Black Metal Facts

Origins and early development

Venom initiated the "first wave" of black metal, with their 1982 album Black Metal giving it its name. In the following years the style was developed by Bathory, Mercyful Fate, Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. By 1987 this wave had declined, but influential works were released by Tormentor, Sarcófago, Parabellum, Blasphemy, Samael and Rotting Christ.

Evolution or diversification

A "second wave" arose in the early 1990s, spearheaded by bands in the early Norwegian black metal scene such as Mayhem, Darkthrone, Burzum, Immortal, Emperor, Satyricon and Gorgoroth. This Norwegian scene did much to define black metal as a distinct genre and inspired other scenes in Finland, Sweden, the United States and France, as well as leading to the founding of influential bands in other countries. Some newer black metal bands began raising their production quality and introducing additional instruments such as keyboards and even orchestras.

Cultural or musical significance

Black metal is described as an extreme subgenre of heavy metal with common traits including fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw lo fi recording, unconventional song structures, and an emphasis on atmosphere. Artists often appear in corpse paint and adopt pseudonyms. Black metal has often sparked controversy; in the 1990s members of the scene were responsible for a spate of church burnings and murders. There is also a small neo nazi movement within black metal, although it has been shunned by many prominent artists; generally the genre strives to remain an underground phenomenon. Common themes in the genre include misanthropy, anti Christianity, Satanism and ethnic paganism.