Whether they’ve been commercial hits or underground gems, they’ve certainly made an impact, especially on the black metal fans. Sometimes a grand celebration, challenging at times, there’s certainly something magical about these albums:

1. Casus Luciferi 

Released in 2003, this is the second studio album by the Swedish black metal band, Watain. The album was also released by Norma Evangelium Diaboli on a limited edition vinyl record. A Romanian label known as Mirgilus Siculorum released this album on tape in 2004. In October 2008, the album was remastered and reissued while also including a bonus track. 

The release of Casus Luciferi is considered a significant event in the career of Watain. The band was also infamous for its weird concert rituals. During their live performance in Brooklyn, they doused the members of the audience with animal blood. This caused some of them to vomit, generating much controversy. 

2. Si Monvmentvm Reqvires, Circvmspice 

Formed in 1998, Deathspell Omega is a French black metal band based in the French city of Poitiers. In 2004, they released their third full-length album titled Si Monvmentvm Reqvires, Circvmspice. The title is a Latin epitaph’s misquoted version. The epitaph is found in St Paul’s Cathedral on the tomb of Christopher Wren. It literally translates as ‘If you seek his monument, look around you. 

The album is the first part of a trilogy released by Deathspell Omega. The other two are Faslte, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum released in 2007 and Paracletus released in 2010. Si Monvmentvm Reqvires, Circvmspice deals with themes of putrefaction, antinatalism, and decomposition.

3. Instinct: Decay

After Instinct: Decay was released, Decibel Magazine declared it the 4th best album of the year. This is the third full-length album from the American psychedelic black metal band, Nachtmystium. The name of the band is derived from the German ‘Nacht’, which means ‘night’. The made-up term ‘mystium’ is quite similar to the Latin adjective ‘mysticism. 

According to the band’s founding members Blake Judd and Pat McCormick, the band’s name mean ‘encompassing darkness’. Instinct: Decay was released in 2006 and its cover was designed by Rebecca Clegg. The band’s success was marred by the arrest of Judd in 2013 under the charges of theft. Later the band went on a hiatus until 2017 when it reformed and performed at four concerts.

4. The Work Which Transforms God

This is the fourth studio album from the French black metal band, Blut Aus Nord. It was released on the 17th of March 2003 by Appease Me Records. The album was reissued with new artwork the following year on Candlelight Records. Considered to be among the best releases of Blut Aus Nord, it received several positive reviews. 

The album was a breakthrough release for the band as well as for the overall black metal genre. The Work Which Transforms God was again reissued in 2005. This version included the EP Thematic Emanation of Archetypal Multiplicity in the form of a second disc.

The post 4 Best Black Metal Albums of the 2000s appeared first on woodcutrecords.com.

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.

The post The First and Second Waves of Black Metal appeared first on woodcutrecords.com.

Some of these bands, such as Best Coast and Dum Dum Girls have received praises as well as rebukes. Much of the rebukes they got were the result of their fuzzy lo-fi sound. Trends in music are often cyclic. It doesn’t come as a surprise, therefore, when you see legions of fans admiring a least expected genre. Many were stunned by the sudden adoration for a genre of metal called black metal. 

The best albums of 2013 were listed by the biggest music publications in the world. Among them was a black metal album called Sunbather from Deafheaven. The black metal album The Satanist from Behemoth was given five stars out of five by The Guardian. The ads from Apple also promoted a black metal album. 

Unless you’re a black metal fan, you’ll wonder where the world is heading to, upon seeing all of these. The genre that was once seen as alienating has now found a new life. A whole lot of people have begun paying attention to it. Let’s now take a look at its history.

Dark origins

The term ‘black metal’ originated in 1982. It came from the album of the same name from the English band, Venom. There were a few bands that are now considered a part of the ‘first wave’ of black metal. Their music sounded more like speed and thrash metal. Among these bands were Venom, Mercyful Fate, and Bathory. 

