| 1 | [floatboxright: |
| 2 | Primary Stylistic Influences: |
| 3 | + SpeedMetal, NewWaveOfBritishHeavyMetal, ThrashMetal |
| 4 | ] |
| 5 | |
| 6 | [floatboxright: |
| 7 | Secondary Stylistic Influences: |
| 8 | + Dark Ambient, PunkRock, HardcorePunk, NoiseRock, FolkMusic, PostRock, PostPunk, DeathMetal |
| 9 | ] |
| 10 | |
| 11 | [floatboxright: |
| 12 | Primary Stylistic Influences (Viking Metal): |
| 13 | + Black Metal, FolkMusic, FolkMetal |
| 14 | ] |
| 15 | |
| 16 | [floatboxright: |
| 17 | Secondary Stylistic Influences (Viking Metal): |
| 18 | + PowerMetal, ProgressiveMetal, DoomMetal, SymphonicMetal |
| 19 | ] |
| 20 | |
| 21 | [floatboxright: |
| 22 | Primary Stylistic Influences (Post-Black Metal and Blackgaze): |
| 23 | + Black Metal, PostRock, Post Metal, AvantGardeMetal, {{Shoegaze}} |
| 24 | ] |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [floatboxright: |
| 27 | Secondary Stylistic Influences (Post-Black Metal and Blackgaze): |
| 28 | + FolkMusic, PostPunk |
| 29 | ] |
| 30 | |
| 31 | [floatboxright: |
| 32 | Primary Stylistic Influences (Avant-Garde and Progressive Black Metal): |
| 33 | + Black Metal, ProgressiveMetal, ProgressiveRock, AvantGardeMetal |
| 34 | ] |
| 35 | |
| 36 | [floatboxright: |
| 37 | Secondary Stylistic Influences (Avant-Garde and Progressive Black Metal): |
| 38 | + IndustrialMetal, FolkMetal, DeathMetal, PsychedelicRock |
| 39 | ] |
| 40 | ->''"Its sound is raw, yet also epic and atmospheric, like PunkRock meets [[Music/RichardWagner Wagner]], dressed as Music/AliceCooper."'' |
| 41 | -->-- '''Sam Dunn''', ''Metal: A Headbanger's Journey'' |
| 42 | |
| 43 | Black metal is an extreme subgenre of HeavyMetal, distinctly charactarized in equal parts by its raw and abrasive sound and its consistently dark, moody image. The genre has grown to be very diverse since its inception, so it can be hard to make generalizations beyond that, but its defining musical charactaristics tend to include fast tempos driven by blastbeat drumming, high-pitched electric guitars that are often played with tremolo picking[[note]]A guitar-playing technique where a string is struck multiple times in quick succession, creating a rapid-fire line of notes[[/note]], long and/or unconventional song structures, dark and dissonant melodies and chord progressions, and high-pitched shrieking vocals, usually with lyrics concerning anti-Christianity, [[{{Satan}} Satanism]], paganism, nature, misanthropy, depression or [[HeavyMithril fantasy]]. Black Metal musicians are also known for their theatrics, often donning creepy-looking face paint and ScaryImpracticalArmor for live preformances that are saturated with dark or satanic stage imagery to enhance the music's "evil" qualities. However, one should keep in mind that these are just very broad descriptors, and many bands in the genre can experiment with or fall outside these generalizations. |
| 44 | |
| 45 | The genre is also infamous for the [[StylisticSuck aggressively low-fidelity]] recording quality that characterized the sound of many of its most famous bands. This was largely unintentional in the beginning, more a product of early bands' deeply underground existence nessecitating very DIY production and distribution of their records (a cassette deck and a cheap tape recorder lying around was often all they had to work with), but as Black Metal grew in popularity, this lo-fi sound of its pioneers became a defining element of the raw and harsh sound. This is not a constant however, as plenty of other Black Metal bands, particularly newer ones as well as those who play more theatrical variations such as Symphonic Black Metal, prefer more conventional high-fidelity production and instead try to articulate the 'raw' qualities through the music itself. |
| 46 | |
| 47 | The roots of black metal stretch back to the early 1980s, with Music/{{Venom|Band}}'s 1982 album ''Black Metal'' obviously being the TropeNamer and one of the key TropeMakers of the subgenre's sound and image alongside other bands of the era like Music/{{Bathory}}, Hellhammer, Music/CelticFrost and [[Music/KingDiamond Mercyful Fate]]. Who exactly was more important among these acts in creating Black Metal has been a long-running [[BrokenBase Base-Breaker]] in the metal community, so be warned. That being said, Bathory is most recognized as the genre's prime mover even if Venom predated them, since Bathory established many of the characteristics of the genre that would define subsequent imitators. A "second wave" started in the late 80s/early 90s, with bands such as Music/{{Mayhem}}, Music/{{Darkthrone}}, Music/{{Burzum}}, Music/{{Immortal|Band}} Music/{{Emperor}}, Music/{{Dissection}}, Music/RottingChrist, and Varathron. This tends to be what most people think of when they hear the term "Black metal", since the bands of this era became the most popular (which is rather ironic considering how obsessed they also were with being intentionally unappealing to the mainstream) and [[OvershadowedByControversy the most infamous]]. Most modern black metal was built upon the groundwork laid by bands during this time period, and it began its worldwide spread starting with American bands such as Von and Profanatica popping up. Following a series of church burnings associated with black metal musicians and the murder of Euronymous of Mayhem by Music/{{Burzum}} mastermind Varg Vikernes, the Norwegian black metal scene received considerable attention from the mainstream media, which is where much of the genre's infamy originates. |
| 48 | |
| 49 | Music/{{Immortal|Band}} is arguably the last of the major "Second-Wave" Norwegian Black Metal bands to still play black metal; most of their closest musical contemporaries left the genre altogether, as Music/{{Darkthrone}} metamorphosed into a TraditionalHeavyMetal/Crust Punk outfit while Satyricon gave up the genre in favor of "Black Rock", a fusion of black metal and hard rock. Music/{{Enslaved}}, who resisted classification as a black metal band from the start, around the turn of the century started performing black metal-influenced progressive metal, which purists would not consider to be "true" black metal but nonetheless gained them a worldwide audience. Members of Immortal themselves formed a "new" band (adding two members) in 2006 named "I" and released the critically-acclaimed album ''Between Two Worlds'', which was one of the foundations for the "Black Rock" sound into which other bands (notably Satyricon) augmented their music; however, I has been inactive for over a decade as of this writing. |
| 50 | |
| 51 | As the genre proliferated after gaining a worldwide audience, many started experimenting with the typical conventions of black metal and incorporating influences from other forms of music beyond metal. Thus, the labels of post-black metal avant-garde/experimental black metal emerged to describe bands such as Music/{{Arcturus}}, Music/{{Sigh}}, Solefald, Borknagar, In the Woods..., Music/{{Ulver}}, Fleurety, Music/{{Agalloch}}, Peccatum, Ved Buens Ende and others. Although they are all very diverse and individualistic in terms of style (some of these bands are additionally classified as everything from Progressive Black Metal to Neofolk), they are united in their tendency of taking black metal's dark and chaotic sound and brooding atmosphere and applying it beyond the frontier of metal.[[note]]A caveat should be noted about the term "post-black metal", as in recent years it has come to have two distinct meanings which are not interchangeable; the older meaning of the term represents to black metal what PostPunk does to punk, namely using elements of black metal for purposes which are not necessarily themselves "black metal", while the newer meaning of the term refers to a fusion of black metal elements with PostRock. While some bands fit under both meanings of the term, a rather large percentage do not.[[/note]] Metal bands of other subgenres such as DeathMetal and SpeedMetal have also taken to lifting elements from black metal and incorporating it into their own sound, which has given rise to "Blackened" sub-subgenres such as Blackened Death Metal and Blackened Speed Metal among many others. |
| 52 | |
| 53 | Thanks to a focus on Satanic (or just anti-Christian) lyrics and imagery among some of the most popular black metal bands, the mainstream media tends to frown upon the genre, but themes of fantasy (ie. Tolkien), paganism, and folklore are also common, as are explorations of mental struggles such as depression due to black metal's inherently somber sound. Some black metal bands also base their lyrics around politics, and reflecting the extremity of the music, the political ideologies expressed are usually extreme too - either fascism or Nazism with "National Socialist Black Metal" (NSBM), or more recently, leftism and other forms of radical egalitarianism with "Red (and) Anarchist Black Metal" (RABM). |
| 54 | |
| 55 | Black metal rarely features rigid verse-chorus structures, generally favoring a more abstract style that features extended musical sections and repetitive guitar riffs. Guitar solos are rarer in black metal than in other metal genres, although there are plenty of exceptions (i.e. Peste Noire, Music/{{Drudkh}}, Music/{{Shining}}, Music/{{Enslaved}}, etc.; in short, the more musically progressive a black metal act, the likelier they are to feature guitar solos). As mentioned above, black metal often features very lo-fi, primitive recording quality reminiscent of the early days of the genre, although some bands favor more professional recording techniques. While the high-pitched harsh vocal style of black metal (a Type 3 MetalScream) is nigh-omnipresent across the genre, many bands still feature clean vocals, used either in conjunction with more extreme vocals or occasionally as the primary vocal style. Low-pitched death growl vocals (Type 2) are exceedingly rare, and when they do appear, it's almost never for the full song. |
| 56 | |
| 57 | Unlike most other artists from other forms of music, there are many black metal bands who do not play live. In fact, many black metal "bands", such as Music/{{Burzum}} and Xasthur, are [[IAmTheBand one-man studio projects]], and as professional-quality music recording and distribution have become more and more accessible with personal computers and the internet, the majority of black metal acts from TheNewTens onward have been solo projects. Even many bands with full line-ups also prefer to avoid playing live. However, those black metal bands who do play live are also known for their theatric live shows that often play up the evilness and gruesomeness of the music, with the shows of bands such as Music/{{Mayhem}} and Music/{{Gorgoroth}} being particularly notorious (once Gorgoroth played live on Polish TV on a stage surrounded by barbed wire with severed pigs' heads impaled on stakes and surrounded by life-size wooden crucifixes with blood-splattered nude female models in hoods tied on...something you ''definitely'' won't see on U.S. prime time television). Music/{{Watain}} probably outdoes other bands on this: their shows are famous for pigs' blood being sprayed all over the place. |
| 58 | |
| 59 | Not to be confused with Music/LivingColour, who are African-American metal. (If you want an example of a band that qualifies as both, however, Music/ZealAndArdor might be your thing.) |
| 60 | ---- |
| 61 | |
| 62 | List of black metal bands, categorised by subgenre: |
| 63 | %%%Bear in mind that some bands cross over into different subgenres at the same time. This is not an attempt to pigeonhole bands into different "cliques", which is what some have mistaken it for. |
| 64 | |
| 65 | '''"Traditional" Black Metal, Raw Black Metal, and Blackened Thrash Metal'''\ |
| 66 | Despite the somewhat confusing name, "Traditional" black metal is not the original style of black metal (that would be "First Wave"), but rather it is the most popular and common style that most bands derive their sound from. It was codified in the early 90s by the Second Wave (particularly in Norway). Raw black metal is an [[ExaggeratedTrope even harsher]] and [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth simpler]] form of black metal codified by bands like Darkthrone. Black/thrash is, as the name suggests, black metal mixed with ThrashMetal; it tends to be applied to bands that combine the two genres that were not first-wave black metal and runs the gamut from raw, punkish, heavily Teutonic and South American-influenced acts (think early Sepultura and Sodom) to more melodic and technical acts reminiscent of the Australian sound (codified by Destroyer 666).\ |
| 67 | Due to the overlap between the three subgenres, they have all been lumped together. |
| 68 | [[index]] |
| 69 | * [[Music/ThirteenFortyNine 1349]] |
