Black metal

Black metal is a musical genre which emerged in the early 1980s predating the great expansion of heavy metal 'extreme' genres. It evolved out of thrash metal, like death metal.

Characteristics

Black metal characteristics can include:

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• Frequently including fast guitars that use Tremolo picking.
• Popular black metal bands often have lyrics that take the form of Satanic themes which blaspheme Christianity, and other occult themes, like Paganism. Bands such as Slayer, Deicide, and Immolation overlap lyrically with black metal somewhat, but are musically defined as Death Metal (Immolation, Deicide) or Thrash Metal (Slayer).
• Relatively thin guitar sound or relatively thick guitar sound, usually not in the middle.
• Limited production used in purpose to be a statement against mainstream music and/or to try to reflect the mood of the music. The use of great production is usually seen by Black Metal fans to be a sign of selling out. The most common band that is seen as selling out by using great production is Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth. Most fans of true Black Metal would not consider these bands even part of the genre.
• Fast, aggressive drums, often including blast beats. At other times, the drums can take a slower role usually accompanied by a very dry and empty tone--esp. for the effect of the atmosphere of the music.
• High-pitched/distorted screeching vocals
• Swift percussion
• Cold, dark, sad, melancholy, or gloomy atmosphere.

An abraded, very low fidelity recording style is common in most Black Metal. Modern evolution of many of the older 'genre leading' bands have had a vast change in sound, and by many--and most of the times, even the band--are no longer considered Black Metal. Such examples include Mayhem's career that began mostly in the Death/Black roots, moved to almost pure black, then towards Death again in their later career. Also, Satyricon who started off as Black Metal but now play a very industrial heavy hybrid of the music. Modern offshoots of this original black metal sound have incorporated atmospheric elements using ambient guitar and keyboard passages such as organ sounds or other miscellaneous instruments.

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A distinct feature of the Black Metal is the use of corpse paint, a special kind of black and white make-up which was used to make the wearer look like a decomposing corpse or plague victim. It should be noted that Immortal referred to their make-up as war paint, not carrying the same conotation as corpse paint. This, along with an almost universal use of more or less creative stage names, also helps in hiding the wearers' identity. Another distinct feature of Black Metal is the use of monikers used for the most part to conceal the identity. Examples of this are; Quorthon, Darken, Euronymous, Goat, Satyr, et cetera.

Related Topics:
Corpse paint - Immortal

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Earlier bands tended to dwell on themes of fantasy, mythology, and folklore in their songs, as well as Satanism, darkness, evil, and so on as many of their direct musical and cultural roots included these topics.

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