These bands stood out from the rest owing to their lyrical and thematic content. Their themes were often Satanic and anti-Christian. Members of these bands adopted morbid personas, monikers, and corpse paint. Quorthon, the vocalist of Bathory, became quite popular for his screeching rather than singing. 

The first wave of black metal set the tonal quality and character of the black metal bands to come. The music had to be extremely dark with heavily distorted guitars, lo-fi production, fast drums, and anti-Christian. 

The genre faded away in the late 1980s owing to the increasing popularity of death metal. This new genre of metal was faster, hyper-aggressive, more chaotic, and featured growled vocals. Black metal sounds low-pitched, while death metal has a higher pitch.

The early 1990s

The early 90s saw the second wave of black metal emerge in Norway. The bands that were a part of this wave included Mayhem, Immortal, Darkthrone, and Gorgoroth. A distinct, legitimate sub-genre was developed out of the sound and culture of the forbears of black metal. Such an evolution of black metal took it to the next level. 

The new avatar of this genre was misanthropic and nihilistic. At times, the tracks were so raw that they seemed unlistenable to many. Instead of emotional gratification, they were focused on creating dark and moody atmospheres.

Adherence to the ideology

In the second wave, there was a greater level of commitment to satanism. While the earlier bands only used satanism for shock value, the newer ones wanted to be totally ungodly. Among the early Norwegian black metal bands, warped philosophical ideologies were rampant. This often invited the ire of international media. 

Some of the bands were so horribly misguided that they were completely immersed in the culture. They explicitly expressed their desire to spread hatred, fear, and sorrow. This resulted in more than 50 arsons of Christian churches during the period between 1992 and 1996 in Norway. One particular incident of extremities is the suicide of Mayhem’s vocalist, Per Yngve Ohlin. 

He was found by guitarist Euronymous with slit wrists and throat, and a shotgun wound to his head. Euronymous, instead of calling the police immediately, did something utterly disgusting. He went to a shop and brought a disposable camera. He used it to take some pictures of his former bandmate’s dead body. One of them was used as an album cover!

Spawning of other black metal bands

Black metal was considered to be a purely underground genre for a long time. It had slowly begun to creep out into the consciousness of the general metal scene. Although the Norwegian black metal scene was plagued with notoriety, it was surely appealing to some parts of Europe. Soon, the genre was embraced by some in Germany, the United Kingdom, and France. 

During this period, the winds of this genre were changing direction. Just like the American death metal, the European black metal bands caught the attention of big-time metal labels. This rising commercialization of black metal was hated by fans of the genre. The purists of what was once a fiercely underground movement were certainly not happy. 

They were angry that the death metal bands were going to Nuclear Blast, Century Media and other major labels. While certain black metal bands claimed to be true to their genre, they pursued a wider musical palette. Despite this, black metal continued to exist in their DNA. The most commercially successful band in black metal history is Dimmu Borgir. 

They also went on to add an operatic edge and cleaner vocals. Enslaved and Emperor changed their direction towards progressive metal. The infamous Varg Vikernes made use of minimalist black metal qualities to introduce ambient elements. He even went fully instrumental while serving time in prison. At the time, he didn’t have any access to traditional rock instruments.

At one point, Blut Aus Nord realized that industrial music and black metal could go together. Deathspell Omega and Ulver decided to let their avant-garde tendencies loose. Satyricon went full-on hard rock as well. All these bands were rooted in black metal, but realized that murdering rivals and burning churches didn’t suit them. 

Expanding their sound was definitely against the principles of black metal. Many such bands helped in expanding black metal beyond its confines. Without their efforts, we wouldn’t have gotten a band like Deafheaven. We also wouldn’t have gotten symphonic black metal, blackened death metal, progressive black metal, and other sub-genres.

The post The Dark and Intriguing History of Black Metal appeared first on woodcutrecords.com.

As a result, many of them publicly turned to religions like Asatru. These religions predate the arrival of Christianity in the region and are characterized by the worship of Norse gods. Deities like Thor were admired by these black metal musicians and they also praised the Viking resistance to Christianity. 