| 70 | * Music/AbigailWilliams (''The Accuser'' only) |
| 71 | * Music/{{Absu}} (later) |
| 72 | * Music/{{Asagraum}} (one of the few all-female bands in the genre) |
| 73 | * Music/AverseSefira |
| 74 | * Music/{{Barathrum}} (later; early material was [[DoomMetal Black/Doom Metal]]) |
| 75 | * Music/{{Barbatos}} |
| 76 | * Music/{{Basilisk}} |
| 77 | * Music/{{Bathory}} (early albums, especially ''Under the Sign of the Black Mark''; was the UrExample[=/=]TropeMaker alongside Music/{{Mayhem}} before their GenreShift to Viking Metal with ''Blood Fire Death'') |
| 78 | * Music/{{Behemoth}} (early material; they later [[GenreShift changed their style]] to blackened death metal, eventually becoming straight-up DeathMetal with very little black metal influence) |
| 79 | * Music/{{Beherit}} (With some DeathMetal elements; their mid-late '90s material is Dark Ambient, however) |
| 80 | * Music/BlackAnvil |
| 81 | * Music/{{Black Rock}} (With elements of Speed and Heavy) |
| 82 | * Music/{{Blasphemy}} (Canadian band often considered a big influence on the War Metal subgenre) |
| 83 | * Music/{{Bonehunter}} (Black/Thrash) |
| 84 | * Music/{{Burzum}} (UrExample for the Ambient and Depresseive/Suicidal sub-genres of Black Metal) |
| 85 | * Music/CarpathianForest |
| 86 | * [[Music/{{Chatiment}} Chätiment]] |
| 87 | * Music/{{Cobalt}} (prior to ''Eater of Birds'') |
| 88 | * Music/{{Countess}} (with elements of traditional HeavyMetal) |
| 89 | * Craven Idol |
| 90 | * Music/CultesDesGhoules |
| 91 | * Daeva |
| 92 | * Music/DarkFuneral |
| 93 | * Music/{{Darkthrone}} (TropeCodifier alongside Music/{{Mayhem}} before ''The Cult Is Alive'', after which their style shifted to a fusion of black metal, crust punk, and traditional heavy metal; they would later add SpeedMetal into the mix on ''The Underground Resistance'') |
| 94 | * Music/DeathFortress |
| 95 | * Music/DeathspellOmega (early material; added AvantGardeMetal elements starting with ''Si monumentum requires, circumspice'') |
| 96 | ** ''Music/TheFurnacesOfPalingenesia'' (2019) %%This fits their avant-garde/progressive style better, but is listed here so that it will sort next to the band's name in the black metal index, which otherwise it would not. |
| 97 | * Music/{{Demoncy}} |
| 98 | * Music/{{Destroyer 666}} |
| 99 | * Music/{{Detsorgsekalf}} (An {{affectionate parody}} of the genre) |
| 100 | * Music/{{Dodheimsgard}} (early material; later incorporated IndustrialMetal and AvantGardeMetal influences on the ''Satanic Art'' EP and subsequent releases) |
| 101 | * Music/EmptyTenementSpirit |
| 102 | * Music/{{Endless Dismal Moan}} (also Atmospheric/Ambient on some tracks) |
| 103 | * Music/{{Fimbulwinter}} |
| 104 | * Music/{{Gorgoroth}} (dabbled in Ambient Music on ''Incipit Satan'', but otherwise are among the straightest examples of traditional Black Metal) |
| 105 | * Music/{{Gospel of the Horns}} |
| 106 | * Music/{{Graveland}} (later [[GenreShift shifted]] to Viking Metal starting with ''Thousand Swords'') |
| 107 | * Music/{{Immortal|Band}} (before ''At the Heart of Winter'', where they switched to Melodic Black Metal) |
| 108 | * Music/ImpaledNazarene (included significant DeathMetal and {{Grindcore}} influences on their earliest releases) |
| 109 | * Music/InfernalWar |
| 110 | * Music/{{Inquisition}} |
| 111 | * Music/{{Judas Iscariot}} |
| 112 | * Music/{{Krieg}} (some overlap with bestial black metal) |
| 113 | * Music/{{Kvelertak}} (Black 'n' roll) |
| 114 | * Music/{{Manes}} |
| 115 | * Music/{{Marduk}} |
| 116 | * Music/{{Mayhem}} (UrExample, TropeMaker, and TropeCodifier for this form of Black Metal and the Second-Wave of Black Metal as a whole) |
| 117 | * [[Music/{{Mgla}} Mgła]] (some melodic black overlap) |
| 118 | * [[Music/{{Mnima}} Μνήμα]] (mixed with Harsh Noise) |
| 119 | * Music/{{Nargaroth}} (switches between this and Ambient Black Metal depending on the album) |
| 120 | * Music/{{Naurrakar}} |
| 121 | * Music/{{Nifelheim}} (albeit with a distinct ThrashMetal influence) |
| 122 | * Music/PesteNoire (albeit slightly more [[ProgressiveMetal progressive]] than most bands of the genre) |
| 123 | * Music/{{Ravencult}} |
| 124 | * Music/{{Razor of Occam}} |
| 125 | * Music/{{Root}} (later moved towards a more progressive sound) |
| 126 | * Music/{{Roquefire}} (in their later years- their early years were doom-almost proto black) |
| 127 | * Music/{{Sabbat}} (not to be confused with the British thrash act) |
| 128 | * Music/{{Sanguine Relic}} |
| 129 | * Music/{{Sangus}} |
| 130 | * Music/SatanicWarmaster |
| 131 | * [[Music/SatansHost Satan's Host]] (formed in the 80's as a traditional metal band with [[Music/JagPanzer Harry Conklin]] on vocals, but were revived in the 2000's as a black metal band; their material since Conklin's return to the band could be described as "blackened power metal") |
| 132 | * Music/{{Satyricon}} (later the TropeMaker for black 'n' roll) |
| 133 | * Music/{{Skeletonwitch}} (also MelodicDeathMetal) |
| 134 | * Music/{{SS-18}} |
| 135 | * Music/{{Taake}} |
| 136 | * Music/{{Thorns}} (until sole member Blackthorn's stint in jail, after which they became Industrial Black Metal) |
| 137 | * Music/{{Tulus}} |
| 138 | * Music/ToxicHolocaust |
| 139 | * Music/{{Ulver}} (on ''Nattens madrigal'' only: this band is notorious for every album being a NewSoundAlbum, although they are a rare example of a band that once played BlackMetal managing to avert TheyChangedItNowItSucks reactions, for the most part, largely because black metal and dark ambient fandoms tend to be quite friendly toward one another) |
| 140 | * Music/{{Von}} (potential UrExample of bestial black metal) |
| 141 | * Music/{{Xexyz}} (mixed with Chiptune) |
| 142 | [[/index]] |
| 143 | |
| 144 | '''Symphonic Black Metal'''\ |
| 145 | Black metal with [[SymphonicMetal symphonic instruments and orchestral elements]]. These bands are usually more melodic and often feature cleaner production quality, earning them derision as being "mainstream posers" by some more hardcore black metal fans; though that scorn is subjective, they are indeed some of the most popular black metal acts outside the original Norweigan Second Wave, and have a pervasive reputation as being LargeHam in musical form. The style favors ornate, gothic melodies played by synths and orchestral sections as well as decadent lyrical flourishes. |
| 146 | [[index]] |
| 147 | * ...And Oceans (early material before they became industrial metal; they returned to this style on ''Cosmic World Mother'') |
| 148 | * Music/AbigailWilliams (''In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns'' only) |
| 149 | * Music/AnorexiaNervosa |
| 150 | * Music/{{Antestor}} |
| 151 | * Music/BalSagoth |
| 152 | * Music/CarachAngren |
| 153 | ** ''Music/DeathCameThroughAPhantomShip'' |
| 154 | * Music/CelticFrost (a possible UrExample, having included symphonic elements on ''To Mega Therion'' and ''Into the Pandemonium'') |
| 155 | * Music/{{Chthonic}} |
| 156 | * Music/{{Cradle of Filth}} (GenrePopularizer; although the more extreme metalheads and the band themselves dispute this, Cradle of Filth is perhaps the most popular symphonic black metal band in existence, and maybe the most popular black metal band period, even if they do represent a more polished and [[GothicMetal goth]]-influenced variation of the sound) |
| 157 | * Music/DimmuBorgir (GenrePopularizer alongside Cradle of Filth) |
| 158 | * Music/{{Dragonlord}} |
| 159 | * Music/{{Emperor}} (TropeMaker[=/=][[TropeCodifier Codifier]] for the genre) |
| 160 | * Music/{{Eternium}} |
| 161 | * Gardsghastr |
| 162 | * Music/{{Gehenna}} (not to be confused with the traditional/speed metal act with a similar name) |
| 163 | * Music/{{Graveworm}} |
| 164 | * Helfró |
| 165 | * Music/ImperialCircusDeadDecadence (has elements of DeathMetal, {{Metalcore}} and PowerMetal, [[GenreBusting among other genres]]...) |
| 166 | * Music/{{Kadenzza}} |
| 167 | * Music/{{Keep of Kalessin}} |
| 168 | * Music/LimbonicArt |
| 169 | * Music/{{Mirrorthrone}} |
| 170 | * Music/{{Nokturnal Mortum}} (mixed with FolkMetal, VikingMetal starting with ''Мировоззрение''/''Weltanschauung'', and ProgressiveMetal starting with either ''Голос сталі''/''The Voice of Steel'' or, arguably, significantly earlier) |
| 171 | * Music/{{Root}} (their later material is another possible UrExample alongside Music/CelticFrost) |
| 172 | * Music/ShadeEmpire (combined with AvantGardeMetal on some releases) |
| 173 | * Music/{{Sigh}} (combined with AvantGardeMetal and a liberal dose of GenreBusting and GenreRoulette) |
| 174 | * Music/{{Stormlord}} |
| 175 | * Music/{{Theatres des Vampires}} (early) |
| 176 | [[/index]] |
| 177 | |
| 178 | '''First-Wave Black Metal'''\ |
| 179 | The ''original'' black metal movement that began in the eighties; first-wave black metal bands are, for the most part, ThrashMetal or SpeedMetal bands with a much rougher edge to them. A lot of bands got grouped into the first wave mostly for their image rather than their sound, which is what the kids of the second wave were trying to emulate first and foremost. Bathory, however, is an exception, and the sound of Quorthon's first four albums (particularly ''Under the Sign of the Black Mark'') is the TropeMaker for black metal as it exists today. The same can be said for both Sarcófago's "I.N.R.I." and Sepultura's "Bestial Devastation" and "Morbid Visions"; the former band's album is particularly notable due to its extensive usage of blastbeats, which helped lay the template for black metal drumming to come. |
| 180 | %%% Only list bands that were actually part of the first wave. Don't include bands that weren't around at the time that play in the style of the first-wave (eg. Gallhammer). |
| 181 | [[index]] |
| 182 | * Music/{{SixSixSix}} |
| 183 | * Music/{{Bathory}} (later [[strike:moved onto]] [[TropeMaker created]] viking metal.) |
| 184 | * Music/{{Blasphemy}} |
| 185 | * Music/{{Bulldozer}} |
| 186 | * Music/CelticFrost (not strictly; they also experimented with HairMetal, DoomMetal, GothicMetal and AvantGardeMetal.) |
| 187 | * [[Music/DeathSS Death SS]] (also DoomMetal and, later on, IndustrialMetal) |
| 188 | * Music/{{Destruction}} (''Sentence of Death'', influences largely abandoned by their second full-length album) |
| 189 | * Music/DevilMaster (bit of a GenreBusting example that is somewhere between this, d-beat, and GothicMetal) |
| 190 | * Music/{{Grotesque}} |
| 191 | * Music/{{Hellhammer}} |
| 192 | * Music/{{Holocausto}} |
| 193 | * [[Music/MastersHammer Master's Hammer]] (later became avant-garde black metal) |
| 194 | * [[Music/KingDiamond Mercyful Fate]] (mostly an [[InNameOnly honorary member of the genre]]; their musical output mostly consisted of gothic-tinged SpeedMetal with high-pitched clean vocals. However, they did prove influential in the in the lyrical and theatrical elements of the genre, which is why they are counted as a First-Wave band by some) |
| 195 | * Music/{{Kreator}} (''Endless Pain'' and ''Pleasure to Kill'' are considered {{Ur Example}}s and helped inspire both black metal and death metal, although the band quickly moved towards more straightforward death/thrash afterwards) |
| 196 | * Malokarpatan (also TraditionalMetal and ProgressiveMetal) |
| 197 | * Music/MortuaryDrape (GenreBusting example with elements of black metal, death metal, thrash metal, and traditional heavy metal, but this is probably one of the best labels) |
| 198 | * Mystifier |
| 199 | * Music/{{Parabellum}} (the group from Colombia, not any of the other bands by this name. They also have distinct DeathMetal leanings) |
| 200 | * Music/RunningWild (their first two albums, although much like Mercyful Fate, their inclusion in the first wave of black metal is mostly honorary since while they were one of the first to refer to themselves as "black metal" and prominently featured dark Satanic lyrics and the demonic theatrics that would become mainstays of the genre, the actual music was heavy/speed metal, and the band would later ditch this entirely for {{Pirate}}-themed PowerMetal. That being said, some musical mainstays of later black metal like frequent tremolo-picking and blistering tempos are present too) |
| 201 | * [[Music/{{Sarcofago}} Sarcófago]] (later changed to TechnicalDeathMetal, then full-fledged thrash, although they apparently always considered themselves a thrash metal act) |
| 202 | * Music/{{Sepultura}} (first couple of releases; changed to [[DeathMetal Death]][=/=]ThrashMetal starting with ''Schizophrenia'' then GrooveMetal on ''Chaos A.D.'' and NuMetal starting with ''Roots'', and finally a mixture of all three from ''Dante XXI'' onward) |
| 203 | * Music/{{Slayer}} (on ''Show No Mercy'' and ''Haunting the Chapel''; the Black Metal elements of their sound were downplayed on ''Hell Awaits'' and absent on ''Reign in Blood'' and later albums) |
