History Main / BlackMetal

Thanks to a focus on Satanic (or just anti-Christian) imagery, the mainstream media tends to frown upon the genre, but genres like fantasy (ie. Tolkien) and folklore are also common. Some black metal bands are even aligned with National Socialism. (On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, there are also the occasional bands aligned with anarchism or other left-wing ideologies, such as Wolves in the Throne Room, Panopticon, and Skagos). Although there are exceptions, modern black metal as a musical style tends to make use of high-pitched tremolo picking, shrieked or growled vocals, blast beats, unconventional song structures and an emphasis on atmosphere over technical playing styles. Black metal rarely features verse-chorus structures, generally favoring a more basic style that features extended musical sections and repetitive guitar riffs. Guitar solos are a rarity in black metal, although they are featured prominently in the music of some bands (i.e. Peste Noire). Black metal often features very lo-fi, primitive recording quality reminiscent of the early days of the genre, but some bands have favored more professional recording techniques. While the harsh vocal style of black metal has become nearly universal, many bands still feature clean vocals, used either in conjunction with more extreme vocals or as the primary vocal style.

* Chthonic

* Antestor (TropeCodifier)

* Shining

Thanks to a focus on Satanic (or just anti-Christian) imagery, the mainstream media tends to frown upon the genre, but genres like fantasy (ie. Tolkien) and folklore are also common. Some black metal bands are even aligned with National Socialism. Although there are exceptions, modern black metal as a musical style tends to make use of high-pitched tremolo picking, shrieked or growled vocals, blast beats, unconventional song structures and an emphasis on atmosphere over technical playing styles. Black metal rarely features verse-chorus structures, generally favoring a more basic style that features extended musical sections and repetitive guitar riffs. Guitar solos are a rarity in black metal, although they are featured prominently in the music of some bands (i.e. Peste Noire). Black metal often features very lo-fi, primitive recording quality reminiscent of the early days of the genre, but some bands have favored more professional recording techniques. While the harsh vocal style of black metal has become nearly universal, many bands still feature clean vocals, used either in conjunction with more extreme vocals or as the primary vocal style.

* Antestor (TropeMaker)

* Horde (TropeCodifier)

* Antestor

* Nokturnal Mortum (occasionally)

'''Avant-Garde Black Metal'''\\

* FanHaters - Within the genre, fans of the scrappy bands bands mentioned below are widely mocked. Outside of it, there are a fair number of metalheads who (while not necesarily hating the music) hate [[FanDumb the stereotypical Black Metal fan]]: Some [[KnowNothingKnowItAll pretentious moron]] [[{{Anvilicious}} who won't shut up]] about how [[AngstAversion much the world sucks]], [[ItsPopularNowItSucks ditches bands faster than a hipster on PCP]], and hasn't got much interest in anything besides Black Metal. That these fans are very much a VocalMinority, and widely mocked [[StopBeingStereotypical by other fans]] doesn't seem to matter.

The roots of black metal come from Venom's extreme take on thrash metal (''Black Metal'' is obviously cited as a major GenreLaunch), as well as bands like Bathory, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Mercyful Fate. Who was more important can lead to a BrokenBase though ("Venom started it" vs "the media said that Venom started it!"), so be warned. A second wave started in the late 80s/early 90s, with bands such as Mayhem, Darkthrone, Burzum, Emperor, Rotting Christ and Varathron. Black metal bands from the United States such as Von and Profanatica also formed around this time. Most modern black metal was built upon the groundwork laid by bands during this time period. Following a series of church burnings associated with black metal musicians and the murder of Euronymous of Mayhem by Burzum mastermind Varg Vikernes, the Norwegian black metal scene received considerable attention from the mainstream media.

* MemeticMutation - Immortal. [[XJustX Just]] [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/immortal Immortal]]. VargVikernes is also [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/varg-vikernes quite the memetic fellow]].

* MemeticMutation - Immortal. [[XJustX Just]] [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/immortal Immortal]]. VargVikernes is also [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/varg-vikernes quite the memetic fellow]].

* FantasticRacism - Found within NSBM.
** How so? They are actually racist, not racist against elves or dwarves or whatever.

* PublicMediumIgnorance - To many, DimmuBorgir and CradleOfFilth and ''maybe'' {{Emperor}} are the only BlackMetal bands.