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Rethinking Black Metal.

#42
I enjoy Black Metal old and new.
I'm really digging a lot of the guys trying new stuff... at least compared to the early 90s sound.
I never really payed much attention to the lyrical content. Nothing is going to offend me anyway... haha

Lantlôs- Pulse-Surreal - YouTube

Dødheimsgard-Vendetta Assassin - YouTube

Blut Aus Nord - Epitome IV (2011) - YouTube

Deathspell Omega - Abscission - YouTube

I guess France is doing a lot of things I like right now, in extreme metal haha.
Wolves in the Throne Room is good stuff too.

And of course...
Agalloch

These dudes really are amazing.
 
#46
dozicusmaximus said:
I enjoy Black Metal old and new.
I'm really digging a lot of the guys trying new stuff... at least compared to the early 90s sound.
I never really payed much attention to the lyrical content. Nothing is going to offend me anyway... haha

Lantlôs- Pulse-Surreal - YouTube

Dødheimsgard-Vendetta Assassin - YouTube

Blut Aus Nord - Epitome IV (2011) - YouTube

Deathspell Omega - Abscission - YouTube

I guess France is doing a lot of things I like right now, in extreme metal haha.
Wolves in the Throne Room is good stuff too.

And of course...
Agalloch
Agalloch - Limbs - YouTube
These dudes really are amazing.
Click to expand...

Finally a post that's not just somebody stepping in just to say they don't like black metal or think it's ridiculous or both. :rolleyes:

Deathspell Omega is awesome! I wish I could get more than one album domestically.... Love Agalloch. I dig the idea of mixing black metal with doom.

@DeathFromBelow: Looking forward to the new album!
 
#47
jondog said:
I like meta, I've heard of Bathory, and am interested in the politico-religious protest theme, but have never actually listened to them before. Now that I have, sorry, but I was expecting more from this music. IMO the song just drags along, for far too long. Somebody mentioned strict rules, is all Black Metal like this?
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The reason it didn't blow you away immediately is because you have to remember the time when this came out. It's about context. Bathory is one of the pioneers of extreme metal. The vast majority of extreme metal bands, especially in the black style, take influence directly from Quorthon. You are expecting more because bands that have come out since Bathory have already raised the bar, bent the rules, and set new expectations.

There's also two distinct styles of Bathory. Not including the two 90s albums that should not be named. The first 3 albums are generally classified as black metal. Though they are really just motorhead and oi punk styles played really fast with satanic lyrics and lots of booze. All his others are the viking style metal.

AnchorHoy said:
Ah...... so this presumably explains why a Norwegian band made up of supposed Pagans would name itself after a devoutly Christian noblewoman whose ethnic background was entirely Hungarian, and lived more than 500 years after the conversion of the entire kingdom of Hungary to Christianity
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No, Quorthon, as a teen visited a museum in England that featured an Elizabeth Bathory exhibit. The exhibit was complete with nude female bodies hanging on meat hooks over a tub of blood with Bathory bathing in it. Like any rebellious teenager he thought it was the most awesome thing ever(he even took pictures of himself posing in the exhibit). He explains in detail why the name itself fit on his website. It's easy to say and remember, very distinct sounding and has a vague and mysterious meaning. Especially since at the time not many people listening to metal even knew where the word came from.

I want to say nice try, but it wasn't even that.
 
#48
I dig the black/doom thing too.
I also really dig the blackened sludge thing that's going on.

Wolvhammer - Shadowhorn - YouTube

Coffinworm - Start Saving For Your Funeral - YouTube

I wrote a song kind of along the lines of this with my new band. It's pretty cool. Not as bad ass as these guys. With a little less black metal guitar work, considering my guitarists don't play that style at all. It needs work, but is a fun song none the less.

I guess this is more funeral doom... But the atmosphere is black metal to me.
Nortt-Havet Hinsides Havet - YouTube

Despite any controversy with this band I really really dig this album.
Shining - Låt Oss Ta Allt Från Varandra - YouTube
 
#49
Actium said:
The reason it didn't blow you away immediately is because you have to remember the time when this came out. It's about context. Bathory is one of the pioneers of extreme metal. The vast majority of extreme metal bands, especially in the black style, take influence directly from Quorthon. You are expecting more because bands that have come out since Bathory have already raised the bar, bent the rules, and set new expectations.

There's also two distinct styles of Bathory. Not including the two 90s albums that should not be named. The first 3 albums are generally classified as black metal. Though they are really just motorhead and oi punk styles played really fast with satanic lyrics and lots of booze. All his others are the viking style metal.

No, Quorthon, as a teen visited a museum in England that featured an Elizabeth Bathory exhibit. The exhibit was complete with nude female bodies hanging on meat hooks over a tub of blood with Bathory bathing in it. Like any rebellious teenager he thought it was the most awesome thing ever(he even took pictures of himself posing in the exhibit). He explains in detail why the name itself fit on his website. It's easy to say and remember, very distinct sounding and has a vague and mysterious meaning. Especially since at the time not many people listening to metal even knew where the word came from.

I want to say nice try, but it wasn't even that.
Click to expand...

Good post, Actium. As a massive Bathory fan, I must say I think BFD and Hammerheart are both awesome albums. Of his early stuff I'd go for Under The Sign Of The Black Mark, purely for the tracks Call From The Grave, Woman Of Dark Desires and Equimanthorn. Pure 80's joy :)

Strangely though, I wouldn't call any of it black metal.
 