| 204 | * Music/{{Sodom}} (later ventured into ThrashMetal with ''Persecution Mania'' and shed the last of their Black Metal influences with ''Better Off Dead''). |
| 205 | ** That is, the band did briefly [[RevisitingTheRoots went back to]] black metal on ''The Final Sign Of Evil''. |
| 206 | * Music/{{Tormentor}} |
| 207 | * Music/{{Venom|Band}} (TropeNamer; also ThrashMetal) |
| 208 | * Music/{{Vulcano}} |
| 209 | [[/index]] |
| 210 | |
| 211 | '''Melodic Black Metal'''\ |
| 212 | [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the name suggests, this is Black Metal with a much more melodic, and usually epic, approach than regular black metal]]. It tends to be more accessible than "regular" black metal, but it's rarely as polished and grandiose as symphonic black metal (though it does often overlap). Though first started in Sweden with bands such as Music/{{Sacramentum}}, Music/{{Dissection}}, and Music/{{Dawn}}, the genre is often associated with Southern Europe and especially Greece, with bands such as Music/{{Moonspell}}, Music/RottingChrist, Music/{{Astarte}}, and Music/OperaIX coming from those areas. The Hellenic black metal sound as codified by Rotting Christ, Varathron, and Necromantia arguably served as an UrExample of the genre, but is generally treated as a separate entity from other progenitors. Besides symphonic black metal, there is also frequent overlap with MelodicDeathMetal and/or GothicMetal, but that depends on the band in question. |
| 213 | |
| 214 | [[index]] |
| 215 | * Music/AbigailWilliams (''In the Absence of Light'', and while ''Walk Beyond the Dark'' has nods to all of their studio albums, it primarily sticks to this) |
| 216 | * Music/{{Ancient}} |
| 217 | * Music/{{Astarte}} (one of the few all-female black metal bands. Also symphonic black metal, and added blackened death metal influence on ''Demonized'') |
| 218 | * Music/BlutAusNord (first two albums and subsequent ''Memoria vetusta'' releases, as well as ''Hallucinogen'') |
| 219 | * Music/{{Catamenia}} |
| 220 | * Music/{{Cormorant}} (a GenreBusting example also featuring large ProgressiveMetal and DeathMetal influence) |
| 221 | * [[Music/TheKovenant Covenant]] (on their first two albums, before legal issues forced them to change their name to The Kovenant and their musical style changed along with it.) |
| 222 | ** ''Music/InTimesBeforeTheLight'' |
| 223 | * Music/{{Darkestrah}} (mixed with Turkic folk music or, more specifically, Kyrgyz; was female-fronted until 2014) |
| 224 | * Music/DarkFortress (mixed with ProgressiveMetal) |
| 225 | * Music/{{Dawn}} (Sweden) |
| 226 | * Music/DemonicResurrection (also MelodicDeathMetal) |
| 227 | * Music/DimmuBorgir (early material, later output is Symphonic Black Metal) |
| 228 | * Music/{{Dissection}} (TropeCodifier alongside Sacramentum and UrExample alongside Necrophobic and Unanimated; switched to [[DeathMetal Blackened Death Metal]][=/=]MelodicDeathMetal on ''Reinkaos'') |
| 229 | * [[Music/DzoNga Dzo-nga]] (also FolkMetal) |
| 230 | * Music/EnfoldDarkness (mixed with very heavy amounts of MelodicDeathMetal) |
| 231 | * Music/{{Epoch of Unlight}} |
| 232 | * Music/{{Erimha}} |
| 233 | * Music/{{Goatwhore}} (mixed with DeathMetal and ThrashMetal) |
| 234 | * Music/{{Havukruunu}} |
| 235 | * Music/{{Immortal}} (''At the Heart of Winter'' onwards) |
| 236 | * Music/{{Keep of Kalessin}} |
| 237 | * Music/{{Melechesh}} (mixed with ThrashMetal and Middle-Eastern FolkMetal) |
| 238 | * Music/{{Moonspell}} (first album only; became GothicMetal after that) |
| 239 | * [[Music/{{Moynoq}} Mo'ynoq]] |
| 240 | * Music/{{Naglfar}} (JustForFun/NotToBeConfusedWith Germany's Nagelfar - note the spelling difference) |
| 241 | * Necromantia |
| 242 | * Music/{{Necrophobic}} (UrExample along with Dissection and Unanimated) |
| 243 | * Music/{{Oathean}} |
| 244 | * Obsequiae (some folk metal elements) |
| 245 | * [[Music/OldMansChild Old Man's Child]] |
| 246 | * Music/OperaIX |
| 247 | * Music/{{Oubliette}} |
| 248 | * Music/RottingChrist |
| 249 | * Music/{{Sacramentum}} (TropeCodifier alongside Dissection; switched to [[DeathMetal Blackened Death Metal]] after their first album) |
| 250 | * Music/{{Skeletonwitch}} (''Devouring Radiant Light'') |
| 251 | * Music/{{Sorrowseed}} (overlaps with GothicMetal and DoomMetal, moreso on their first album than their newest, which drops a lot of the gothic and doom elements in favor of more black metal) |
| 252 | * Thou Art Lord |
| 253 | * Music/{{Thulcandra}} |
| 254 | * Thy Antichrist |
| 255 | * Tomarum (also ProgressiveMetal) |
| 256 | * Music/{{Uada}} |
| 257 | * Music/{{Unanimated}} (UrExample along with Dissection and Necrophobic) |
| 258 | * Varathron |
| 259 | * Music/{{Vinterland}} |
| 260 | * Music/{{Vreid}} |
| 261 | * Music/{{Watain}} |
| 262 | * Music/{{Windir}} |
| 263 | * Music/{{Woe}} |
| 264 | * Music/{{Woods Of Trees}} (a rare comedic example) |
| 265 | * Music/{{Yoth Iria}} |
| 266 | * Zemial |
| 267 | [[/index]] |
| 268 | |
| 269 | '''Folk/Black Metal'''\ |
| 270 | Black metal mixed with FolkMetal. Bands of this style can be hard to pin down more specifically since they frequently cross-pollenate with other metal genres. They are also generally more melodic than pure black metal and lean far more towards pagan imagery (often from the band's country of origin) in their lyrics and image rather than Satanism. The genre emerged pretty soon after Folk Metal itself began, with Sweden's Mithotyn debatably being the TropeMaker. |
| 271 | [[index]] |
| 272 | * Music/{{Akvan}} (Iranian folk-black, and one of the few metal bands from Iran in general) |
| 273 | * Music/AlNamrood (a rare example of a metal band from Saudi Arabia) |
| 274 | * Music/{{Arkona}} (or Аркона in Cyrillic script; a fairly rare female-fronted example, with frontwoman Masha "Scream" the only founding member left in the band and responsible for the bulk of the songwriting) |
| 275 | * Music/{{Agalloch}} (includes black and folk metal but is a slight case of GenreBusting) |
| 276 | * Music/AncientRites |
| 277 | * Music/{{Chthonic}} (閃靈 - Shǎnlíng) |
| 278 | * Music/{{Cruachan}} |
| 279 | * Music/{{Darkestrah}} |
| 280 | * Music/{{Drudkh}} |
| 281 | * Music/{{Equilibrium}} |
| 282 | * Music/{{Falkenbach}} |
| 283 | * Music/{{Falls of Rauros}} |
| 284 | * Music/{{Fauna}} |
| 285 | * Music/{{Finntroll}} ([[GenreBusting vaguely]]) |
| 286 | * Music/{{Finsterforst}} (mixed with ProgressiveMetal) |
| 287 | * Music/{{Graveland}} (often associated with NSBM because of Rob Darken's personal beliefs but, lyrically, has nothing to do with political ideologies; that said, their liner notes are at least sometimes explicitly racist) |
| 288 | * Music/{{Isengard}} |
| 289 | * Music/{{Kroda}} (or Крода in Cyrillic script) |
| 290 | * Music/{{Melechesh}} |
| 291 | * Music/{{Moonsorrow}} |
| 292 | * Music/{{Moonspell}} (early) |
| 293 | * Music/{{Mithotyn}} |
| 294 | * Music/{{Myrkur}} (sometimes mixed with GothicMetal; a relatively rare one-woman black metal band) |
| 295 | * Music/{{Nechochwen}} (mixed with neofolk; ''Algonkian Mythos'' is exclusively neofolk with no metal parts whatsoever) |
| 296 | * Music/NeguraBunget (mixed with ProgressiveMetal and post-black metal) |
| 297 | * Music/{{Nokturnal Mortum}} (mixed with symphonic black metal, as well as viking metal and progressive black metal on later albums) |
| 298 | * Music/{{Oathean}} |
| 299 | * Music/{{Panopticon}} (on ''Collapse'', ''Kentucky'', ''Roads to the North'', and ''The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness'') |
| 300 | * Music/{{Primordial}} |
| 301 | * Music/RottingChrist (later material, mixed with GothicMetal) |
| 302 | * Music/{{Skagos}} |
| 303 | * Music/{{Skyforger}} (also incorporates TraditionalHeavyMetal, ThrashMetal, and PowerMetal, especially on later albums) |
| 304 | * Music/{{Sorgsvart}} |
| 305 | * Music/{{Storm}} |
| 306 | * Music/{{Suidakra}} (their first album, anyway. Later albums are Folk [[MelodicDeathMetal Melodeath]] or PowerMetal) |
| 307 | * Music/{{Temnozor}} (or Темнозорь in Cyrillic script) |
| 308 | * Music/{{Thrawsunblat}} |
| 309 | * Music/{{Ulver}} (first album, then strayed into GenreRoulette territory) |
| 310 | * Music/{{Windir}} |
| 311 | * Music/{{Zuriaake}} (mixed with depressive and symphonic black metal) |
| 312 | [[/index]] |
| 313 | |
| 314 | '''Viking Black Metal'''\ |
| 315 | Black metal with lyrics and imagery regarding vikings. The overall genre of VikingMetal evolved from black metal, and as such many viking metal bands are also black metal; however, there are also plenty of viking metal bands, such as Music/{{Ensiferum}} and Music/AmonAmarth, that have nothing to do with black metal (and, as a result, [[NoTrueScotsman aren't seen as "true" viking metal bands]] by some black metal fans). A lot of the time, viking black metal overlaps with folk/black metal. Some English black metal bands play Viking metal, but call it "Anglo-Saxon metal". |
| 316 | [[index]] |
| 317 | * Music/{{Bathory}} (later material serves as the UrExample and TropeMaker) |
| 318 | * Music/{{Borknagar}} (later albums became ProgressiveMetal) |
| 319 | * Music/{{Einherjer}} |
| 320 | * Music/{{Enslaved}} (TropeCodifier; incorporated ProgressiveMetal influences into their sound as time went on) |
| 321 | * Music/{{Falkenbach}} |
| 322 | * Music/{{Forefather}} (sort of) |
| 323 | * Music/{{Graveland}} |
| 324 | * Music/{{Hades}} (eventually changed their name to Hades Almighty) |
| 325 | * Music/{{Helheim}} |
| 326 | * Music/{{Hellveto}} (with elements of SymphonicMetal) |
| 327 | * Music/{{Iceni}} |
| 328 | * Music/{{Iuvenes}} |
| 329 | * Music/{{Kampfar}} |
| 330 | * Music/{{Kroda}} (or Крода in Cyrillic script) |
| 331 | * Music/{{Manegarm}} |
| 332 | * Music/{{Mithotyn}} |
| 333 | * Music/{{Morrigan}} (albeit with a Celtic theme rather than a Germanic/Nordic one) |
| 334 | * Music/{{Nokturnal Mortum}} (incorporated this into their sound starting with ''Mirrovozrenie''/''Weltanschauung''; mixed with symphonic black metal, FolkMetal, and progressive/avant-garde black metal depending upon the release) |
| 335 | * Music/{{Sorgsvart}} |
| 336 | * Music/{{Thyrfing}} |
| 337 | * Music/{{Vintersorg}} (mostly [[ProgressiveMetal Progressive]] FolkMetal with some Viking elements, the influence of which waxes and wanes with each album) |
| 338 | * Music/{{Windir}} |
| 339 | * Music/{{Winterfylleth}} |
| 340 | * Music/{{Wolfchant}} |
| 341 | * Music/{{Wodensthrone}} |
| 342 | [[/index]] |
| 343 | |
| 344 | '''Black/Doom Metal'''\ |
| 345 | See the DoomMetal page. |
| 346 | |
| 347 | '''Depressive/Suicidal Black Metal'''\ |
| 348 | Black metal with an [[DespairEventHorizon ultra-depressive]] atmosphere and a lyrical focus on [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]], self-mutilation and other things to do with depression. This is quite a polarizing genre; either this is one of the most brilliant forms of black metal, or the most {{Narm}}ful. Very often crosses over with ambient black metal and black/doom. Music/{{Burzum}} is often a significant influence, with some bands in this genre (Nyktalgia in particular, especially on their first album) almost sounding like Music/{{Burzum}} tribute bands. The {{Trope Maker}}s of the genre are generally considered to be Bethlehem, Forgotten Woods, and Strid. Silencer and Lifelover could arguably be considered [[Main/TropeCodifier Trope Codifiers]], as a ''lot'' of modern DSBM is influenced by one or both of them to the point that some bands are criticised as being [[Main/FollowTheLeader "clones"]] of them. |
| 349 | [[index]] |
| 350 | * Music/AbyssicHate |
| 351 | * Music/{{Apati}} |
| 352 | * Music/AshBorer |
| 353 | * Music/{{Austere}} |
| 354 | * Music/{{Bethlehem}} ([[GenreBusting and a whole lot of other genres too]]) |
| 355 | * Music/ElysianBlaze (Mixed with [[DoomMetal Funeral Doom]]) |
| 356 | * Music/ForgottenTomb |
| 357 | * Music/ForgottenWoods |
| 358 | * Music/{{Gris}} |
| 359 | * Music/HappyDays |
| 360 | * Music/{{Hypothermia}} |
| 361 | * [[Music/ImInACoffin I'm in a Coffin]] |
| 362 | * Music/{{Leviathan}} |
| 363 | * Music/{{Lifelover}} (Main/TropeCodifier for a lot of modern DSBM) |
| 364 | * Music/{{Lurker of Chalice}} |
| 365 | * [[Music/MakeAChangeKillYourself Make a Change... Kill Yourself]] |
| 366 | * Music/{{Mgla}} |
| 367 | * [[Music/{{Mutiilation}} Mütiilation]] (has elements of the genre) |
| 368 | * [[Music/NaeBlis Nae'blis]] |
| 369 | * Music/{{Nahvalr}} (mixed with ambient black metal and HarshNoise) |
| 370 | * Music/NocturnalDepression |
| 371 | * Music/{{Nortt}} (the band refers to their style as [[GenreMashup "Pure Depressive Black Funeral Doom"]]) |
| 372 | * Music/{{Nyktalgia}} |
| 373 | * Music/{{Ofdrykkja}} |
