1 Sarah Labrie Music Literature Final Paper May 2013 Black Metal

The sun rises over the fields upon fields of tents all full of diehard !etalheads "ho "ere lucky to #et a ticket to the 2$ year sold out %acken Festival in %acken &er!any' This Festival is the !etalhead(s drea!' )ts line up consists of $0 or !ore heavy !etal bands each year and fans travel across the #lobe *ust to take part in the e+perience' The pheno!enon of these heavy !etal fans across the #lobe is so!ethin# that can only be described as a culture of outsiders' , sub-cate#ory of heavy !etal that developed in the early 1./0(s "hich consists of an even s!aller #roup of 0outsider1 fans is black !etal' Black !etal is an e+tre!e sub#enre of heavy !etal that features traits such as fast te!pos shriekin# vocals e+tre!ely distorted #uitars played "ith tre!olo pickin# blast beat dru!!in# unconventional son# structures and ra" lo" 2uality recordin#s' Thou#h all heavy !etal fans have their o"n distinct culture black !etal is even !ore so a distinct separate culture of people' )n the history of black !etal there have been t"o 0"aves1 of black !etal bands distinct in style culture etc'

2 The 0first "ave1 of black !etal refers to the #roup of bands that for!ed and shaped the style fro! the early 1./0(s to the late 1./0(s' These bands be#an as 0thrash1 or 0speed !etal1 bands' The band that ori#inally coined the ter! 0black !etal1 called the!selves 3eno!' 4n#lish band 3eno!(s second albu! released "as called 0Black Metal'1 5eleased in 1./2 the albu! focused on e+tre!e anti-6hristian and Satanic the!es' &runtin# screa!in# and raspy vocals characteri7e the !usic of the albu! and by today(s standards it is a very 0li#ht1 style of black !etal' The production 2uality "as 2uite lo" as "ere !any black !etal albu!s' This "as not because they "eren(t capable of !akin# hi#her 2uality albu!s but rather because they "anted to #ive the i!pression that they "ere doin# it for the!selves and people "ho "anted to listen could but those "ho didn(t "ant to listen could !ore or less 0scre" off'1 ,nother lastin# tradition developed durin# the first "ave of black !etal "as the use of corpse paint' The first band to !ake this a trend "as the 8anish band Mercyful Fate' 6orpse paint is si!ply a #hostly lookin# black-and-"hite face paint that #ives the appearance of death' ,nother trend set by this band that "as adopted by future black !etal bands "as the use of pseudony!s or fake na!es' 9ne of the other !ost influential bands of the first "ave "as the S"edish band Bathory "hose lead sin#er took on the pseudony! :uorthon' Bathory "as the band that led the "ay for Scandinavian black !etal' )t took on all the traits of previous black

3 !etal bands "ith dark the!es fast instru!entation heavy distortion and lo-fi recordin#s but :uorthon "as the first to use the shrieked style of vocals that no" is one of the definin# 2ualities of the style' Bathory used this style on the first four of their albu!s and then continued on to pioneer the ne+t branch of !etal no" kno"n as 3ikin# !etal' ,nother bi# band included in the first "ave "as the S"iss band ;ellha!!er' The style took a turn to"ards "hat is currently vie"ed as black !etal "ith ;ellha!!er' Their !usic "as !ore brutal and !ore ra" than ever before' They !arked a distinct style of early S"edish death !etal' )n 1./$ the !e!bers that once "ere ;elha!!er for!ed a ne" band 6eltic Frost "hose !usic be#an to e+plore !ore in the style of instru!ental orchestral and e+peri!ental !etal "ith lyrics focused !ore on !a*estic stories of <orse &ods as "ell as very personal lyrics' 9ther bands to be included as bein# influential durin# this first "ave "ere =reator Sodo! and 8estruction fro! &er!any and Bulldo7er and 8eath SS fro! )taly' ,t the end of the first "ave the infa!ous Slayer fan !a#a7ine announced 0the latest fad of Black>Satanic bands see!s to be over'1 Little did the "riters of this !a#a7ine kno" that an entire second "ave of black !etal "as soon to be created and developed' 8urin# the do"nti!e bet"een the first and second "ave there "ere still a fe" bands considered si#nificant in the black !etal scene' These bands include )ncubus Morbid ,n#el Sabbat Tor!entor Sarcofa#o

