The main reason for this is the misanthropic and anti-Judeo-Christian attitude of several black metal bands. In addition to this, some black metal bands have been associated with murder, church burnings, and racism. Black metal is, therefore, often seen as an underground form of music. It doesn’t quite appeal to mainstream tastes and many of its musicians like to stay in obscurity.

The first wave

The ‘first wave’ of a black metal refers to the period when some bands first influenced this genre. Such bands often started off with thrash metal. The term ‘black metal’ was first coined by Venom, who was a British band. It came from their second album Black Metal, which was released in 1982. The musical style of the tracks had many similarities with thrash metal. 

However, their lyrics and imagery were characterized by a glorified and heavy emphasis on Satanic and occult-related themes. In many ways, the music was unpolished to a great extent with regards to production. When compared with the other sub-genres of heavy metal, the guitars were far more blistering.

The unclean vocals relied more on raw and shrieking screams and less on melody. Members of Venom also used pseudonyms, which was uncommon among metal bands in those days. The Swedish band Bathory is also considered a pioneer of this genre. It was led by Thomas Forsberg, who used the pseudonym Qhorthon. 

The focus of Bathory was on sub-optimal production standards, which suited their fast tempo and raspy vocals. This is apparent in their early albums, such as The Return. Bathory was also the first band to add Norse mythological elements in their lyrics and album art.

The second wave

The second wave of black metal was witnessed in the early 90s. It came owing to the rise of Norwegian black metal bands such as Mayhem, Satyricon, Burzum, Immortal, and Darkthrone. This wave added some new atmospheric elements to black metal. Many of these bands were later held responsible for some serious crimes. 

Classical elements were also added to some extent to this genre and it was popularized for an increasing underground audience. These bands were philosophically against the right-hand path. Soon, this sentiment became a must for any brand to be recognized as a black metal band. The extremists within the sub-culture of black metal often criticized bands that didn’t exhibit such beliefs through their actions. 

According to Ihsahn of the band Emperor, this trend might’ve developed from opposition to society. It was, in a way, a confrontation to many things that were considered normal. A dark and misanthropic mentality was visually displayed with the use of corpsepaint. This was also used to distinguish black metal bands from the other rock bands of the time. 

Black metal bands also began to emerge in Sweden during the early 1990s. Dissection and Marduk were among the popular Swedish bands in the genre. Finland also got its own black metal bands during this period, such as Impaled Nazarene and Beherit.

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Even the most ardent fans of this genre with great insider knowledge are not able to define it. Most of them know black metal music through some exciting tracks and charismatic bands. Here are some of the best bands in black metal music that you must know:

1. Venom

With their second album Black Metal, Venom became pioneers of the early wave of the genre in a way. Their professional recording debut was the single released in 1981 called In League with Satan. This song later became a part of Venom’s first full-length album titled Welcome to Hell. The music of this English band was faster and harsher when compared to most of its contemporaries in the heavy metal genre. 

While Satanism had featured in metal music before, the subject itself was rarely prominent. The music of Venom was characterized by the celebration of evil subjects. Critics still regard this band as a ‘trio of buffoons’.

2. Mayhem

The career of this band represents the very evil ideology that made black metal appear so diabolical. Mayhem is a lot more than just a band. It gave stunning levels of legitimacy to the chaos and evil that this genre promises. When a member of this band committed suicide, the image of his corpse was seen on their album cover. 

One of the band members was Kristian Vikernes. He was described as the most notorious metal musician by filmmaker Sam Dunn. Vikernes had brutally stabbed the band’s guitarist Euronymous in August 1993. He was sent to prison for 21 years for this crime but was released on parole in 2009.

3. Darkthrone

This Norwegian metal band was formed in 1986 and became one of the leading black metal bands in Norway. Darkthrone adopted the typical aesthetic style in this genre by wearing corpse paint. The band was a part of the second wave of black metal music. 

Darkthrone recorded their first studio album in 1990 titled Soulside Journey. After the release of this album, they gradually shifted towards black metal. Their second album titled A Blaze in the Northern Sky was in the black metal genre.

4. Bathory

A Swedish black metal band, Bathory was named after Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian countess. The book Lords of Chaos describes the band’s first four albums as Scandinavian black metal’s blueprint. They abandoned the black metal genre in their fifth record titled Hammerheart. 

It was released in 1990 and is considered the first Viking metal album. Although they had experimented with thrash metal, Bathory continued in the Viking metal genre. The band’s existence ended when Tomas ‘Quothon’, its founder and main songwriter, died from heart failure in 2004.

5. Immortal

A Norwegian black metal band, Immortal was founded in 1991 by Abbath Doom Occulta. He is the guitarist and frontman of the band and his real name is Olve Eikemo. This band was formed from Amputation and Old Funeral, which were short-lived bands. Old Funeral was founded by Tore Bratseth and Abbath. 

Immortal was formed with Abbath as lead vocalist and bassist. Demonaz Doom Occulta was the guitarist and Armagedda played the drums. Their early music recordings were in the death metal genre. With the release of the EP Immortal in 1991, they transitioned into black metal.

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Some of the fans see it as a kind of music that’s very liberating. Over the years, this sub-genre of heavy metal music has grown into many different things. Right from the darkness of the band Mayhem to Darkthrone’s primitiveness, black metal wears many hats. If you wish to get a taste of black metal music, these are the songs you must listen to:

1. Black Metal

This is the song that truly defined black metal in the year 1982. It was also the title of the album. During the rising wave of heavy metal bands, this song distinguished the band Venom from the rest. It was noisier, faster, and harder. This band was louder than Motorhead and had more speed when compared to Priest. 

It had more shocking imagery than Black Sabbath. They had already made a considerable impact with their debut album Welcome to Hell, which was released in 1981. With their second album Black Metal, they made it clear that they were among the best.

2. Sacrifice

This song was a part of the debut studio album of Bathory, a Swedish metal band. The album was also titled Bathory. Released in 1984, this album was considered as one of the contenders for the first record of black metal. The music critic Rob Ferrier was of the opinion that the music of Bathory had a unique charm. 

The raw power of Sacrifice just couldn’t be ignored. Some critics like Eduardo Rivadavia believed that the songs of Bathory were way ahead of their time. All the tracks of the album were written by Quorthon, whose real name was Thomas Borje Forsberg. He was a Swedish singer, songwriter, and record producer.

3. Into The Crypts of Rays

Celtic Frost is probably among the greatest heavy metal bands the world has ever seen. They arose in the early 1980s from the rural parts of Switzerland. Martin Ain and Tom G Warrior whose partnership was called Hellhammer had split to form Celtic Frost. Although they were quite influential as Hellhammer, they split because of a greater vision. 

The opening track Into The Crypts of Rays from their debut EP Morbid Tales was simply thrilling. It had more confident songwriting and echoed darkness and morbidity in a better way. The track also proved that it was something new and far greater.

4. Deathcrush

The arrival of the band Mayhem is considered a historical event in black metal by many. It is certainly the first band to begin the second wave in this genre. They were the band that truly saw black metal as a genre in itself. The bands before them like Venom, Celtic Frost, and Bathory were, of course, great in their works. 

However, Mayhem put together death metal, satanic metal, death metal, and thrash metal to create something exceptional. The title track of their EP Deathcrush stands testimony to this fact. This mini-album had a limited print run, but appeared in the top 20 albums listed by Kerrang! magazine.

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