| 374 | * Music/Psychonaut4 |
| 375 | * Music/{{Shining}} (Sweden) |
| 376 | * Music/{{Silencer}} (Main/TropeCodifier, especially in regards to vocals) |
| 377 | * Music/{{Strid}} |
| 378 | * Music/ThyLight |
| 379 | * Music/{{Totalselfhatred}} |
| 380 | * Music/{{Trist}} |
| 381 | * Music/TwilightFauna |
| 382 | * Music/{{Vanhelga}} |
| 383 | * Music/{{Xasthur}} (TropeCodifier for the American branch of the genre) |
| 384 | [[/index]] |
| 385 | |
| 386 | '''Industrial Black Metal'''\ |
| 387 | Black metal mixed with electronic music, often but not always {{industrial}}. |
| 388 | [[index]] |
| 389 | * [[Music/AndOceans ...And Oceans]] (''A.M.G.O.D.'' up to their shift to Havoc Unit; ''Cosmic Earth Mother'' is a return to their old style) |
| 390 | * Music/{{Abigor}} (since their reunion) |
| 391 | * Music/{{Aborym}} |
| 392 | * Music/AlienDeviantCircus |
| 393 | * Music/AnaalNathrakh (vaguely; they also have elements of DeathMetal and {{Grindcore}}.) |
| 394 | * Autarkh (effectively Dodecahedron under a new name, but with a vastly different style) |
| 395 | * Music/TheAxisOfPerdition |
| 396 | * Music/BlackHoleGenerator |
| 397 | * Music/{{Blacklodge}} |
| 398 | * Music/BlutAusNord (Apart from ''Ultima thulée'' and the three ''Memoria vetusta'' albums, which are melodic black metal) |
| 399 | * [[Music/{{Dodheimsgard}} Dødheimsgard]] (later albums) |
| 400 | * Music/{{Ghostemane}} (mixed with TrapMusic, of all things, as well as NuMetal, noise and [[{{Industrial}} industrial hip hop]]) |
| 401 | * Music/GnawTheirTongues (mixed with HarshNoise, easily one of the most extreme examples here) |
| 402 | * Music/HavocUnit |
| 403 | * Music/{{Iperyt}} |
| 404 | * Music/JuteGyte (an unusually prolific and GenreBusting example, and probably one of the heaviest, most dissonant artists on this list due to using a twenty-four-note scale since 2013) |
| 405 | * Music/TheKovenant (Note that the band's first two albums, originally released under the name Covenant before they were forced to change their name, are Melodic Black Metal; the remake of ''In Times Before the Light'' bridges the gap between the band's two styles) |
| 406 | ** ''Music/InTimesBeforeTheLight'' |
| 407 | * Music/LuminousVault (borders on GothicMetal at times) |
| 408 | * Music/{{Mayhem}} (Dabbled in this on ''Grand Declaration of War'') |
| 409 | * Music/{{Mysticum}} (TropeMakers) |
| 410 | * Music/{{NKVD}} (mixed with martial industrial) |
| 411 | * Music/PsyclonNine (mixed with aggrotech and EBM) |
| 412 | * Music/{{Samael}} (From ''Ceremony of Opposites'' onward; their earliest works were straight-up Black Metal) |
| 413 | * Music/SutekhHexen (with noise/power electronics leanings) |
| 414 | * Music/{{Thorns}} (after Blackthorn got out of jail) |
| 415 | * Music/{{Tidfall}} |
| 416 | * Music/{{Zyklon}} (also blackened death) |
| 417 | [[/index]] |
| 418 | |
| 419 | '''Ambient Black Metal'''\ |
| 420 | Black metal with elements of dark ambient. The early developments of this genre can be found in early 90's projects such as Music/{{Burzum}}, Moëvöt, Ildjarn, Mütiilation and Crimson Moon. Many bands (e.g. Forgotten Woods, Leviathan, Xasthur, Mütiilation) overlap with Depressive/Suicidal Black Metal. |
| 421 | [[index]] |
| 422 | * Music/AbigailWilliams (Later) |
| 423 | * Music/{{Abruptum}} (Combined with HarshNoise) |
| 424 | * Music/{{Burzum}} (UrExample) |
| 425 | * Music/CaladanBrood |
| 426 | * Music/{{ColdWorld}} |
| 427 | * Music/CrimsonMoon |
| 428 | * Music/{{Darkspace}} |
| 429 | * Music/{{Emit}} (mixed with HarshNoise) |
| 430 | * [[Music/ElAhrairah El-ahrairah]] |
| 431 | * Music/{{Eldamar}} |
| 432 | * Music/EtherealShroud (Mixed with funeral doom) |
| 433 | * Music/FellVoices |
| 434 | * Music/ForgottenWoods |
| 435 | * Music/{{Ildjarn}} (TropeCodifier) |
| 436 | * [[Music/LAcephale L'Acephale]] |
| 437 | * Music/{{Leviathan}} |
| 438 | * Music/LunarAurora |
| 439 | * Music/{{Lurker of Chalice}} (Side project of Leviathan) |
| 440 | * Music/{{Lustre}} |
| 441 | * [[Music/{{Mutiilation}} Mütiilation]] |
| 442 | * Music/{{Moonfrost}} |
| 443 | * Music/{{Nargaroth}} (wavers between this and regular Black Metal on an album-by-album basis) |
| 444 | * Music/{{Njiqahdda}} (on some releases, as well as related projects Oaks of Bethel and Funeral Eclipse) |
| 445 | * [[Music/PaysageDHiver Paysage d'Hiver]] |
| 446 | * Music/{{The Ruins of Beverast}} (mixed with DoomMetal) |
| 447 | * Music/{{Summoning}} (sometimes considered the {{Trope Maker}}s of a subgenre called "epic black metal") |
| 448 | * Music/TwilightFauna |
| 449 | * Music/UrukHai |
| 450 | * Music/WolvesInTheThroneRoom |
| 451 | * Music/{{Xasthur}} |
| 452 | [[/index]] |
| 453 | |
| 454 | '''Avant-Garde/Progressive Black Metal'''\ |
| 455 | Black metal either possessing significant avant-garde tendencies, influenced significantly by ProgressiveMetal, or both. UncommonTime is not uncommon, EpicRocking is frequent, and occurrences of GenreBusting are not unheard of. A large portion of bands classifiable within the avant-garde metal subgenre either count as black metal, or are significantly inspired by black metal due to the genre's fondness for disturbing imagery, ideology, and atmosphere, all of which are pretty useful when you want to prog out as a band, as well as its mutability and strange song structures, two further helpful elements; as a result, it's arguably become one of the most largest subgenres of black metal. Some bands also overlap with blackened and/or technical death metal, due to the historically strong ties between tech/avant-black and certain dissonant blackened and tech acts. |
| 456 | [[index]] |
| 457 | * Music/{{Abyssal}} (also blackened death and black-doom) |
| 458 | * [[Music/{{Aevangelist}} Ævangelist]] (also DeathMetal, depending on the album) |
| 459 | * Music/{{Agalloch}} |
| 460 | * Music/{{Akercocke}} (a slight case of GenreBusting; they also count as Blackened Death Metal and ProgressiveDeathMetal) |
| 461 | * Music/{{Akhlys}} |
| 462 | * Music/{{Altarage}} (also blackened death) |
| 463 | * Music/{{Amiensus}} |
| 464 | * Music/{{Aosoth}} |
| 465 | * Music/{{Arcturus}}[[note]]Note, however, that most of their albums after ''Aspera hiems symfonia'' have almost nothing to do with black metal apart from the band's ancestry. The only song between that and their initial breakup that could legitimately be called black metal is "Radical Cut" on ''The Sham Mirrors''. Apart from that, barely any of the songs even have harsh vocals. All of their work is awesome however. Their work since their reformation has brought in more black metal influence again.[[/note]] |
| 466 | * Music/{{Ashenspire}} |
| 467 | * Music/{{Blaze of Perdition}} |
| 468 | * Music/BlutAusNord (most of their work starting from around ''The Work Which Transforms God'', though it really depends on the release, as they have about three or four different styles which they shift between) |
| 469 | * Music/{{Borknagar}} (starting at some point from around ''The Archaic Course'', though it's not universally agreed upon when this happened; they gave up almost every pretense of being black metal around the time ICS Vortex formally joined and became a full-blown prog act with some blackened elements) |
| 470 | * Music/{{Botanist}}[[note]]Hammered dulcimer black metal. Contains no guitars or bass. The second release (technically the third album), ''Doom in Bloom'', features a GenreShift to doom metal, but maintains the hammered dulcimer foundation of the music while adding atmospheric keyboards to the mix. ''IV: Mandragora'' returns to a more black metal-influenced sound, and also throws large amounts of distortion into the mix, but remains rooted in the hammered dulcimer.[[/note]] |
| 471 | * Music/CelticFrost (UrExample with ''Into the Pandemonium'') |
| 472 | * Music/{{Code}} |
| 473 | * Music/{{Cobalt}} (''Eater of Birds'' onward) |
| 474 | * Music/{{Convulsing}} (also blackened death) |
| 475 | * Music/{{Cormorant}} (began influencing their material around the time of ''Dwellings''; on subsequent releases it has been their dominant style) |
| 476 | * Music/DeathspellOmega (''Si monumentum requires, circumspice'' onward, if the ''Manifestations'' albums don't count) |
| 477 | * Music/DiabolicalMasquerade |
| 478 | * Music/{{Dodecahedron}} |
| 479 | * [[Music/{{Dodheimsgard}} Dødheimsgard]] |
| 480 | * Music/{{Dornenreich}} |
| 481 | * Music/{{Emperor}} (later, particularly on ''Prometheus'') |
| 482 | * Music/{{Enslaved}} (while they were always progressive to some extent, the progressive elements start to dominate the group's material around ''Mardraum'' and ''Monumension'') |
| 483 | * Music/EpiphanicTruth (there are a number of descriptors that could fit their sound, but this is probably one of the best; they also have some ProgressiveDeathMetal elements) |
| 484 | * Esoctrilihum |
| 485 | * Music/{{Finsterforst}} (mixed with FolkMetal) |
| 486 | * Music/{{Fleurety}} |
| 487 | * Music/{{A Forest of Stars}} |
| 488 | * Gevurah (everything up to ''Hallelujah!'', ''Sulphur Soul'' is closer to traditional black metal) |
| 489 | * Music/GnawTheirTongues (mixed with Main/{{Industrial}} and Main/HarshNoise; one of the more extreme examples) |
| 490 | * Music/{{Haunter}} |
| 491 | * Music/{{Hirilorn}} (see also Music/DeathspellOmega, which began as a spinoff until Hirilorn split up) |
| 492 | * IATT |
| 493 | * Music/{{Ihsahn}} (the amount of black metal ''really'' depends on the album; ''Das Seelenbrechen'' barely even qualifies as metal) |
| 494 | * Music/ImperialTriumphant |
| 495 | * Music/InferaBruo |
| 496 | * Music/InLinguaMortua (emphasis on the ''progressive'' part, thanks in no small part to keyboardist Lars Fredrik Frøislie's array of vintage '70s synthesizers) |
| 497 | * Music/InterArma (a GenreMashup example, but their mix of sludge metal, black metal, post-metal, progressive rock, neofolk, and country could ''probably'' land them here) |
| 498 | * [[Music/InTheWoods In the Woods...]] (early) |
| 499 | * Music/JuteGyte (an incredibly prolific project; depending on the release and even on the track, his work can also qualify as noise, ambient, electronic, or a number of other genres, but probably the majority of it has at least one foot rooted in black metal. Starting with ''Discontinuities'', he began basing his music on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_tone 24 Equal Divisions of the Octave]] [i.e., with an extra note halfway between every half-step of the traditional 12-note Western scale], which made it even more avant-garde and arguably heavier than it was. Overall, this is probably one of the heaviest acts on this list) |
| 500 | * Music/{{Krallice}} |
| 501 | * [[Music/LAcephale L'Acephale]] (mixed with a bunch of other styles, but this is one of the labels that fits them best) |
| 502 | * Music/{{Liturgy}} (with the arguable exception of ''The Ark Work'', which adds a bizarre mix of noise rock, math rock, industrial, and IDM to their sound; there is widespread disagreement over whether it even still qualifies as metal. Their later material, while not dropping those influences entirely, is more rooted in black metal again) |
| 503 | * Malokarpatan (also folk/black and traditional heavy metal) |
| 504 | * Music/{{Malthusian}} (also blackened death) |
| 505 | * Music/{{The Meads of Asphodel}} |
| 506 | * Music/{{Mirrorthrone}} |
| 507 | * [[Music/{{Misthyrming}} Misþyrming]] |
| 508 | * Music/{{Mitochondrion}} (mixed with DeathMetal) |
| 509 | * Music/{{Moonsorrow}} (mixed with FolkMetal) |
| 510 | * Music/MurmurBand (Mixed with zeuhl) |
| 511 | * Music/{{Nachtmystium}} |
| 512 | * Music/{{Nagelfar}} (JustForFun/NotToBeConfusedWith Sweden's Naglfar - note the spelling difference) |
| 513 | * Music/NeguraBunget |
| 514 | * Music/NeObliviscaris (GenreBusting example, but probably one of the more accurate labels for their sound) |
| 515 | * Music/{{Njiqahdda}} (On some releases) |
| 516 | * Music/NocteObducta |
| 517 | * Music/NokturnalMortum (since at least ''Голос сталі''/''The Voice of Steel'' if not much earlier; mixed with FolkMetal and Viking Metal, the former of which has become their dominant style on ''Істина''/''Verity'') |
| 518 | * Music/{{Nyss}} |
| 519 | * Music/{{Occasvs}} (somewhere between this and melodic black, but ultimately quirky and weird enough for this) |
| 520 | * Music/{{Opeth}} (early material, mostly; by the time of ''Still Life'' they had already shed nearly every trace of black metal) |
| 521 | * Music/OranssiPazuzu (mixed with PsychedelicRock) |
| 522 | * Music/PesteNoire |
| 523 | * Music/{{Petrychor}} |
| 524 | * Music/PlebeianGrandstand |
| 525 | * Predatory Light |
| 526 | * Rejoice! The Light Has Come |
| 527 | * Schammasch (also gothic metal) |
| 528 | * Music/SerpentColumn (tinges of melodic black metal and mathcore) |
