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BLACK METAL |
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by Agathocles, Procurer of Ancient Vinyls of Doom
The term 'black metal' has been thrown around often, and since its conception, has grown to encompass an increasingly growing number of bands whose sounds do not always coincide with the originators. This has caused a fairly significant rift in the genre where bands who were initially referred to as black metal are now no longer referred to as such (Venom, Mercyful Fate, Slayer, etc). You will find some people who say that black metal started in Norway with the likes of Mayhem and Emperor. But before them, you had bands such as Bathory, Sarcofago, Venom, etc. Then you have those who do recognize these bands, but will say that bands like Venom and Bulldozer aren't black metal, that they are 'speed metal' (even though it is evident that both Venom and Bulldozer possess this extra 'something' which makes them a bit more than simply 'speed metal', not to mention the fact that Venom constantly referred to themselves as black metal, albeit not ‘exclusively’). Most recognize that black metal is founded on certain ideologies, which take form in the aesthetics laid down by bands such as Bathory and Venom. The various ideologies are nihilism, paganism, and satanism, and the aesthetics are generally minimalistic, very raw and esoteric. These aesthetics show through in the music and in the way the band looks. What this means is that a band who copies the sound of black metal, but doesn't hold true to the ideology (ex. Horde, a christian band), are not black metal at all, as black metal is founded against judaism/christianity/islam etc. While some bands are unfortunately anti-semitic (something I'm staunchly against), the majority are merely voicing an extreme disgust with the morality/religion that originated from the middle east and a pride in pagan heritage. For a good understanding of black metal thought, look into the following books: For Satanism, look into the works of Anton LaVey, Aleister Crowley, Redbeard (Might Is Right), etc. Not really my thing, but it's fun imagery, and a lot of people are influenced by it so here it is. Nihilism: Now nihilism has always been a tricky concept. Loosely defined, nihilism means a 'belief in nothing'. But some have taken that to an extreme, causing nihilism to appear as an abstract form of solipsism to where even the self is disputed. Nihilism is not literally a 'belief in NOTHING' which is impossible for real NOTHING really is NOTHING: it cannot be thought, talked about or described at all for it does not even exist (and consequently, cannot be believed in). The word, 'nothing', is nominal. Nihilism is the disregard, the refusal of all man made laws and 'truths'. Nihilism is a rejection of the omnipresence, but not necessarily the UTILIZATION of some morals as many do work for our benefit. As man progresses, morals that were once beneficial are no longer so, and in many cases can be detrimental to our progress (modern example: the moralities stunting stem cell research). For more, read the works of Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Marquis De Sade. Also check into the works of modern minds such as Timothy Leary and Robert Anton Wilson. For the most part, black metal started with Venom. However, there are bands such as Black Widow, Death SS, and Jacula, who have preceded Venom and whose music was definitely black but not in all cases completely metal (save Death SS, who was a black/heavy metal band). Jacula, was for the most part, progressive organ driven music, and Black Widow was a prog/psych band in the late 60's/early 70's whose satanic approach to music influenced countless future bands. The albums that I have included are what I feel are some of the essential black metal releases. There are far too many for me to make a complete list, so I stuck with the ones that I felt were the best. Also, I need to thank Morny for correcting me on my mistake with regards to aesthetics. ONE LAST POINT: With the coming of bands like Possessed, a discrepancy started to form. Bands like Possessed had a very evil connotation, yet with them, unlike Venom and Mercyful Fate and Sodom who all sounded different, the bands that started following guys like Possessed, Repulsion, Slaughter, and Death did not really sound different. So future bands like Deicide, Incantation, and Immolation who have a very satanic and evil theme in their music, are referred to as death metal rather than black metal, and the reason being is because their SOUND is death metal, not black metal. This was the point where the SOUND of the band took precedence over the THEME of the band. IOW, this is where it was no longer a matter of just being 'evil' and being ‘metal’, but rather being a certain metal as well. So now, being evil is great and all, but you being death metal or black metal or whatever is determined by the sound, and not just the ideology. There are always going to be borderline cases, but as long as you have the basics down you'll be okay. So, to sum it up: in the beginning, a band like Slayer was called black metal because of their theme (even though their sound was mostly thrash) but after death metal and black metal and thrash metal started having their own set sound, bands that played satanic metal were no longer referred to as black metal unless they also sounded like black metal as well. Hence the reason why a band like Mercyful Fate and Slayer was called black metal, why they are on this list and why bands like Possessed and Deicide are not.
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