal and Emperor. This scene developed the black metal style into a distinct genre.
Black metal has been met with great hostility from mainstream culture, mainly due to the misanthropic and anti-Christian standpoint of many artists. Moreover, a handful of musicians have been linked with church burnings, murder or National Socialism. For these and other reasons, black metal is often seen as an underground form of music.
Traditional black metal vocals take the form of high-pitched shrieks, screams and snarls. This is in stark contrast to the low-pitched growls of death metal. The most common and founding lyrical theme is opposition to Christianity and other organized religions. As part of this, many artists write lyrics that could be seen to promote atheism, antitheism, paganism and Satanism. However, many modern black metal lyrics have begun to focus more on the seasons, nature, mythology, folklore, philosophy and fantasy.
Production
Low-cost production quality was a must for early black metal artists with low budgets, where recordings would often take place in the home or in basements; a notable example of such is the band Mayhem, whose record label Deathlike Silence Productions would record artists in the basement of the shop Helvete. However, even when they were able to raise their production quality, many artists chose to keep making low fidelity recordings. The reason for this was to stay true to the genre’s underground roots and to make the music sound more “raw” and “cold”. Many have claimed that, originally, black metal was not meant to attract listeners. Vocalist Gaahl claimed that during its early years, “black metal was never meant to reach an audience, it was purely for our own satisfaction”.
Imagery and performances
Unlike artists of other genres, many black metal artists do not perform concerts. Bands that choose to perform concerts often make use of stage props and theatrics. Mayhem and Gorgoroth among other bands are noted for their controversial shows; which have featured impaled animal heads, mock crucifixions, medieval weaponry, and band members doused in animal blood.
Black metal artists often appear dressed in black with combat boots, bullet belts, spiked wristbands, and inverted crosses/pentagrams to reinforce their anti-Christian or anti-religious stance. However, the most stand-out trait is their use of corpse paint.
The first wave of black metal refers to those bands during the 1980s which influenced the black metal sound and formed a prototype for the genre. They were often speed metal or thrash metal bands.
Venom’s album entitled Black Metal inspired the name of the genre.
The term “black metal” was coined by the English band Venom with their second album Black Metal (1982). Although considered thrash metal rather than black metal by modern standards, the album’s lyrics and imagery focused more on anti-Christian and Satanic themes than any before it. Their music was unpolished in production and featured raspy grunted vocals. Venom’s members also adopted pseudonyms, a practice that would become widespread among black metal musicians.
Another major influence on black metal was the Swedish band Bathory, led by Thomas Forsberg. Not only did Bathory use unpolished production
and anti-Christian themes, but Quorthon was also the first to use the “shrieked” vocals that came to define black metal. The band exhibited this style on their first four albums.
Other artists usually considered part of this movement include Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, Sodom and Destruction, Bulldozer and Death SS, Ancient Rites, Tormentor, Root, Mercyful Fate, Sarcófago and Blasphemy. Furthermore, King Diamond and the members of Sarcófago were allegedly the first musicians to sport “true” corpse paint.
The Second Wave
Early Norwegian black metal
The Second Wave of black metal emerged in the early 1990s and was largely centred on the Norwegian black metal scene. During 1990–1994 a number of Norwegian artists began performing and releasing black metal music; this included Mayhem, Burzum, Immortal, Darkthrone, Satyricon, Enslaved, Emperor, Thorns, Ildjarn, Gorgoroth, Ulver and Carpathian Forest. Some of these artists would be responsible for a rash of criminal controversy, including church burnings and murder. Musically, these artists developed the style of their 1980s precursors as a distinct genre that was separate from thrash metal. Philosophically, an aggressive anti-Christian sentiment became a must for any artists to be finalized as “black metal”.
A few bands in neighbouring Sweden adopted a similar sound, usually with inspiration from the Norwegian scene. This included Marduk, Dissection, Lord Belial, Dark Funeral, Arckanum, Nifelheim and Abruptum. In Finland, the late 1980s saw the emergence of black metal bands which often included traits similar to those found in death metal such as Beherit, Archgoat and Impaled Nazarene. Black metal scenes also emerged on the European mainland during the early 1990s - again inspired in large part by the Norwegian scene. In Poland, a scene was spearheaded by Graveland and Behemoth. In France, a close-knit group of musicians known as Les Légions Noires emerged; this included artists such as Mütiilation, Vlad Tepes, Belketre and Torgeist. Bands such as Von, Judas Iscariot, Demoncy and Profanatica emerged during this time in the United States.
By the mid 1990s, the musical style of the Norwegian scene was being adopted by bands across the globe. Newer black metal bands also began raising their production quality and introducing additional instrumentation such as synthesizers and full-symphony orchestras. This expansion and diversification marked the end of the Second Wave.
