Black Metal...The Extreme Music...

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It often employs fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, double-kick drumming, and unconventional song structure.

During the 1980s, certain thrash metal bands established a prototype for black metal. This so-called First Wave included bands such as Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer and Celtic Frost.A Second Wave emerged in the early 1990s, which consisted primarily 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 considerable hostility from mainstream culture, mainly due to the misanthropic and anti-Christian ideology of many artists. Additionally, some musicians have been associated with church burnings, murder and/or National Socialism. For these reasons and others, black metal is often viewed as an underground form of music.

Instrumentation
Black metal guitarists usually favour high-treble guitar tones and abundant distortion.Typically, the guitar is played with much usage of fast tremolo picking.When composing music, guitarists often use those scales, intervals and chord progressions that produce the most dissonant, fearful and ominous sounds. Additionally, guitar solos and low guitar tunings are a rarity in black metal.

The bass guitar is rarely used to perform independent melodies. It is not uncommon for the bass guitar to be inaudible or to homophonically follow the bass lines of the electric guitar. Typically, drumming is fast-paced and performed using double-bass and/or blast beat techniques. However it is not unusual for drummers to employ more simplistic techniques. Many solo composers use drum machines instead of a human drummer.

Black metal compositions commonly deviate from conventional song structure and are often devoid of clear verse-chorus sections. Instead, many black metal songs contain extended and repetitive instrumental sections.

Vocals and lyrics
Traditional black metal vocals are in the form of high-pitched shrieks, screams and snarls.This vocal style sharply contrasts with the low-pitched growls of death metal. The majority of black metal vocalists are male, although there are a few notable exceptions – for example Cadaveria, Astarte and Lucifugum.

The most common and founding lyrical theme is opposition to Christianity and other organized religions (described by some as Right-Hand Path religions). As part of this, many artists write lyrics that could be seen to promote atheism, antitheism, paganism and Satanism.Other themes that are commonly explored include depression, nihilism, misanthropy and death. However, some black metal artists write lyrics that are inspired by winter, nature, mythology, folklore and fantasy narratives.

Production
Low-cost production quality began as a must for pioneering black metal artists with low budgets.However, even when they were able to increase their production quality, many artists intentionally recorded in a low fidelity style.The reason for this was to remain true to the genre's underground roots and to make the music sound more "cold".One of the better-known examples of this production is the album Transilvanian Hunger by Darkthrone, a band who "represent the DIY aspect of black metal" according to Johnathan Selzer of Terrorizer magazine.Many have noted that, originally, black metal was not designed 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. Many consist of just one member and thus performing live is impractical; although some recruit extra musicians specifically for 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 stage performances; which have featured impaled animal heads, mock crucifixions, medieval weaponry, and band members doused in animal blood.
Black metal artists typically appear dressed in black with combat boots, bullet belts, spiked wristbands,and inverted crosses/inverted pentagrams to reinforce their anti-Christian or anti-religious stance.However, they are most often identified by their usage of corpse paint – black and white makeup (sometimes detailed with real or fake blood), which is used to simulate a corpse-like appearance.

In the early 1990s, most pioneering black metal artists used very simplistic black-and-white imagery on their record covers.Some believe this was a reaction against death metal bands, who at that time had begun to use brightly coloured album artwork.Most underground black metal artists have continued this style. Bands that do not use this style usually have album covers that are either atmospheric or provocative; some feature natural or fantastical landscapes (for example Burzum's Filosofem and Emperor's In The Nightside Eclipse) while others are violent, perverted and iconoclastic (for example Marduk's Fuck Me Jesus).

The First Wave
The first wave of black metal refers to those bands during the 1980s who 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 British band Venom with their sophomore album Black Metal (1982). Although considered thrash rather than black metal by modern standards,the album had lyrics and imagery that focused on anti-Christian and Satanic themes more so than any before it. Their music was unpolished in production and featured raspy grunted vocals. Additionally, Venom's members adopted pseudonyms – a practise that would become widespread among black metal musicians.

Another pioneer of black metal was the Swedish band Bathory, led by Thomas Forsberg (under the pseudonym Quorthon). Not only did Bathory use low fidelity production and anti-Christian themes, but Quorthon was the first to use the "shrieked" vocals that came to define black metal. The band exhibited this style on their first four albums, beginning with Bathory (1984) and ending with Blood Fire Death (1988). At the beginning of the 1990s, Bathory pioneered the style that would become known as Viking metal.

Other artists usually considered part of this movement include Hellhammer and Celtic Frost (from Switzerland), Sodom and Destruction (from Germany), both described as underrated "masterpieces of black stinking metal' by Euronymous, Bulldozer and Death SS (from Italy), Tormentor (from Hungary), Root (from Czech Republic) , Mercyful Fate (from Denmark)[citation needed], Sarcófago (from Brazil) and Blasphemy (from Canada). Additionally, King Diamond and the members of Sarcófago were allegedly the first musicians to sport "true" corpsepaint.

The Second Wave
Main article: Early Norwegian black metal scene

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. As seen below, 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". 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 period as a statement to separate black metal artists from other rock bands of the era.

Inspired by the Norwegian scene, a few bands in neighbouring Sweden adopted a similar sound. This included Marduk, Dissection, Lord Belial, Dark Funeral, Arckanum, Nifelheim and Abruptum. In Finland, the bands Beherit and Impaled Nazarene began to apply some of these traits to death metal. Norwegian-inspired black metal scenes also emerged on the European mainland during the early 1990s. 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, where thrash metal and death metal were more predominant among extreme metal enthusiasts.