Some bands also demanded that the metal genre be freed from the influence of American rock. They wanted to shift to a purely European musical form, which revered their culture. However, no concrete evidence of violence was found beside the aggressive song lyrics.

The spread of black metal ideas in Norway

Such ideas found favour with a small group of young Norwegian musicians in the early 1990s. They often gathered at Helvete, a record shop in Oslo. The meaning of the word Helvete in the local language is ‘hell’. During such gatherings, some intense conversations took place on matters regarding music, self-reliance, and personal strength. 

The writings of Friedrich Nietzsche, a 19th-century German philosopher, were also discussed. These young musicians were fascinated by the idea that non-conformity and strength thrived in pre-Christian Scandinavia. It sparked in them an intense admiration for the authentic native culture. 

They began to consider Christianity as a weaker religion when compared to the ‘heathen’ culture. This prompted the black metal bands to paint their faces to look like corpses. Some of them wore spiked gauntlets and bandoliers. There were some who even performed with animal blood on the stage.

Violence in black metal

In the early 1990s, a desire to crush the weaker and impure ways emerged during the gatherings at Helvete. Members of these small groups began plotting ways to unleash their darker side. Some of them indulged in grave desecration and murder. 

One such infamous incident was the murder of a homosexual man. The musician had stabbed the gay man for demanding sexual favors from him. This incident had happened in a park meant to be a place where gay men met for sex. 

The opposition of black metal bands to Christianity also resulted in a series of church burnings. During 1992, many black metal musicians had burned churches in several Norwegian cities. Some of them were many centuries old. Arsons were witnessed throughout 1995 in Norway and Sweden. 

Despite such incidents, there’s one thing that’s worth noting. It’s the fact that most black metal musicians and fans have always criticized physical violence.

Racism in black metal

During the period between the mid to late 1990s, some black metal bands favoured racism. They were of the belief that fierce anti-immigrant and racist ideas were an integral part of their music. They borrowed the Nazi ideology and believed that the people of Europe must return to their Aryan race. Such ideas were also favoured by a small section of US-based black metal bands and their fans. 

This led to the emergence of a small sub-genre of black metal called national socialist black metal. It favoured extreme violence and racial separatism. This sub-genre of black metal has maintained a steady existence in some countries. Some of them are the United States, Poland, Greece, and Australia.

The post How Black Metal is Often Linked to Violent Acts appeared first on woodcutrecords.com.

This period saw bloodshed, blasphemy, and mayhem on several occasions. These are the things that shouldn’t have been associated with music. Several incidents happened during this period that would send a chill down your spine. Here are a few of them:

The blasphemous ‘black mass’ of Gorgoroth

Gorgoroth is a Norway-based black metal band. In the year 2004, a DVD recording strewn with nudity and blood caused a stir in many places. It took place in the Polish city of Krakow. During the DVD recording of Gorgoroth’s concert, the band displayed sheep heads on stakes. Also placed on display were Satanic symbols and a bloodbath of 80 litres of sheep’s blood. 

Four naked models with their heads covered were shown as crucified on the stage. A police investigation was conducted on this incident with allegations of cruelty to animals and religious offences. This resulted in the concert organizer being fined 10,000 zlotych in 2007.

The burning of Fantoft Stave Church

On the 6th of June 1992, the historic Fantoft Stave Church was destroyed by arson. The members of the early Norwegian black metal scene were accused of perpetrating this act. At first, lightning or an electrical failure was thought to have caused this incident. However, Varg Vikernes of the black metal music project Burzum was later charged. 

He was found guilty of burning Old Asane Church and a few other churches. Although the jurors had voted not guilty and the judges termed it an error, the decision was not overturned. A photograph of the burnt shell of the church appeared on the cover of Burzum’s EP Aske in 1993.

