Black Metal Bands

There is a bewildering array of genres and sub genres when it comes to music these days. This is especially true of the heavy metal scene. Black Metal bands have a loyal fan base, though would never wish to be part of the mainstream. They are by nature, a cult or underground movement. Live shows tend to be theatrical affairs and the clothes and artwork on albums is all carefully chosen to reinforce the music and lyrics.

The musical style is characterized by guitars and drums played at a fast tempo. The guitar sound is highly distorted and the vocals are high-pitched shrieks or screams. This is not a genre for the guitar solo but rather, a repeated barrage of sound. Black Metal bands tend to stay away from polished production techniques and prefer a rough and ready sound, closer to a live performance. Lyrics are usually on dark and sometimes menacing themes and not for the squeamish! Paganism and death are recurring subjects. Some bands take lyrical inspiration from fantasy stories, folklore and nature. Of course, the style of singing makes it difficult to hear the words.

Certain elements of dress are common to Black Metal bands, including wristbands with spikes, combat boots and inverted pentagrams. The color worn is nearly always black and black and white make up, known as 'corpse paint' is invariably used. Fans of the bands like to copy their heroes, particularly when attending gigs. The band members often adopt scary sounding nicknames.

Heavy Metal has been around for a long while, fragmenting into ever more sub genres over the years. Of course, there is a certain amount of overlap. During the 1980s, some of the Thrash Metal bands inspired new Black Metal bands and the scene was born. It is extremely popular in Scandinavia and Norwegian bands dominated in the 1990s, including Mayhem, Darkthrone, Enslaved and Carpathian Forest. Bands from Sweden and Finland also emerged in the '90s. American bands too began to make their mark during this decade, such as Von, Judas Iscariot, and Demoncy.

From the mid-1990s onwards, the scene fragmented further with some Black Metal bands moving to a more polished sound, using orchestral arrangements and synthesizers. This departure split the fans. Some purists prefer their metal as it was originally intended and shun the later innovations whilst others have embraced all manner of sub-sub-genre and fusion genres (yes, it does get complicated!)

Melodic Black Metal is one such departure. It is, as the name suggests, more melodic and the guitars use less distortion. Even a guitar solo is heard from time to time. Keyboards and other instruments are used. Symphonic Black Metal employs operatic vocals and instruments found in the orchestra, such as piano, violin, cello and flute. Viking Metal takes its inspiration from folk music and Norse mythological tales. Other Black Metal spin-offs include Ambient Black Metal, Black Doom, and Blackened Death Metal.