Well hello there, and welcome back to Tales From the Nutward, your source for rants, raves and other random acts of lunacy since the beginning of last month. This week, I will attempt to address one of the recurring themes of debate on metal discussion boards; what is black metal?

Considering the vast volumes of information about black metal lurking in cyberspace, it's strange that relatively few attempts have been made to formulate a comprehensive definition of the subgenre. Blackmetal.com has tried their hand at the task, but, in addition to the significant flaws their definition possesses, let's face it, no one goes to a distro's website to fucking read. The issue is addressed, albeit obliquely, in the infamous Metal FAQ which Anus.com has circulated for years on Usenet (which should be required reading for all serious metalheads). However, for those who lack the time to plow 666 pages of text or who lack the knowledge of linguistics necessary to translate LeBlancese into English, I've decided to put together my own brief Black Metal FAQ.

Contents:

1. What is Black Metal?
1.1- Overview
1.2- Ideology
1.3- Aesthetics

2. History and Development
2.1- Venom and the first wave.
2.2- The second wave
2.3- Beyond the Second Wave
2.4- Faggoth and Norsecore: Black Metal Abortions

3. Recommendations
3.1- Lord Vic's Six Pillars
3.2- My Recommendations (First Wave)
3.3- My Recommendations (Second Wave and Beyond)
3.4- Recommended Downloads

1. What is Black Metal?

1.1- Overview

Perhaps the best way to start addressing the question of defining black metal
is to approach it from an etymological direction. From this perspective one can see that black metal is "black" + "metal." Now, as defining metal is quite beyond the purview of this FAQ, I'm going to work on the assumption that most of you know metal when you hear it. The question, then, is "What makes black metal BLACK?"

1.2- Ideology

At this point, some intellectual giant usually chimes in with "Living Colour is my favorite black metal band" or some other equally tired witticism. The real answer is that ideology puts the "black" in black metal. This ideology is threefold:

A. Black metal is oppositional, standing four square against the social, political and moral values of the Judeo-Christian West. Typically, this oppositional stance finds expression lyrically in Satanism, blasphemy, virulent paganism and National Socialist political ideology.

B. Black metal is proactive. Black metal not only finds fault with the current social order, but posits a new order as an ideal to be worked for. Where the Judeo-Christian world prizes submission, black metal would have a world where individual WILL reigns supreme. Where the Judeo-Christian world values hierarchy, black metal seeks freedom. Where the Judeo-Christian world calls for acceptance of the suggested Law of God as the path to salvation in the afterlife, black metal rejects normative ethical and moral standards in favor of nihilistic liberation and decision making based on function rather than sentimentality and duty. Black metal's proactive stance sometimes carries over into direct action, witness Varg Vikernes and his infamous church burning spree in the early 90's.

C. Black metal is militaristic. One consequence of black metal's oppositional and proactive nature is that it is militaristically inclined. Everything becomes viewed within the context of struggle, and, as a result, WAR is one of the subgenre's master images. Fans and players are black metal WARRIORS, members of the black metal LEGIONS. "Black metal ist Krieg" is more than a clever slogan for a band, it is a profound commentary on the nature of the music itself.

1.3- Aesthetics

Black metal's rejection of the normative values of Judeo-Christian society goes beyond religion and politics. Even on an aesthetic level, black metal tends to reject traditional notions of what is "good." Accordingly, many black metal bands utilize raw, even minimalistic music and "necro" recording values. However, this is not a hard and fast rule. Not all black metal is raw, and not all raw metal is black.

2. History and Development

2.1- Venom and the First Wave

While there are some few black metal recordings which predate it (most notably Angel Witch's self-titled debut), any history of black metal most properly begins with Venom's landmark Welcome to Hell. This album would form the blueprint for virtually all black metal to follow with its raw application of EVIL to the realm of music. Venom would release two further unquestioned masterpieces, one of which lent its name to the emerging subgenre, Black Metal. Following in the wake of Venom, the 1980's saw a flowering of what was to be the FIRST WAVE of black metal. In 1983, Tom G. Warrior released Apocalyptic Raids with his band Hellhammer before going on to more widespread notoriety with Celtic Frost. Though dismissed at the time by many who were too enamoured of Metallica, Maiden and Slayer to see its genius, the simple atavistic structures of Apocalyptic Raids would have a profound influence on later generations of black metallers. Beginning life in 1984 as something of a Venom clone, Bathory, the one man gang consisting of madman Quorthon and his instruments, would go on to become arguably the second most influential band of the first wave, right on the heels of Venom. The "lizard like" shriek he introduced has become so synonymous with black metal that many uninformed metalheads believe this vocal style to define the genre. Quorthon also was one of the primary innovators of the fast tremelostrum technique widely prevalent in black metal to this day. Bathory's 1986 masterpiece Under the Sign of the Black Mark stands as one of the landmark albums, not just of black metal, but metal in general. Other notable bands of the first wave include Sodom, Mercyful Fate, Sarcofago and the mysterious Bay Area act Von.