The ‘resurrection’ of Niklas Kvarforth

Shining is a popular Swedish black metal band that was formed in 1996 by Niklas Kvarforth. Fans of this band are quite familiar with their suicide-themed lyrics and depressive undertones. Most of them are also familiar with Kvarforth’s act of resurrection. 

In July 2006, Kvarforth disappeared and the rumour was spread of his suicide. He was known for his disturbing behaviour, which involved harming himself while on stage. He also used to encourage members of the audience to taste his blood. 

On the 23rd of August 2006, the band had a statement put up on their website that Kvarforth had disappeared. They also mentioned that they would be continuing with a new singer called ‘Ghoul’. During a concert held on the 3rd of February 2007 in Sweden, Ghoul was revealed to be Niklas Kvarforth.

Faust’s homophobic attack

Bard Guldvik Eithun, popularly known as ‘Faust’, has been a drummer for the Norwegian black metal band, Emperor. On the 21st of August 1992, he stabbed a man by the name of Magne Andreassen to death. Faust was on his way home from a pub through Olympic park, which is a popular gay cruising spot. 

Andreassen, who was drunk, approached Faust and solicited him for sex. Faust replied in the affirmative and took him to the nearby woods. Once there, he stabbed Andreassen 37 times and kicked him in the head repeatedly.

The post Darkest Incidents in Black Metal History appeared first on woodcutrecords.com.

Here, we’ve presented some of the amusing instances of black metal satire. They involve some old-fashioned comedy, parody, and spoof. If you’re a black metal fan, you’ll laugh with the black metal scene and not at the genre.

1. Metalocalypse

This is an animated adult American television series, which was created by Tommy Blacha and Brendon Small. It premiered on the 6th of August 2006. The hilarious show followed the misadventures of ‘Dethklok’, a fictional metal band. In the episode titled ‘Dethdad’, the series satirized black metal. 

The band go to Lillehammer in Norway and visit Drop Du Selv, which is a record shop. They meet and chat with a man wearing corpse paint. It was an obvious reference to Helvete, the record shop of Euronymous in Oslo. The shop was where Euronymous and his friends from the world of black metal hung out.

2. Black metal Barbie

The Barbie doll has been a favourite of many kids worldwide. Since the 1960s, it has been an icon of children’s toys. It has been around well before the advent of metal music. However, it got a little bit of a makeover in the year 2017. On a YouTube channel called ‘TEENBARF’, a parody of the Barbie commercial was uploaded during the very next year. 

For the first time, Barbie was seen wearing corpse paint and a Bathory shirt. She was named ‘Black Metal Barbie’ and was shown burning a church replica in the video. The video received a lot of views as the audience found it quite humorous.

3. Becoming Black Metal

In 2013, Joey Siler became an instant hit among metalheads with Cooking Hostile. This animated parody series got a lot of laughs in one of its videos. It imagined what a cooking show would look like if its guests included Lemmy or Phil Anselmo. The video was also admired greatly by Phil Anselmo himself, who gave it two big thumbs up. Take a look at it here on youtube https://youtu.be/8IdCwtIijOA

Two years later, Siler tipped his hat to black metal with a video titled Becoming Black Metal. It shows the protagonist buying a black metal starter kit and transforming into a Euronymous lookalike. He does this with the help of a video by Duke Onyx, a corpse-painted cowboy.

4. Ugly Christmas sweaters

Black metal is known for all sorts of crazy things. It, therefore, doesn’t come as a surprise when holidays are made fun of in this genre. The warmth and cheer of the season are often railed against by black metal. This is exactly why Shredders Apparel came up with a unique idea. 

They included an ‘Ugly Christmas’ sweater in their collection of apparel. It was truly appealing for those who fancied the idea of standing beside a snowman in corpse paint. You could also choose a sweater that approached the Yuletide look with the image of a Baphomet on it.

The post 4 Amusing Moments of Satire in Black Metal appeared first on woodcutrecords.com.

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.

The post 5 Best Black Metal Bands You Must Know appeared first on woodcutrecords.com.