| 529 | * Music/ShadeEmpire (depending on the release/track; mixed with Symphonic Black Metal) |
| 530 | * [[Music/ShiningNorway Shining]] (Norway, from ''Blackjazz'' onward; more than a slight case of GenreBusting, as they also incorporate elements of IndustrialMetal, fusion jazz, and numerous other styles. ''Blackjazz'' marks the point where their material becomes consistently metal-oriented; before that, most of their material was acoustic jazz or ProgressiveRock, although their live shows had always incorporated quite a lot of metal influence, and a few songs on ''In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster'' and ''Grindstone'' also qualify as metal, though not black metal) |
| 531 | * Music/{{Shining}} (Sweden, arguably on all new material since ''The Eerie Cold'' or ''Halmstad'' and certainly on ''Född förlorare''; still very different in tone and influences from the Norwegian group, however, and still unquestionably depressive) |
| 532 | * Music/{{Sigh}} (Possible TropeMaker; as with In Lingua Mortua above, keyboardist Mirai Kawashima's vast array of vintage '70s synths gives this band a particularly progressive feeling, but the band's willingness to engage in GenreRoulette in the middle of a song also makes them a major codifier for avant-garde and experimental metal in general) |
| 533 | * Music/{{Sinmara}} |
| 534 | * Music/{{Solefald}} |
| 535 | * Spirit Possession |
| 536 | * Music/{{Svartidaudi}} |
| 537 | * [[Music/{{SVEST}} S.V.E.S.T.]] |
| 538 | * Music/{{Thantifaxath}} |
| 539 | * Music/ThyCatafalque (earlier material; like Arcturus, their later material is clearly black metal-influenced, but has given up all pretenses of actually ''being'' black metal) |
| 540 | * Music/ThyDarkenedShade |
| 541 | * Music/{{Tribulation}} (particularly from ''The Children of the Night'' onward) |
| 542 | * [[Music/VedBuensEnde Ved Buens Ende...]] (TropeMaker) |
| 543 | * Music/{{Vektor}} (mixed with ThrashMetal) |
| 544 | * Music/VictoryOverTheSun (formerly Cichy Duch; there are a number of potential categorisations for this band, but this is probably the closest fit. Beyond its music, this band is unusual amongst black metal projects for consisting entirely of one woman, and even more unusual in that she is transgender. ''Nowherer'' is composed entirely using microtones, using [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17_equal_temperament 17 Equal Divisions of the Octave]] rather than the traditional 12-note scale of Western music.) |
| 545 | * Music/{{Warforged}} (the Adrian Perez-era material; they abandoned this on ''The Grove | Sundial'') |
| 546 | * Music/{{Weakling}} |
| 547 | * Music/WhiteWard (a mixture of this and post-black, with a fair bit of jazz influence as well) |
| 548 | * Music/WolvesInTheThroneRoom |
| 549 | * Music/{{Wormlust}} |
| 550 | * Music/{{Yuck}} (Black metal mixed with {{Grunge}}) |
| 551 | * Music/{{Zeal and Ardor}} (mixed with {{Soul}}, {{Blues}}, and GospelMusic - no, we're not kidding) |
| 552 | * Music/{{Zhrine}} (mixed with post-black metal) |
| 553 | [[/index]] |
| 554 | |
| 555 | '''Post-Black Metal and Blackgaze''' [[note]] It's worth noting that the term "post-black metal" can have two completely different meanings depending upon who is using it. In one form, it is simply a fusion of black metal with post-rock. In another, it is essentially to black metal what post-punk is to punk: music that builds on the foundation of black metal and takes it in completely different direction. The latter term is the older one, but the former is more commonly used now.[[/note]]\ |
| 556 | Two closely related subgenres of black metal incorporating elements of post-rock and shoegaze, respectively. Generally more melodic and arguably more accessible than more traditional black metal. This is something of a polarizing genre; many people adore it but black metal purists often attack it as watering down black metal for a hipster audience. |
| 557 | [[index]] |
| 558 | * Music/AbigailWilliams (''Becoming'' only) |
| 559 | * Music/{{Agalloch}} |
| 560 | * Music/{{Alcest}} (possible TropeCodifier, starting with ''Le Secret''; note, however, that quite a bit of their songs from ''Souvenirs'' on are straight-up shoegaze with virtually no black metal influence whatsoever, but it depends on the album. ''Shelter'', in particular, has no black metal on it and may not even qualify as metal) |
| 561 | * Music/{{Altar of Plagues}} (Note: They also incorporate IndustrialMetal influence on their final album, ''Teethed Glory and Injury'') |
| 562 | * Music/{{Amesoeurs}} |
| 563 | * Music/AshBorer |
| 564 | * Auðn |
| 565 | * [[Music/BosseDeNage Bosse-de-Nage]] |
| 566 | * Music/ColdBodyRadiation |
| 567 | * Constellatia |
| 568 | * Corps Fleur (side project of Luke Haarhoff of Vulvodynia) |
| 569 | * Music/{{Deafheaven}} |
| 570 | ** 2013 - ''Music/{{Sunbather}}'' |
| 571 | * Music/DernierMartyr |
| 572 | * Music/{{Fauna}} |
| 573 | * Music/{{Fen}} |
| 574 | * Music/{{Fleurety}} (arguable TropeMaker) |
| 575 | * Gaerea |
| 576 | * Music/{{Germ}} |
| 577 | * Music/{{Gospel of the Witches}} (like spiritual predecessor Ephel Duath, they are very difficult to classify, but this is probably one of the labels that is most likely to stick) |
| 578 | * Music/TheGreatOldOnes |
| 579 | * Music/{{Harakiri for the Sky}} |
| 580 | * [[Music/{{Lantlos}} Lantlôs]] (up to ''Melting Sun'', which shed the vast majority of the black metal and metal in general; ''Wildhund'' is shoegaze/post-hardcore) |
| 581 | * Music/{{Leech}} |
| 582 | * Music/NeguraBunget (another possible TropeCodifier) |
| 583 | * Music/{{Njiqahdda}} (On some releases) |
| 584 | * Music/{{Nullingroots}} |
| 585 | * Music/OctoberFalls |
| 586 | * Music/{{Panopticon}} (On some releases) |
| 587 | * Music/{{Petrychor}} (Not surprising as the band's sole member also plays bass in the post-rock group Beware of Safety) |
| 588 | * Music/{{Solstafir}} (earlier material, their later material is a mix of post-rock, shoegaze, and dream pop that barely even qualifies as metal) |
| 589 | * Music/{{Twilight}} (A {{Supergroup}} containing members of various American Black Metal bands and, oddly enough, [[Music/SonicYouth Thurston Moore]].) |
| 590 | * Music/{{Underling}} |
| 591 | * Music/VedBuensEnde (although not ''really'' a member of the genre, they could arguably be considered its UrExample, given their weird, twisty song structures) |
| 592 | * Music/{{Weakling}} (a third possible TropeCodifier) |
| 593 | * Music/WhiteWard (a mixture of this and avant-garde/progressive, with a fair bit of jazz influence as well) |
| 594 | * Music/{{Wiegedood}} |
| 595 | * Music/WolvesInTheThroneRoom |
| 596 | * ██████ (pronounced "nic" and/or "black strip", apparently) |
| 597 | [[/index]] |
| 598 | |
| 599 | '''Bestial Black Metal/War Metal'''\ |
| 600 | Based on the raw, thrashing style of early DeathMetal-influenced Black Metal bands such as Blasphemy, Sarcófago, Von and Beherit, Bestial Black Metal aims for pure, demonic aggression and speed, often featuring elongated blastbeats, chainsaw-esque guitar tones, extremely guttural vocals and short song lengths. Many bands show heavy influence from DeathMetal, old school ThrashMetal and sometimes {{Grindcore}}. Lyrics usually eschew political or philosophical themes, instead focusing on blasphemous and taboo subjects such as anti-Christianity, desecration of religious symbols, sadism, sodomy and bestiality. Basically Black Metal's answer to Brutal Death Metal. |
| 601 | [[index]] |
| 602 | * دمار (pronounced "damaar" in Arabic) |
| 603 | * Music/{{Abhomine}} |
| 604 | * Music/{{Abhorer}} |
| 605 | * Music/AbysmalLord |
| 606 | * Music/{{Aclewan}} |
| 607 | * Music/{{Antediluvian}} |
| 608 | * Music/{{Archgoat}} |
| 609 | * Music/AntichristSiegeMachine |
| 610 | * Music/AparthivaRaktadhara |
| 611 | * Music/AxisOfAdvance |
| 612 | * Music/{{Baneblade}} |
| 613 | * Music/{{Beherit}} (TropeMaker and [[TropeCodifier Codifier]] for the genre alongside Blasphemy) |
| 614 | * Music/BestialPutrefaction (mixed with goregrind) |
| 615 | * Music/BestialWarlust |
| 616 | * Music/BlackGoatOfTheWoods |
| 617 | * Music/BlackMouthOfSpite (side project of Maurice de Jong of Gnaw Their Tongues fame) |
| 618 | * Music/BlackWitchery |
| 619 | * Music/{{Blasphemy}} (TropeMaker and [[TropeCodifier Codifier]] for the genre alongside Beherit) |
| 620 | * Music/{{Blasphemophager}} |
| 621 | * Music/BloodRevolt |
| 622 | * Music/{{Brahmastrika}} |
| 623 | * Music/CavemanCult |
| 624 | * Music/{{Conqueror}} (TropeMaker and [[TropeCodifier Codifier]] for the modern war metal sound) |
| 625 | * Music/{{Crurifragium}} |
| 626 | * Music/{{Deiphago}} |
| 627 | * Music/{{Diocletian}} |
| 628 | * Music/FilthChasm |
| 629 | * Music/GenocideShrines |
| 630 | * Music/{{Goatpenis}} |
| 631 | * Music/{{Goatscorge}} (a rare Christian example) |
| 632 | * Music/{{Gravesend}} (mixed with deathgrind) |
| 633 | * Music/HadesArcher |
| 634 | * Music/{{Hellgoat}} |
| 635 | * Music/{{Heresiarch}} |
| 636 | * Music/HumanAgony |
| 637 | * Music/{{Impiety}} |
| 638 | * Music/{{Intolerant}} (also cybergrind) |
| 639 | * Music/InfernalCoil |
| 640 | * Music/{{Invultation}} |
| 641 | * Jyotiṣavedāṅga |
| 642 | * Music/{{Kapala}} (mixed with HarshNoise) |
| 643 | * Music/{{Manticore}} |
| 644 | * Music/MassiveRetaliation |
| 645 | * Music/{{Morbosidad}} |
| 646 | * Music/NakedWhipper |
| 647 | * Music/{{Necrodeity}} |
| 648 | * Music/{{Nirrti}} (some folk and noise influences) |
| 649 | * Music/{{Nuclearhammer}} |
| 650 | * Music/{{Nunslaughter}} (not a full-fledged example, but ''extremely'' influential to the genre and thus gets an honorary mention) |
| 651 | * Music/{{Nyogthaeblisz}} (mixed with {{Grindcore}} and HarshNoise) |
| 652 | * Music/OrderFromChaos (an UrExample for the genre, also the band Pete Helmkamp was in before he formed Music/{{Angelcorpse}}) |
| 653 | * Music/PrehistoricWarCult |
| 654 | * Music/PrimitiveWarfare |
| 655 | * Music/{{Proclamation}} |
| 656 | * Music/{{Profanatica}} |
| 657 | * Music/ProfaneOrder |
| 658 | * Music/{{Pseudogod}} |
| 659 | * Music/{{Qqgcguvhjn}} |
| 660 | * Music/{{Revenge|Band}} |
| 661 | * Music/{{Sadomator}} |
| 662 | * Music/SectPig |
| 663 | * Music/{{Tetragrammacide}} (mixed with HarshNoise) |
| 664 | * Music/{{Truppensturm}} |
| 665 | * Music/{{Tsalal}} |
| 666 | * Music/{{Vadhakarmadhikarin}} |
| 667 | * Music/{{Warstrike 666}} |
| 668 | * Music/WashboardVomit |
| 669 | * Music/{{Wearg}} |
| 670 | * Music/{{Wrathprayer}} |
| 671 | * Music/YourEnd |
| 672 | [[/index]] |
| 673 | |
| 674 | While not technically different subgenres as the bands described within have wildly varying musical styles, the following subtropes are ideologically different to most other forms of black metal, and are often considered subgenres of black metal; as such, all three have been given their own place on the list. |
| 675 | |
| 676 | '''[[ThoseWackyNazis National Socialist Black Metal]]'''\ |
| 677 | As the name suggests, this is black metal with a focus on lyrics and imagery espousing Neo-Nazism or other extreme right-wing ideologies, usually in the form of either "being proud of your race/culture" (with particular emphasis on the "Aryan" race part over the culture) or "exterminating the undesirables" (typically Jews, Muslims, or other minorities) albeit drenched in the typical over-the-top fanciful trappings of black metal. Musicians hold far-right, nationalist political beliefs, and they use their music to get their views across. |
| 678 | |
| 679 | Ideologically, NSBM bands often synthesize neo-Nazism with black metal's customary anti-Christianity, viewing Paganism, Nazi esotericism and/or Satanism as superior "non-Jewish" beliefs, although Christian/unblack NSBM does exist, as do bands espousing other right-wing ethocentrist beliefs such as those of fascist South American heritage movements. Bands with a stronger pretense of philosophical sophistication may occasionally invoke Creator/FriedrichNietzsche, JuliusEvola or other thinkers influential to neo-Nazi thought, though more commonly NSBM lyrics will simply blend generic black metal misanthropy with shoehorned racist/antisemitic sentiment and vague notions of nationalism and pride. Musically, NSBM bands most often play fairly bog-standard traditional black metal, but some incorporate either epic/Pagan/viking black metal or Rock Against Communism/RAC PunkRock.\ |
| 680 | |