#52
ZeroSymbolic said:
...I feel the genre is misunderstood....

...I just feel like it's often dismissed as either blasphemous or comical....
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Or they're well aware of BM's historical roots and just don't care because they don't like the music. Never thought of that one huh?

I think BM fans just enjoy thinking it is misunderstood... the same way emo kids are misunderstood, Slipknot's "maggots" are misunderstood, dubstep clubbers are misunderstood, Indie hipsters are misunderstood, punk rawkers are misunderstood, hardcore dudes are misunderstood, "metal scene" dudes are misunderstood, etc. etc. etc.

If all of those subgroups were understood and accepted by the general public, their (generally younger and impressionable) fans wouldn't feel like they're being edgy anymore and would lose interest.

BM is the same. The funny thing about all those groups (BM included) is they're extremely touchy to any criticism of their chosen genre. You could come up to me and say you don't like reggae music, I'm not going to try to explain the origin and meaning to change your mind. I just don't care.

Probably the only group thats truly misunderstood is the cool casual music listener who thinks some Nickelback songs are catchy, and get immediately labeled a tool by the collective music community.
 
#53
Toastfuzz said:
Or they're well aware of BM's historical roots and just don't care because they don't like the music. Never thought of that one huh?

I think BM fans just enjoy thinking it is misunderstood... the same way emo kids are misunderstood, Slipknot's "maggots" are misunderstood, dubstep clubbers are misunderstood, Indie hipsters are misunderstood, punk rawkers are misunderstood, hardcore dudes are misunderstood, "metal scene" dudes are misunderstood, etc. etc. etc.

If all of those subgroups were understood and accepted by the general public, their (generally younger and impressionable) fans wouldn't feel like they're being edgy anymore and would lose interest.

BM is the same. The funny thing about all those groups (BM included) is they're extremely touchy to any criticism of their chosen genre. You could come up to me and say you don't like reggae music, I'm not going to try to explain the origin and meaning to change your mind. I just don't care.

Probably the only group thats truly misunderstood is the cool casual music listener who thinks some Nickelback songs are catchy, and get immediately labeled a tool by the collective music community.
Click to expand...

Generalization; what a great concept...
 
#54
ZeroSymbolic said:
Alright so I am a fan of Black Metal, and I feel the genre is misunderstood. So I am here to say a couple things about it, and explain the context in which is should be understood and enjoyed.

Many of the bands that perform the style of Black Metal follow the pagan religions of the early Nordic people of the Scandinavian Peninsula (Asatur for example). When the Christians came to these people they subjected the natives of the land to rape, murder, enslavement, and most importantly forced religious conversion.

This story is explained in "One Rode to Asa Bay" by Bathory.
Bathory - One Rode To Asa Bay - YouTube
BATHORY LYRICS - "Hammerheart" (1990) album

In many pagan religions, following ones heritage is of utmost importance. So though the events happened long ago. For followers of the Pagan religion it is very close to their hearts.

The satanic imagery of Black Metal is often blown off as nothing more than theatrics, and of course for some bands it is only theatrics. However in origin the music was created in opposition to Christian oppression, and the genuine artists used the concept of Satan to express their contempt and displeasure with history. Thus creating a music that was simultaneously political and religious.

Now, many of the artists have tried to explain this. However, understand that this is a pretty complex subject to discuss. Especially when many of the artists do not speak English natively or fluently. Thus what they say sometimes seems nonsensical, or humorous, but in reality it is a language barrier problem.

As a Christian man myself, I do not necessarily agree with the ideologies of black metal. However I do understand it's context and I understand where the bands are coming from.

I just feel like it's often dismissed as either blasphemous or comical. Which is fine and entertaining in it's own right. Yet I feel that the cultural and historical context of the music is often lost. Underneath the corpse-paint there is a serious music and message that should be understood.

Just a point to ponder, and something I wanted to clear up.
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I think all death metal/grindcore/black metal/......prettymuch any genre of "harder than the average metal" is pretty stupid, unless its pornogrind. Lets face it. The bands are most often mistaked as non-sense, and if they ARE skilled, they get lumped in to the rest of the unskilled names in the scene. Even gore-grind artists can't take themselves seriously, they just want to be morbidly funny. I love the music, but jesus christmas I mostly ignore the vocals unless its pitch-shifted stuff (which to my ears sounds cool). With "Jimmy G and The Chocolate Factory" I made a point to talk about everyday things....the hot water not being quick enough, the return policies of stores, every day Bull****! Maybe something expressive, but my job is not to be a historian that coincidentally writes music, my job is to amp up a crowd and ENTERTAIN.

For me, the evolution of music is important. A lot of these bands are at least enhancing what music WAS about, rather than stupid Lady Gaga....singing "PHWAP PHWAP PHWAP...PHWAP PHWAP PHWAP LALALALALALLA POKEER FACCEEEEEEEE" in the next dumb*** superhero costume, making a point to look more ******** in every press appearance. **** uniforms, **** politics, **** history stories, just ****ing write!

But I digress....Cybergrind, anyone?
 
#57
Bloodhammer said:
They are tools.
:p
:D
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1668268-1075479_well_that_s_just_like_your_opinion_man_super_super.jpg
 

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