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.

Helvete and Deathlike Silence
During May–June 1991, Øystein Aarseth (aka 'Euronymous') of Mayhem opened an independent record store named Helvete (Norwegian for hell) in Oslo. Musicians from Mayhem, Burzum, Emperor and Thorns frequently met there, and it became a prime outlet for black metal records.In its basement, Aarseth founded an independent record label named Deathlike Silence Productions. 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.

Ohlin's suicide
A photograph of Ohlin's corpse was used as the cover of the bootleg live album, Dawn of the Black Hearts (1995).
On 8 April 1991, Mayhem vocalist Per Yngve "Pelle" Ohlin (aka 'Dead') committed suicide in a house shared by the band. Fellow musicians often described Ohlin as a quiet and introverted person. However he was best known for his infamous performances – which involved cutting himself, carrying around a dead crow, and wearing clothes that had been buried weeks prior to the event.
He was found with slit wrists and a shotgun wound to the head, by Mayhem guitarist Øystein Aarseth (aka 'Euronymous'). Ohlin's suicide note read "Excuse all the blood" and included an apology for firing the weapon indoors. Before calling the police, Aarseth went to a nearby store and bought a disposable camera to photograph the corpse, after re-arranging some items.One of these photographs was later stolen and used as the cover of a bootleg live album entitled Dawn of the Black Hearts.[16]
Eventually, rumours surfaced that Aarseth made a stew with pieces of Ohlin's brain, and made necklaces with fragments of Ohlin's skull.The band later denied the former rumour, but confirmed that the latter was true.Additionally, Aarseth claimed to have given these necklaces to musicians he deemed worthy.Mayhem bassist Jørn Stubberud (aka 'Necrobutcher') noted that "people became more aware of the [black metal] scene after Dead had shot himself ... I think it was Dead's suicide that really changed the scene."

Church burnings
Members and fans of the black metal scene claimed responsibility for 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. One of the first and most notable was Norway's Fantoft stave church, which the police believed was destroyed by Varg Vikernes of the one-man band Burzum.However, Vikernes 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. The musicians Samoth,Faust,and Jørn Inge Tunsberg were also convicted for church arsons.

Today, opinions differ within the black metal community concerning the legitimacy of such actions. Guitarist Infernus and former 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 and Kjetil Manheim of Mayhem have disapproved of the church burnings, with the latter claiming "It was just people trying to gain acceptance within a strict group (the black metal scene) ... they wanted some sort of approval and status".

Aarseth's murder
Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas features Aarseth's last recordings, and may be the only heavy metal album on which a murderer (Vikernes) and his victim (Aarseth) perform together.
On 10 August 1993, Varg Vikernes of Burzum murdered Mayhem guitarist Øystein Aarseth (aka 'Euronymous'). On that night, Vikernes and Snorre Ruch travelled from Bergen to Aarseth's apartment in Oslo. Upon their arrival a confrontation began, which ended when Vikernes fatally stabbed Aarseth. His body was found outside the apartment with twenty-three cut wounds – two to the head, five to the neck, and sixteen to the back.
It has been speculated that the murder was the result of a power struggle, a financial dispute over Burzum records, or an attempt at "out doing" a stabbing in Lillehammer committed the year before by another black metal musician, Bard Faust.Vikernes claims that Aarseth had plotted to torture him to death and videotape the event – using a meeting about an unsigned contract as a pretext.On the night of the murder, Vikernes claims he intended to hand Aarseth the signed contract and "tell him to fuck off", but that Aarseth attacked him first.Additionally, Vikernes has stated that most of Aarseth's cut wounds were caused by broken glass he had fallen on during the struggle.

Regardless of the circumstances, Vikernes was arrested within days, and a few months later was sentenced to 21 years in prison for both the murder and church arsons. In a controversial display, Vikernes actually smiled at the moment his verdict was read, an image that was widely reprinted in the news media.In May 1994, Mayhem finally released the album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, which features Aarseth on electric guitar and Vikernes on bass guitar. While granted a brief leave in 2003, Vikernes attempted to escape his bonds in Tønsberg, but shortly thereafter he was re-arrested driving a stolen vehicle and carrying various firearms.

Conflict between scenes
Many recall a strong rivalry between Norwegian black metal and Swedish death metal scenes. Fenriz and Tchort have noted that Norwegian black metal musicians were "fed up with the whole death metal scene" and that "death metal was very uncool in Oslo" at the time.On a number of occasions, Euronymous sent death threats to the more commercialized death metal groups in Europe.Allegedly, a group of Norwegian black metal fans plotted to kidnap and murder certain Swedish death metal musicians.

A brief "conflict" between Norwegian and Finnish scenes gained some media recognition[citation needed] during 1992 and 1993. Part of this was motivated by seemingly harmless pranks; Nuclear Holocausto of the Finnish band Beherit started to make prank calls in the middle of the night to Samoth of Emperor (in Norway) and Mika Luttinen of Impaled Nazarene (in Finland). The calls consisted of senseless babbling and playing of children's songs,[although Luttinen believed them to be death threats from Norwegian bands.[citation needed]

Notably, 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!"). The Finnish band Black Crucifixion criticized Darkthrone as "trendies" due to the fact that Darkthrone began their career as a death metal band.Additionally, a Norwegian band released two demos under the name Fuck Beherit.