| 681 | %%%As a side note, don't just list artists with members (or sole members) holding far-right beliefs, such as Music/{{Burzum}} (and many other bands). Make sure that the lyrics themselves are racist, or strongly nationalist, before adding a band. Crypto-fascist bands also don't count; while "werewolf", "heathen", "fatherland", "iron will", and similar terms are commonly understood to be dogwhistles, they are also ambiguous enough for bands with more covert far-right leanings to pass them off as occultist or militaristic in spirit rather than an overt expression of far-right sympathies. Basically, even if you know that the members have far-right sympathies and the lyrics can be taken as an allusion to them by people familiar with the jargon, it's still not NSBM unless the band explicitly (or so transparently that they have zero plausible deniability) makes their views known AND they are an integral part of the band's identity (as in, they are inextricably tied to it, either through their own deliberate efforts or by necessity due to NS/fascist circles being the only place where they can get booked and/or not get kicked off of bills that people who are unaware of their reputation have booked them on). |
| 682 | |
| 683 | [[index]] |
| 684 | * Music/{{Absurd|Band}} |
| 685 | * Music/AryanTerrorism (side project of Knjaz Varggoth from Nokturnal Mortum) |
| 686 | * Music/{{Branikald}} |
| 687 | * Music/DarkFury |
| 688 | * Music/DubBuk |
| 689 | * Music/{{Forest}} |
| 690 | * Music/{{Fullmoon}} |
| 691 | * Music/{{Goatmoon}} |
| 692 | * Music/GrandBelialsKay (sister band Music/{{Arghoslent}} also represents a DeathMetal version of the genre) |
| 693 | * Music/HateForest (although it's worth noting that Drudkh contain almost exactly the same lineup except for the drummer and explicitly disavowed radical politics upon signing to Season of Mist) |
| 694 | * Intolitarian (Nazi war metal) |
| 695 | * Music/{{Kroda}} (or Крода in Cyrillic script) (though the members themselves deny it, some of their lyrics are questionable and their choice of cover material is even more so. Note that the band's association with NSBM is rumoured to be the reason erstwhile composer Viterzgir departed the band) |
| 696 | * Music/{{M8L8TH}} (or М8Л8ТХ in Cyrillic script) |
| 697 | * Music/{{Nokturnal Mortum}} (formerly; their lyrical themes have been primarily based around HeavyMithril since their 2009 album ''Голос сталі''/''The Voice of Steel,'' and frontman Knjaz Varggoth declared [[https://www.facebook.com/nokturnalmortumofficial/posts/10154629159940487 in 2014]] that he was no longer aligned with national socialism or interested in promoting a political agenda. The band's rare political statements since then have mostly centred around maintaining Ukraine's independence from Russia, a major concern of most of Ukraine's citizens since the conflict over the Crimean peninsula) |
| 698 | * Northern (an ambiguous case; their original run as Cold Northern Vengeance was largely apolitical in spite of Heathen's somewhat well-known political affiliations, but Northern has more overt dogwhistles and has repeatedly played racist/NS festivals, which presents far less plausible deniability) |
| 699 | * Music/PesteNoire (a somewhat ambiguous/borderline case)[[note]]If you're interested, band leader Famine defines himself as a French nationalist. French nationalism holds the view that foreigners can earn the right to become French through service; Famine gives the example of the French Foreign Legion here. In fact, the band has contained an Asian member at various points, so it's questionable whether they're racists, but on the other hand they did name their first demo ''Aryan Supremacy'' and are known to be affiliated with multiple individuals with open far-right leanings. Famine also defines himself as a national anarchist, which is a somewhat bizarre attempt to synthesise nationalism and anarchism and generally just ends up pissing off both nationalists and anarchists.[[/note]] |
| 700 | * Music/SatanicWarmaster (though sole member Werwolf [[ImplausibleDeniability denies the connection]], many of their lyrics carry Neo-Nazi/xenophobic undertones) |
| 701 | * Music/{{Silencer}} (another ambiguous case, as it's not clear whether the lyrics are intended sincerely or merely for shock value, particularly given that the front man of the band appears to have been ''literally mentally ill'') |
| 702 | * Spear of Longinus (black/thrash, also a fairly notorious who's who of far-right individuals within the Australian black and thrash metal scenes) |
| 703 | * Music/{{Temnozor}} (or Темнозорь in Cyrillic script) |
| 704 | * [[Music/ThorsHammer Thor's Hammer]] (not to be confused with Thor'''r''''s Hammer, the American death/doom band featuring the future members of Sunn O))).) |
| 705 | * Music/{{Veles}} |
| 706 | [[/index]] |
| 707 | |
| 708 | '''Red and Anarchist Black Metal'''\ |
| 709 | Basically the complete polar opposite of NSBM. Most of these bands are fairly new and some formed as a direct response to NSBM, although Profecium is a notable exception as it formed in 1993.[[note]]Euronymous of Mayhem also self-identified as an "authoritarian communist", although it's pretty well-known that he cared more about the "authoritarian" part for the morbid shock value of the atrocities carried out by authoritarian communist regimes than adhering to actual socialist ideology. The bands of this subgenre are overwhelmingly non-authoritarian communists or outright anarchists.[[/note]] . There is also a strong environmentalist bent to much of this music, and many bands from the [[UsefulNotes/TheOtherRainforest Cascadian region]] of the United States and Canada fall here. There is also a strong overlap with crust punk. Most of them are also explicitly atheistic, pagan, or (in Profecium's case) Satanic religiously speaking, although a couple of lesser known bands overlap with unblack/Christian metal below.\ |
| 710 | |
| 711 | %%%As with NSBM, don't list an artist just because they hold far-left political views (Euronymous, for example, was (nominally) an authoritarian Communist, but Music/{{Mayhem}} does not count)); they have to express their ideology in their lyrics and/or packaging. (Unfortunately, in some cases, such as the explicitly anarchistic Music/AshBorer ["Godless, Masterless, Hopeless"], it's difficult to know whether the views are expressed in the lyrics since only the bands know what the lyrics are. Ash Borer take this one step further by not naming several of their songs.) |
| 712 | |
| 713 | [[index]] |
| 714 | * Music/{{Aborym}} are openly antifascist, and their lyrics address this more overtly starting at around ''Psychogrotesque'' |
| 715 | * Music/{{Adamennon}} |
| 716 | * Music/{{Akvan}}[[note]]Despite some nationalistic lyrical themes, frontman Vizaresa has expressed opposition to racism, Nazism, and radical Islam, and the lyrics tend to glorify the egalitarian empire of Cyrus the Great.[[/note]] |
| 717 | * Music/{{Ashenspire}} (they explicitly identify as RABM on their Bandcamp. Their first album, ''Speak Not of the Laudanum Quandary'', is an examination of how the spoils of empire even now allow the British people to live in relative comfort "while others drown in their own filth in gutters that we dredged", per the album cover. Their second album, ''Hostile Architecture'', is named for architecture that deters the public from using a space for "means unintended by the designer", which the album posits represents "a foundational contempt for the poor and working class, an exemplification of a status quo fortified in concrete", per the album description; it also uses hostile architecture as a metaphor for how ''society itself'' is structured) |
| 718 | * Music/BlutAusNord [[note]]most of their lyrics have not been released, but the story of ''Fathers of the Icy Age'' centres around vengeance for an act of attempted genocide, which arguably places them in this category; band leader Vindsval has also expressed explicit opposition to nationalism and racism in interviews and stated that he is ideologically aligned with bands like Wolves in the Throne Room[[/note]] |
| 719 | * Book of Sand (experimental black metal) |
| 720 | * Music/BullOfApisBullOfBronze |
| 721 | * Music/{{Bustum}} (Croatia; confusingly, there is also a Polish group of the same name that has connections to National Socialism) |
| 722 | * Music/{{Cormorant}} (starting with ''Dwellings''; the band's first frontman/lyricist Arthur von Nagel was outspokenly leftist, and the band's lyrics tend to be HorribleHistoryMetal with a notable anti-authoritarian slant) |
| 723 | * Dawn Ray'd |
| 724 | * Dead to a Dying World (also sludge) |
| 725 | * Music/DeathspellOmega's recent work, though there is a large caveat here regarding the political sympathies of their presumed vocalist(s) (who don't write the music or lyrics; "presumed vocalist(s)" because we're discussing one of the most dedicated {{Anonymous Band}}s in black metal). Without naming any of their members, Deathspell explicitly address the ideological rift between themselves and "parts of the second circle" in their 2019 interview with Bardo Methodology: they clarify that they like working with ideological opponents because they feel shying from conflict is detrimental to art. The most notorious example, Mikko Aspa (presumed to have performed on most tracks from ''Si monumentum requires, circumspice'' onward), is strongly connected to authoritarian politics. Nonetheless, Deathspell Omega's opposition to authoritarianism is hardly ambiguous; they explicitly call totalitarianism (whether leftist or rightist) a "death cult" in the Bardo Methodology interview, and the Order's totalitarian rule in ''Music/TheFurnacesOfPalingenesia'' directly causes the extinction of humanity, if not all life on Earth. Additionally, their largest literary influence by far, Creator/GeorgesBataille, was a Marxist who wrote several literary deconstructions of fascism (though he was no fonder of authoritarian communism); their second-largest literary influence, Creator/MarquisDeSade, spent much of his career cataloguing the numerous ways the powerful abuse their stations to prey on the weak.[[note]]Since Sade's political writings are not widely available in English, this has frequently not been clear to English readers. Sade remains a controversial writer whose works are accessible to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_de_Sade#Appraisal_and_criticism numerous disparate interpretations]] (see also the "cultural depictions" section), and he was accused of several horrifying acts (though the most sensational accusations were never proved); however, most academics agree he isn't arguing in favour of the depravity he depicts in his fiction. Politically, Sade could be described as far-left or proto-communist/anarchist.[[/note]] |
| 726 | ** ''Music/TheFurnacesOfPalingenesia'' (2019) is a scathing deconstruction of totalitarianism along the lines of ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''. The many examples of self-aware irony it contains were a large clue on this count even before the Bardo Methodology interview clarified their intentions. ''Furnaces'' argues that humanity's innate corruption means that government by humans will inevitably lead to corruption and chaos, a message that is certainly compatible with anarchism.[[note]]To be fair, Deathspell Omega also express scepticism of violent revolution, but most modern anarchists do not advocate violent tactics, so there is not necessarily a contradiction with anarchist thought here; however, they also describe humanity as an intrinsically violent species, suggesting that they doubt such a state of affairs will ever occur. Regardless, this album, particularly in the context of their 2019 interview, fits in this category more or less by the process of elimination; having ruled out all systems of government as intrinsically corrupt, there is really only one place to go.[[/note]] |
| 727 | ** ''The Long Defeat'' (2022), amongst other elements, contains an all but explicitly anarchist critique of hierarchies and the use of force to maintain them and criticises humanity's violence and degradation of the natural environment. The lyrics and the fable included with the album both recapitulate many themes they'd already expressed in their 2019 and 2020 interviews. |
| 728 | ** The band's earlier work is generally not explicitly political, but ''Drought'' (2012) is implicitly a metaphor for climate change (which they confirmed as intentional in their 2020 Cult Never Dies interview). |
| 729 | * Music/EpiphanicTruth's first album is a ConceptAlbum about how humanity's {{greed}} and self-sightedness will [[InYourNatureToDestroyYourselves lead to our downfall]], and it explicitly denounces the pursuit of power and material wealth, meaning that they can probably fairly be placed here. |
| 730 | * Music/EtherealShroud |
| 731 | * Music/{{Fall of the Bastards}} |
| 732 | * Music/{{Falls of Rauros}} |
| 733 | * [[Music/{{Feminazgul}} Feminazgûl]] (a rare example of a two-woman black metal band, and instrumentalist and backing vocalist Margaret Killjoy is also trans) |