2.2- The Second Wave

With the dawn of the 90's, a new generation of black metal bands began to emerge, forming a SECOND WAVE of black metal (though some, such as Mayhem, had been kicking around since the mid-80's). These second wave acts looked back to the first wave masters, but added their own touches. Mayhem took the ideas pioneered by Bathory and pushed them to new extremes. The band is legendary as much for the murder of main man Euronymous at the hands of Burzum's Varg Vikernes and for their influence on the attitude and imagery of the developing second wave as for their music, which, while certainly good (at least that which was written before the death of Euronymous, the band's subsequent decline into mediocrity and ultimately artistic irrelevance is well documented) is not as groundbreaking or brilliant as that of other bands of the second wave. Burzum, like Mayhem, was heavily influenced by Bathory, but Vikernes fused this base with cold, wind swept melodies and sprawling arrangements to create a truly epic style of black metal. DarkThrone began as an epic death metal act (and one of the best ever to grace the style), but, with starting with A Blaze in the Northern Sky, they would set off upon a course destined to make them the most influential black metal since Bathory. They followed up A Blaze… with the criminally underrated Under a Funeral Moon, moving towards a style that would find its fullest expression on their next album, the monumental Transilvanian Hunger. Transilvanian Hunger was and remains the last word in minimalism, simple, stripped down structures, evil reduced to its rawest form. Finnish masters Beherit themselves more than dabbled in minimalism. Their second full length album, Drawing Down the Moon combined a raw crush derived from Hellhammer with supremely dark, epic doomy passages and the nastiest production job to date to create what is considered by many (including me, and we know how often I'm wrong [hint: never]) to be the finest single album to emerge from the second wave of black metal. Other notable second wave acts include Immortal, Emperor, Havohej/Profanatica, Tormentor and Blasphemy.

2.3- Beyond the Second Wave

After the initial burst of creativity during the second wave explosion, black metal settled into something of a rut in the mid-90's, with many bands simply content to clone the works of Burzum, DarkThrone, Beherit et al. However, a few bands have risen above the rest, bringing innovation to the fore while maintaining continuity with the traditions of the subgenre. These bands form a third wave of black metal (though many actually formed around the time the second wave was in full swing, their full impact wasn't made until the middle of the decade), or perhaps it should be considered wave 2b. Countess has been perhaps the most consistent of these bands, making "Orthodox Black Metal" for a decade. Taking DarkThrone and Beherit and splitting the difference, Countess main man Orlok has forged one of the most instantly recognizable sounds in black metal. Building upon the foundation of Burzum and adding folk melodies and other twists, Graveland have become known for some of the most epic metal ever written. Making epic black metal of another sort, Greek warriors Necromantia have created a lush, seductive sort of evil with heavy metal stylings, blistering neoclassical leads and 8 string basses as lead instruments. Other notable "third wave" bands include Demoncy, Tearstained, rehtaF ruO, Galgeras, Megiddo, Varathron, Mütiilation and Ildjarn.

2.4- Faggoth and Norsecore: Black Metal Abortions

It should be noted that there are two major categories of bands commonly called black metal which most definitely are not, "faggoth" and "norsecore."

A. Faggoth-

"Faggoth" bands utilize some of the aesthetic elements common to black metal (most notably the vox), but include none of the ideological content that makes black metal black. This "genre" largely consists of bands who rip off Emperor's Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (itself a fairly tepid record and by no means black metal), usually with far more synth than the originators. Typically, faggoth bands are concerned with "gothic" sorts of preoccupations like vampires, depression and vague existential darkness. The best known faggoth acts include Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir and Anorexia Nervosa.

B. Norsecore

"Norsecore" bands are something of the opposite of faggoth, they hold the same ideology as black metal, but without being metal. Essentially, norsecore bands set black metal style lyrical content to a sort of trebly grindcore. Dark Funeral and Marduk are the most widely known norsecore bands.

3. Recommendations

3.1- Lord Vic's "Six Pillars"

The following come courtesy of Lord Vic, the man behind Rampage and Unsung Heroes Records.

Venom- Welcome to Hell
Venom- Black Metal
Bathory- The Return
Bathory- Under the Sign of the Black Mark
Hellhammer- Apocalyptic Raids
Sodom- In the Sign of Evil

3.2- My Recommendations (First Wave)

(* Indicates personal favorites)
Venom- Welcome to Hell
Venom- Black Metal
Venom- At War With Satan*
Bathory- The Return
Bathory- Under the Sign of the Black Mark*
Hellhammer- Apocalyptic Raids
Sodom- In the Sign of Evil
Sarcofago- I.N.R.I.*
Mercyful Fate- Don't Break the Oath
Von- Satanic Blood

3.3- My Recommendations (Second Wave and Beyond)

Beherit- Drawing Down the Moon*
Necromantia- Scarlet Evil Witching Black*
Countess- The Return of the Horned One*
DarkThrone- Transilvanian Hunger
Ildjarn- Forest Poetry
Burzum- Burzum
Demoncy- Faustian Dawn/Within the Sylvan Realms of Frost*
Megiddo- The Devil and the Whore
Varathron- His Majesty in the Swamp
Graveland- Carpathian Wolves*

3.4- Recommended Dowloads

The idea here is to point you towards a few songs that give as broad an overview of possibilities within black metal as possible.

Venom- At War With Satan
Angel Witch - Baphomet
Mercyful Fate - Into the Coven
Bathory - Enter the Internal Fire
Hellhammer - Triumph of Death
Sarcofago - The Black Vomit
Burzum - Black Spell of Destruction
Mayhem - Funeral Fog
Beherit - Sadomatic Rights
Darkthrone- Skald Au Satans Sol
Immortal - Pure Holocaust
Danzig- Godless
Acheron - Satanic Erotica
Countess - Ritual of the Seven Priests
Profanatica - I arose
Graveland - Blood of Christians on My Sword
Necromantia- Pretender to the Throne (Opus I: The Usurper's Spawn)
Varathron- Son of the Moon (Act II)
Demoncy- Joined in Darkness
Megiddo - The Heretic
Morrigan - Plague, waste, death

Well, I suppose that didn't turn out to be so brief after all, but if that bothers you, I'm sure you won't mind running along and fucking off.

So long, and until next time,
Falconsbane ist Krieg!

Retro Picks of the Week

Demigod- Slumber of Sullen Eyes
Infester- To the Depths…In Degradation
WatchTower- Energetic Disassembly
Danzig- III: How the Gods Kill
Tormentor- Anno Domini