$ &rote2ue and Treblinka' )n these years before the second "ave also kno"n as the <or"e#ian black !etal scene in i!portant style of !etal that beca!e kno"n as 0"ar black !etal1 or 0bestial black !etal1 developed in the afore !entioned bands' The fans of black !etal never really "ent a"ay at all' There "as *ust no develop!ent of the style for a fe" years' Then in the early 1..0(s the country of <or"ay led the second "ave of black !etal' <or"e#ian bands e+plored a ne" style of black !etal !usic that "as its o"n style as "ell as a ne" "ay of life for the artists and fans' The bands that spearheaded this ne" !ove!ent of black !etal "ere Thorns 8arkthrone Bur7u! )!!ortal Satyricon 4!peror 4nslaved 6arpathian Forest &or#oroth and !ost notably Mayhe!' Mayhe!(s #uitarist "hose pseudony! "as 4urony!ous developed a ne" style in his #uitar playin# that he said "as 0derived fro! Bathory'1 <ot only "as this second "ave of ?<or"e#ian@ black !etal even !ore anti-6hristian than the first "ave but it "as also !ore anti-society' Many of the !e!bers of these bands "ere intervie"ed in the early 1..0(s about their take on "hy such bold state!ents "ere bein# !ade about 6hristianity and society to "hich they presented the!selves as !isanthropic "orshipers of Satan "ho only "anted to spread hatred sorro" evil and despair' There "as a second "ave of !usic that happened outside of <or"ay but in the lon# run none of the non-<or"e#ian bands contributed !uch to the #enre' 9utside of the !usic durin# the second "ave ca!e a lot of

B notable characters that "ere front !en in black !etal bands across the Scandinavian countries' The three notorious individuals that arose fro! the second "ave "ere Mayhe!(s vocalist Per An#ve 9hlin ?8ead@ Mayhe!(s #uitarist 4urony!ous and 3ar# 3ikernes of Bur7u!' The ne+t fe" para#raphs describe each of these people in detail' Per An#ve 9hlin or 08ead1 as he "as kno"n as by his fans "as the vocalist for the band Mayhe!' People "ho kne" hi! closely referred to hi! as bein# odd introverted and depressed' ;is band!ates said that before sho"s he "ould take a lon# ti!e and dedicate !uch effort to !akin# hi!self look like a corpse' <ot only "ould he "ear the corpse paint but he "ould also cut his ar!s "hile sin#in#' 9n ,pril / 1..1 he "as found dead by his band!ates in the house that they all shared' ;e had co!!itted suicide "hile alone in the house' 4urony!ous Mayhe!(s #uitarist "as the first to discover the body "ith deeply slit "rists and a shot#un "ound to the head' 08ead1 ho"ever did leave a suicide note in "hich he apolo#i7ed for firin# the "eapon indoors' ;e ended the note by sayin# 04+cuse all the blood'1 Many people have co!!itted suicide but the interestin# part of this story is "hat 4urony!ous did "ith the body' 4urony!ous decided that before callin# the police he "ould #o to a local shop and by a disposable ca!era "ith "hich he took pictures of the !utilated body' 9ne of these photo#raphs"as later used as the cover photo for Mayhe!(s live albu! 8a"n of Black ;earts'

,bove is the albu! cover sho"in# 08ead1 "ith his brains lyin# on the table ne+t to hi!' )t has also been ru!ored that 4urony!ous !ade a ste" "ith bits of 8ead(s brain and had also !ade necklaces "ith fra#!ents of his skull' These necklaces "ere #iven to a handful of !usicians that 4urony!ous dee!ed "orthy' The bassist of Mayhe! kno"n as 0<ecrobutcher1 noted that after 8ead(s suicide the black !etal scene "ent throu#h a si#nificant chan#e' )t brou#ht a !ore serious level to the evil of black !etal' 4urony!ous tried to use the suicide to his advanta#e sayin# that 8ead killed hi!self because e+tre!e !etal had beco!e to co!!erciali7ed' )t pro!oted Mayhe!(s evil i!a#e and #ained !ore fans' <o" that black !etal had reached a ne" e+tre!e both the artists and the fans be#an to look for !ore "ays to push the bar and raise the levels of e+tre!ity' Thus in 1..2 a serious of 6hristian church burnin#s in <or"ay "ere spearheaded by the black !etal

D co!!unity' More than B0 arsons of 6hristian 6hurches took place bet"een 1..2 and 1..C' The !ost notable church burnin# "as one of the first' )t "as the Fantoft stave church "hich "as burnt by 3ar# 3ikernes of Bur7u!' The cover of Bur7u!(s 4P ,ske is a picture of the Fantoft stave church after its destruction' ,ske is <or"e#ian for ashes' )n May of 1..$ he "as found #uilty of burnin# do"n several churches includin# ;ol!enkillen 6hapel Sk*old 6hurch and ,sane 6hurch' Before he "as i!prisoned it is also ru!!ered that he plotted "ith 4urony!ous to blo" up <idaros 6athedral for the release of Mayhe!(s 8e Mysteriis 8o! Sathanas' The <idaros 6athedral appeared on the cover of this albu!' This trend of church burnin# be#an to spread to the S"edish black !etal scene as "ell in 1..3' , handful of the arsonists char#ed for the church burnin#s said that their actions sy!boli7ed retaliation a#ainst 6hristianity in <or"ay "hich ori#inally "as a !ostly Pa#an country' 4ven today opinions on the church burnin#s differ a!on# black !etal co!!unity !e!bers' Me!bers of the band &or#oroth are kno"n for bein# very supportive of church burnin#s "hereas others conde!n the church burnin#s' Fa!ously %atain(s vocalist 4rik 8anielsson said that he respected these acts as 0acts of their o"n "ill1 but 0the only 6hristianity they defeated "as the last piece of 6hristianity "ithin the!selves' %hich is a very #ood be#innin# of course'1 8espite "hat it !ay see! not all black !etal !usicians #ot