| 734 | * Music/{{Gaylord}} (a rare LGBTQ-fronted black metal project) |
| 735 | * Music/{{Iskra}} (mixed with crust punk) |
| 736 | * Music/JarostMarksa |
| 737 | * Music/{{Krallice}}, given the lyrics on ''Prelapsarian'' and ''Loüm'', probably fit in here now |
| 738 | * [[Music/LAcephale L'Acephale]][[note]]Although they've never precisely made a secret of their political sympathies (they're literally named after a secret society formed by the French leftist Georges Bataille - already mentioned as an influence on Deathspell Omega, incidentally - and ''Stahlhartes Gehäuse'' is based around the band's critique of capitalism, bureaucracy, and industrialism by way of the German sociologist Max Weber), these have become much more explicit with more recent releases like "Mortem" and the SelfTitledAlbum[[/note]] |
| 739 | * Music/{{Leech}} |
| 740 | * Music/{{Liturgy}} (influenced by Marxism, per their own Bandcamp) |
| 741 | * Neckbeard Deathcamp (a humorous take on the genre, but musically serious) |
| 742 | * Music/{{Panopticon}} (which has overlapped with FolkMetal in recent years) |
| 743 | * Plebeian Grandstand |
| 744 | * [=PunaTerrori=] |
| 745 | * Music/{{Profecium}} (UrExample[=/=]TropeMaker) |
| 746 | * Sankara (communist war metal) |
| 747 | * Music/{{Skagos}} |
| 748 | * Music/{{Sorgsvart}} (mixed with viking metal) |
| 749 | * Music/{{Timebomb}} |
| 750 | * Trespasser |
| 751 | * Music/WolvesInTheThroneRoom (probably the TropeCodifier, or at least the group most responsible for making people aware that left-wing black metal exists) |
| 752 | * Music/ZealAndArdor (can be interpreted this way, although the band's exact political stances are usually left implicit, with ''Wake of a Nation'' being a major exception, being made as a direct response to the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement) |
| 753 | [[/index]] |
| 754 | |
| 755 | '''[[ChristianMetal Unblack Metal]]'''\ |
| 756 | Do you love black metal, but hate all that stuff about Satan? Well, this is the perfect genre for you! Unblack metal, also known as "white metal", is black metal with Christian lyrics and themes. These bands are often strongly hated by the rest of the black metal fandom because of the rather negative attitude held towards Christianity by the genre and much of metal in general. |
| 757 | [[index]] |
| 758 | * Music/{{Admonish}} |
| 759 | * Music/{{Antestor}} (TropeMaker / TropeCodifier) |
| 760 | * Music/CrimsonMoonlight |
| 761 | * Music/{{Deborah}} (an all-female Mexican band.) |
| 762 | * Music/{{Drottnar}} (mixed with ProgressiveMetal. And probably the most respected of the lot) |
| 763 | * Music/{{Elgibbor}} |
| 764 | * Music/FrostLikeAshes (mixed with DeathMetal) |
| 765 | * Music/HolyBlood |
| 766 | * Music/{{Horde}} (TropeMaker) |
| 767 | * Music/{{Sanctifica}} |
| 768 | * Music/{{Slechtvalk}} (overlaps with FolkMetal) |
| 769 | * Music/{{Underoath}} (the Corey Steger-era material and especially ''Act of Depression'', also death metal and metalcore) |
| 770 | [[/index]] |
| 771 | |
| 772 | !!The black metal genre exhibits the following tropes: |
| 773 | |
| 774 | * AlbumIntroTrack: Probably around half of black metal albums contain these. They often vary widely in style from the remainder of the content on the album, ususally being either ambient or folk music. |
| 775 | * AnonymousBand: An awful lot of bands don't release any information about their membership. Music/DeathspellOmega are probably the most notorious for this. |
| 776 | * ApocalypseHow: A common lyrical theme. |
| 777 | * BilingualBonus: Many non-Anglo-American bands write in their native languages. Additionally, a lot of bands will throw in lyrics from multiple languages. Solefald, for example, typically write in about four, while Music/DeathspellOmega often throw in even more (GratuitousLatin is particularly common). |
| 778 | * BlackSpeech: Plenty of bands borrow Tolkienic motives for their names and some even write entire songs in pseudo-Black Speech. The [[HarshVocals growling]] makes it hard to tell the difference anyway. (Note that Music/{{Summoning}}'s "Mirdautas Vras" is in ''actual'' Black Speech.) |
| 779 | * BoleroEffect: Very common with post-black metal and avant-garde black metal bands. |
| 780 | * CarefulWithThatAxe: '''Freaking everywhere''', with Silencer's ''Death - Pierce Me'', Fleurety's ''A Darker Shade of Evil'', and Bethlehem's ''Dictius te necare'' being particularly notable examples. |
| 781 | * CreepyAwesome: Pretty much black metal's bread and butter. While most people would find this genre as NightmareFuel in musical, stage and ideology form, its fans instead appreciate the musicians' tremendous musical prowess and, in general, the pure adrenaline the music can give, so much that the rawer the sound is, the better it is. |
| 782 | ** Subverted with NSBM, for [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany obvious reasons]]. |
| 783 | * DarkerAndEdgier: Second-wave black metal was this to the first wave, turning up the aggression of the music and being more serious about the Satanic/occultic themes. Quoting Canadian music web show ''This Exists'': |
| 784 | --> ''"The Norwegians '''really''' cranked that shit up with the second wave of black metal. And they stopped kidding. Ever. About '''anything.'''"'' |
| 785 | * DarkIsEvil[=/=]DarkIsNotEvil: Both are invoked, although the former more so than the latter. |
| 786 | * DramaticWind: Very commonly used as a StockSoundEffect, particularly when bands need to evoke winter. Paysage d'Hiver in particular does this basically ''[[OnceAnEpisode every song]]''. Their usage of wind is so prolific that their 7th album ''Winterkaelte'' needed to trim a whole ''13 minutes'' of wind sound from the cassette version in order to fit it on a compact disc. |
| 787 | * DroneOfDread: Very often with the more atmospheric bands in the genre. Darkspace is especially well known for this. |
| 788 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first-wave of black metal is basically ''very'' raw ThrashMetal with shades of DeathMetal, SpeedMetal, DoomMetal, TraditionalHeavyMetal, SludgeMetal, HardcorePunk, PunkRock, PostRock, NoiseRock, PostPunk, PostHardcore, FolkMetal and proto-{{Grunge}}, and the Satanic themes were more for shock value than actually reflecting the band's beliefs, plus, there weren't as much tremelo-picking, blast beats or shrieking vocals as there would be in the second-wave. |
| 789 | * EchoingAcoustics: Many Norwegian bands such as Music/{{Emperor}} and Music/{{Mayhem}} recorded in the Grieg Memorial Hall to take full advantage of its acoustics. Also, if a band gets classified as "atmospheric black metal", nine times out of ten their production will contain a lot of this. |
| 790 | * EpicInstrumentalOpener: Shows up a lot in Melodic Black Metal. Other genres display this a certain amount, too. |
| 791 | * EpicRocking: A fair portion of black metal songs. Arguably the rule rather than the exception, actually. |
| 792 | * '''EvilIsCool''': A core principle of Black Metal. |
| 793 | ** More specifically within the genre, this may be the reason NSBM became a thing as well. |
| 794 | * FanDisservice: Females wearing corpse paint look more terrifying than sexy and the appearance are meant to evoke creepiness. |
| 795 | * ForTheEvulz: {{Invoked}} as a motivation by some bands. |
| 796 | * GodAndSatanAreBothJerks: More than a few black metal bands have taken this approach. |
| 797 | * GodIsEvil: Many musicians and fans profess to hate Christianity for replacing the pagan traditions of Europe, leading to several widely publicized church burnings. Mayhem drummer Hellhammer spoke in a Guitar World interview about his dislike for "Christianity and its pitiful glorification of the weak," but went on to say that he was not a Satanist because "Satanists always end up burning themselves out, and I'm not going to do that." He cited paganism as his primary inspiration. |
| 798 | ** In an ironic turn of events, Hellhammer eventually lent his drumming skills to Unblack metal band Antestor, if only to piss off his former Mayhem band mates. |
| 799 | * {{Gorn}}: Sometimes used as thematic, but it's not very common as with DeathMetal. |
| 800 | ** Mayhem cranked up the trope with [[CrossesTheLineTwice "Chainsaw Gutsfuck"]], which lyrics are so gorny it was voted as "song with the goriest lyrics ever" by a metal-specialized website. [[SchmuckBait I dare you to find the lyrics of this song.]] |
| 801 | * GreenAesop: A common lyrical theme is nature or concern for the environment. Interestingly, this tends to hold true across all ideological alignments and is probably one of the few things you could get RABM and NSBM bands to agree on, apart from liking black metal. |
| 802 | * GrimUpNorth: While BM scenes exist worldwide, most of the BM releases that many metalheads know of usually come from Northern European countries (Norway, in particular). |
| 803 | * HarshVocals: The primary vocal style used within the genre, though more avant-garde bands may incorporate clean singing into their music. |
| 804 | * HeavyMithril: When the lyrics aren't Satanic or philosophical, chances are they will be fantasy-based. |
| 805 | * HorribleHistoryMetal: Some bands, particularly Marduk, are known for this. World War II is an especially common subject for these bands. |
| 806 | * IAmTheBand: It's fairly common for bands to consist of only one or two permanent members who play all the instruments. Some good examples are Music/{{Burzum}}, Xasthur, Music/{{Panopticon}}, and Music/{{Leviathan}} for one-man bands. Music/{{Darkthrone}} and Music/{{Summoning}} are particularly well-known two-man bands. |
| 807 | * IndecipherableLyrics: Pretty much a given when your primary vocal style is shrieked. The fact that a lot of musicians don't speak English as their first language doesn't help, even when the lyrics ''are'' in English. |
| 808 | * KillAllHumans: A common lyrical theme. Most of the songs on Music/{{Mayhem}}'s ''Ordo ad chao'' are about this, and Botanist has been making a series of {{Concept Album}}s about a man who wants to summon an army of plants to wipe out humanity. |
| 809 | * LeadDrummer: While there aren't as many of these as there are in death metal due to the decreased technical requirements needed to play black metal, there are some standouts, with [[Music/{{Mayhem}} Hellhammer]], [[Music/{{Emperor}} Trym Torson]], Frost (1349, Satyricon), Nils "Dominator" Fjellstrom (ex-Dark Funeral), Simon Schilling (Marduk), Janne Jaloma (Dark Funeral), Darkside (Mgla), Kenny Grohowski (Imperial Triumphant), and [[Music/DimmuBorgir Nick]] [[Music/CradleOfFilth Barker]] being among the most famous examples. |
| 810 | * LoudnessWar: This has been a problem with releases in the genre for about 15 years. The '90s releases weren't as plagued by it for the most part, with a few exceptions (Ulver's ''Nattens madrigal'' is one of the few metal albums to receive a remaster that is more dynamic than the original). |
| 811 | * MetalScream: All three types, albeit Type 3 is the most prominent. |
| 812 | * MindScrew: An awful lot of bands in the genre seem to do this deliberately (Music/{{Sigh}} stand out for invoking the trope in the liner notes to ''Hail Horror Hail''). A rather strong case could be made that this is a staple of the genre, especially the Avant-Garde/Progressive bands. |
| 813 | * MisanthropeSupreme: An especially common lyrical stance. |
| 814 | * MoodWhiplash: Anytime an album opens with a SurprisinglyGentleSong, it's followed by the HarshVocals and instruments the genre is known for. |
| 815 | * '''''NightmareFuel''''': Similar to its sister genre, death metal, black metal bands are a big fan of this trope, be it the imagery, the sound, or the lyrics, and what makes it worse than death metal is the sheer abundance of actual crimes committed by the black metal band members. In fact, so far, black metal is the only specific metal genre to have its own Nightmare Fuel page, until death metal got its own. |
| 816 | * NobodyLovesTheBassist: In a lot of cases the bass in black metal is almost completely inaudible, whether by design or just due to a crappy mix. Some bands simply don't have a bass player at all (e.g. Darkthrone, Wolves in the Throne Room on their first album). Some other bands prove to be glorious aversions, such as Drudkh, Ved Buens Ende, Imperial Triumphant, Thantifaxath, and more recent Music/DeathspellOmega.[[note]]A comment in the Last.fm shoutbox about Deathspell's song "The Crackled Book of Life" noted, "The bass player has gotta be wearing the coolest sunglasses while playing this I mean fuck."[[/note]] Former Deathspell vocalist Shaxul also has a project entitled Arphaxat which proves to be an ''inversion'', as it has bass but no guitar. (However, as is typical with Shaxul's work, this is pretty primitive stuff in comparison with the much more complex direction [=DsO=] has taken since his departure). |
| 817 | %%* NoTrueScotsman: |
| 818 | * NotSoDifferentRemark: One lyrical approach in the {{Religion Rant Song}}s common in black metal is to portray God and Satan this way. |
| 819 | * OminousLatinChanting: See BlackSpeech above. Some bands use ''actual Latin'', rather than just psuedo-Latin, in their songs, such as Funeral Mist, Music/{{Sigh}}, and Music/DeathspellOmega. The Italian duo Nazgûl take this one step further by writing ''all'' of their lyrics in Latin (and they're all Tolkien-inspired). The quality of Latin grammar in various bands' songs, of course, varies ''widely''. Deathspell, for one, get it almost entirely correct, while many other bands are not so successful. |
| 820 | * PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: The driving force behind NSBM, and also a stance in many of the more nationalistic bands in the folk and Viking metal subgenres. |
| 821 | * PublicMediumIgnorance: To many, Music/DimmuBorgir, Music/CradleOfFilth and ''maybe'' Music/{{Emperor}} are the only BlackMetal bands. This may be a [[ItsPopularNowItSucks contributing factor]] to the massive backlash against the former two bands in the black metal underground, although many people just don't think they're very good. To fans of other metal subgenres (or other genres of music in general), there is often a perception that all black metal consists of corpse painted Norwegians writing extremely lo-fi songs about Satanism and Dungeons and Dragons in between rounds of arson and murder, which doesn't really hold true past the second wave and even then only applies to a few bands from that movement. |
| 822 | ** Unfortunately, this trope applies as well for the general HeavyMetal genre, due to atrocities done by few black metal musicians. |
| 823 | * QuirkyWork: A particularly relevant example, especially thanks to its strange melodies and the corpse paint. Among bands, however, Music/{{Immortal}} is probably the quirkiest of them all. In terms of individual countries... |
| 824 | ** Music/{{Sigh}} are a classic weird example. |
| 825 | ** Music/DeathspellOmega, Music/BlutAusNord, Music/{{Alcest}}, Plebeian Grandstand, Peste Noire, and Esoctrilihum are Weird French Things. |
| 826 | ** Mortuary Drape and Opera IX are Weird Italian Things. |
| 827 | ** Oranssi Pazuzu are a Weird Finnish Thing. |
| 828 | ** Svartidauði, Misþyrming, Wormlust, and Zhrine are Weird Icelandic Things. |
| 829 | ** Batushka are a Weird Polish Thing. |
| 830 | ** Root and Master's Hammer are Weird Czech Things. |
| 831 | ** Rotting Christ, Necromantia, Varathron, and Thou Art Lord are Weird Greek Things. |
| 832 | ** Music/NeguraBunget are a Weird Romanian Thing. |
| 833 | ** Music/{{Drudkh}} and (sometimes) Music/NokturnalMortum are Weird Ukrainian Things. |
| 834 | ** Music/{{Cobalt}}, Music/{{Krallice}}, Music/{{Weakling}}, Music/{{Liturgy}}, Imperial Triumphant, Devil Master, & Xexyz are Weird American Things. |
| 835 | ** Anaal Nathrakh, The Axis of Perdition, Woods Of Trees, and A Forest of Stars are Weird English Things. |
| 836 | ** Altar of Plagues and Malthusian are Weird Irish Things. |
| 837 | ** Dodecahedron and Terzij de Horde are Weird Dutch Things. |
| 838 | ** Thy Catafalque is a Weird Hungarian Thing... or was until its creator moved. Now it's a Weird Scottish Thing. The lyrics are still in Hungarian though. |
| 839 | ** Nagelfar, Nocte Obducta, and Music/{{The Ruins of Beverast}} are Weird German Things. |
| 840 | ** Schammasch is a Weird Swiss Thing. |
| 841 | ** Malokarpatan is a Weird Slovak Thing. |
| 842 | ** Music/ZealAndArdor is a Weird Swiss/African-American Thing. |
| 843 | * RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: {{Exaggerated|trope}}; ''everything'' in black metal is colored either black, red, or white, with hardly any variation or even gradient. This includes [[EvilWearsBlack clothing]], makeup, and album art. |
| 844 | * RefugeInAudacity: The live shows of Mayhem and Gorgoroth. To a certain extent the whole genre could be considered an example. |
| 845 | * ReligionRantSong: The most common lyrical theme. |
| 846 | * RockMeAsmodeus: A core characteristic of the genre (In fact, it's even sometimes called ''Satanic'' metal) Given that genre founders like Venom, Bathory and Mercyful Fate all invoked this trope, it's not surprising that it has been utilised by legions of bands in the genre. |
| 847 | ** This does tend to be averted by bands in the PostRock/Black Metal, Blackened {{Shoegaze}}, Red/Anarchist Black Metal, and National Socialist Black Metal scenes, which naturally leads genre purists to declare TheyChangedItNowItSucks. Or even, in extreme cases, to declare said bands [[NoTrueScotsman not actually black metal due to lack of satanic lyrical content]]. |
| 848 | ** It is also perhaps worth pointing out that the actual sincerity of bands who use this in the genre can vary widely. Some of them, such as Music/{{Mayhem}} under Euronymous, Music/DeathspellOmega, and Music/{{Gorgoroth}}, are 100% sincere theistic Satanists. Others, such as later Mayhem and most of the first-wave bands, are using it mostly for shock value, or, like Music/KingDiamond, are the non-theistic variety of Satanist and thus don't actually believe in the existence of God and Satan. |
| 849 | ** Varg Vikernes of Music/{{Burzum}} criticises the prevalence of this trope in BlackMetal on his website, arguing that genuine Satanism historically did not exist. Every recorded case of "devil worship" in pre-modern times, he argues, has actually been a case of genuine Pagan practices that were literally demonised by the church. He may be a colossal {{Jerkass}}, but [[JerkassHasAPoint he has something of a point here]]. (It may be worth pointing out that some of Vikernes' older material, such as "Dominus Sathanas" and his lyrics for Music/{{Darkthrone}}'s ''Transilvanian Hunger'', nonetheless plays this trope straight. WordOfGod says he was using Satan as a metaphor for Odin). |
| 850 | ** Among second-wave Norwegian bands, the main ones who consistently avert this trope are Music/{{Enslaved}}, who write almost exclusively about [[HorribleHistoryMetal Nordic history]] and [[Myth/NorseMythology mythology]], and Music/{{Immortal}}, whose lyrics concern [[HeavyMithril an imaginary world called Blashyrkh]], plagued by war and suffering and ruled over by the mighty Ravendark. Both bands could also count as {{Token Good Teammate}}s, since they were never involved in any of the arson, murder, or other questionable activities some of the other scene members got into, nor have they ever expressed sympathy for fascism or other questionable political ideologies. |
| 851 | * RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: Romantic, ''big freaking time.'' |
| 852 | * {{Sampling}}: Happens occasionally. ''Film/TheSeventhSeal'' is a particularly common source of this - excerpts of the soundtrack show up in, at the very least, Funeral Mist's ''Salvation'', Music/{{Panopticon}}'s ''On the Subject of Mortality'', L'Acephale's ''Stahlhartes Gehäuse'', and Music/{{Agalloch}}'s ''The Mantle''. |
| 853 | * SatanIsGood: Sometimes evoked by Satanically-themed black metal bands; that, or the more often used: Satan is evil and EvilIsCool. |
| 854 | * ScareChord: Music/DeathspellOmega, quite atypically for a BlackMetal band, have a chant section in their song "Carnal Malefactor" (frequently mistakenly assumed to be Gregorian chant, it's actually in [[BilingualBonus Old Church Slavonic]]). What qualifies the song for this trope is that immediately after the chant's conclusion (before it's even finished echoing, in fact), they go straight back into blasting black metal, and if you're not prepared for it, it is ''terrifying''. |
| 855 | * '''SeriousBusiness''': And in this case, the musicians can be as serious as the fans. |
| 856 | ** Refreshingly averted, if not inverted, with Immortal. |
| 857 | * SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Black metal bands are (in)famous for featuring very verbose lyrics, many of them written in GratuitousEnglish and focusing on either philosophical or fantastical themes. Deathspell Omega are likely the most competent band at this, as their lyrics display a ''very'' strong understanding of philosophy and theology. |
| 858 | * SpikesOfVillainy: Along with corpse paint, arm bands, gauntlets, and shoulder pads festooned with finger- to hand-length spikes are a defining look of black metal, especially for second wave acts. |
| 859 | * SpinOff: Viking Metal. |
| 860 | * StageNames: Almost all black metal bands use them, if they even list their members at all. |
| 861 | * {{Supergroup}}: Twilight (no, it has nothing to do with the book series) is one of these for USBM, having contained members of Xasthur, Leviathan, Nachtmystium, Krieg, Music/{{Isis}}, and now even Music/SonicYouth. Music/{{Krallice}} is also a supergroup, although its members were mostly known from ProgressiveMetal and AvantGardeMetal bands, and it's since become probably the best known project for all of them except Colin Marston. |
| 862 | * SurprisinglyGentleSong: Particularly common in the ambient black metal genre, and often used as intros or outros. |
| 863 | * ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: Used by many bands in the genre. Strongly averted by most of the avant-garde and progressive groups however. |
| 864 | * TropeCodifier: For the first wave, Music/CelticFrost and/or Music/{{Bathory}}; for the second wave, either Music/{{Mayhem}} or Music/{{Darkthrone}}. For individual subgenres: |
| 865 | ** Ambient Black Metal: Ildjarn or Music/{{Burzum}}. |
| 866 | ** Raw Black Metal: Music/{{Darkthrone}}. |
| 867 | ** [[ThrashMetal Black/Thrash Metal]]: Absu or Deströyer 666. |
| 868 | ** [[SymphonicMetal Symphonic Black Metal]]: Music/{{Emperor}} or Music/DimmuBorgir. |
| 869 | ** Melodic Black Metal: Sacramentum, Music/TheKovenant, or Dissection. |
| 870 | ** Depressive/Suicidal Black Metal: Music/{{Silencer}}, Music/{{Lifelover}}, or Music/{{Xasthur}}. |
| 871 | ** Folk/Black Metal: Music/{{Ulver}}, Music/{{Agalloch}}, or Drudkh. |
| 872 | ** Viking Metal: Music/{{Bathory}} or Music/{{Enslaved}}. |
| 873 | ** [[AvantGardeMetal Avant-Garde/Progressive Black Metal]]: Music/DeathspellOmega (for the more [[DarkerAndEdgier dissonant/aggressive]] side of the genre), Music/{{Sigh}} (for the more [[QuirkyWork quirky]] side of the genre), or Ved Buens Ende (for the more [[ProgressiveMetal progressive]]/atmospheric side of the genre). |
| 874 | ** [[IndustrialMetal Indstrial/Electronic Black Metal]]: Samael, Music/BlutAusNord or, more recently, Music/AnaalNathrakh. |
| 875 | ** Bestial Black Metal: Blasphemy, Von, or Beherit. |
| 876 | ** Post-Black Metal: Music/NeguraBunget or Music/{{Weakling}}. |
| 877 | ** Blackened Shoegaze: Music/{{Alcest}}. |
| 878 | ** [[ThoseWackyNazis NSBM]]: Absurd. |
| 879 | ** RABM: Music/WolvesInTheThroneRoom. |
| 880 | ** [[ChristianMetal Unblack Metal]]: Antestor. |
| 881 | * TropeMaker: |
| 882 | ** First-wave black metal was kickstarted either by Venom (also TropeNamer) or Bathory. It's unclear who first played second-wave black metal, but people will generally agree on Mayhem. |
| 883 | ** Music/{{Burzum}} and Ildjarn are the TropeMakers for Ambient Black Metal, as is Music/{{Emperor}} for Symphonic Black Metal and Music/{{Bathory}} for Viking Metal. |
| 884 | * UncommonTime: A surprising number of bands in this genre employ this from time to time, probably for the purpose of making the music even more disorienting. This occurs particularly frequently among avant-garde and progressive black metal bands, naturally (UncommonTime might actually be ''more'' common on recent Music/BlutAusNord releases than CommonTime, and good luck finding a song of theirs from this decade that doesn't use it at all), but it can also be heard on two songs on Music/{{Mayhem}}'s early, and not at all avant-garde or progressive, EP ''Deathcrush'' (specifically, if you're wondering, the title track and "Chainsaw Gutsfuck"). |
| 885 | * UrExample: Music/{{Venom|Band}} for the First Wave and the genre as a whole as well as being the TropeNamer; Music/{{Bathory}}, Music/{{Mayhem}}, Music/{{Sepultura}}, and Sarcofago for the Second Wave and beyond; Music/{{Sigh}} and Ved Buens Ende for Post-Black Metal; Blasphemy and Von for Bestial Black[=/=]War Metal. |
| 886 | * XtremeKoolLetterz: It's quite common to see "f"'s" changed to "v"'s, "c"'s changed to "k"'s and "u"'s changed to "v"'s in song titles and so on, so "cult of doom" (for example) becomes "kvlt ov doom". |
| 887 |
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