/ alon#' 4urony!ous and 3ikernes "ere kno"n for their ani!osity to"ards eachother' ,nd in ,u#ust of 1..3 4urony!ous "as !urdered by 3ikernes in his o"n apart!ent' 3ikernes denied that he !urdered 4urony!ous sayin# that he "as told to 0fuck off1 but that 4urony!ous panicked and attacked first' ;e clai!s that all the cut "ounds found on 4urony!ous( body "ere caused by broken #lass that he had fallen on durin# the tussle' 3ikernes( story is 2uite hard to believe considerin# that 4urony!ous "as found "ith 23 cut "ounds totalE t"o to the head five to the neck and si+teen to the back' 3ikernes "as finally arrested after all the trouble he had caused on ,u#ust 1. 1..3 and !any other !e!bers of the black !etal co!!unity "ere taken in for 2uestionin#' ;e "as sentenced to <or"ay(s !a+i!u! prison sentence of 21 years for the !urder of 4urony!ous the arson of four churches and the theft and stora#e of 1B0k# of e+plosives' Me!bers of the black !etal co!!unity outra#ed by the i!prison!ent of 3ikernes that they burned t"o !ore churches on the day of his sentencin#' This ideolo#y of black !etal that had developed only beca!e 0a thin#1 durin# the second "ave of black !etal' The first "ave bands included a lot of evil and Satanic i!a#ery and lyrics ?thou#h not partakin# in Satanis! the!selves@ ho"ever the second "ave used Satanis! as a definin# feature for black !etal' Satanis! "as not the only ideolo#y featured in black !etal' ,nother subculture in black !etal "as the scene associated "ith Pa#anis! and <ationalis!'

. Thou#h the sub-#enres of black !etal don(t have !uch in co!!on other than their "idely shared opposition to all thin#s related to 6hristianity' 9n the other hand there is one branch of !usic of the sa!e style called 0unblack !etal'1 Fnblack !etal is 6hristian black !etal "ith !usic that follo"s the sa!e di!ensions as black !etal but "ith lyrics and artists that pro!ote 6hristianity rather than shred it to pieces' %hen one of the first unblack !etal or 6hristian !etal bands released its first albu! death threats "ere sent to the record co!pany that released the albu! de!andin# the na!es of the !usicians "ho "ished to re!ain anony!ous ?"hich is understandable because this band "as based in <or"ay'@ Most of the black !etal co!!unity vie" 6hristian black !etal as a co!plete o+y!oron' There have been !any docu!entaries on black !etal as "ell as !edia intervie"s ne"s and !a#a7ine articles co!!ercials etc' The television cartoon Metalocalypse is based on an e+tre!e !etal band "ith the fictional businesses bein# na!ed after fa!ous bands ?8i!!u Bur#er &or#oroth(s electric "heelchair store Bur7u!(s hot do#s etc'@ Many product advertise!ents on television also used and featured black !etal artists ?a <or"e#ian co!!ercial for a laundry deter#ent a =F6 co!!ercial screened in 6anada and ,ustralia about a band na!ed 0;ellvetica1 etc'@ ,ll in all "hat can be #athered is that black !etal and its culture are a stayin# part of society that "on(t be dyin#

10 do"n anyti!e soon' )ts fans are hardcore and its follo"ers are e+tre!ely interested' The "orld of black !etal "ill not fail to provide interestin# characters and ne" e+tre!e displays of anti-6hristian e!otions' This style has certainly distin#uished itself a!on# others and "ill continue to do so'

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Citations

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1. All Metal Fest: http://www.allmetalfest.com/wacken-2013/

2. Black Metal Newsletter: http://www. lackmetal.com/c!i- in/!ol"/cate!or#.c!i$ cate!or#%s& scri e 3. Metal: A 'ea" an!er(s )o&rne# *200+, -oc&mentar#.

.. Metalin/ection.com: http://www.metalin/ection.net/ lack-metal-histor#-month/top-10crimes-committe"- lack-metal-m&sicians +. 0hillips1 2illiam an" Co!an1 Brian *2003,. 4nc#clope"ia of hea5# metal m&sic. 6reenwoo" 0ress. 7. 8ikernes1 8ar!: A B&r9&m :tor#: 0art ;; - 4&ron#mo&s. B&r9&m.or!.

<. 2ickipe"ia.com: http://en.wikipe"ia.or!/wiki/Black=metal

>. ?e & 1 Bill: Black Metal: A -oc&mentar#. *200<,