Black Metal.
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wagontrain
Member
The Black Metal Phenomenon - A Reasonable Approach
I wrote a fairly long article (3300 words) posted in the "Philosopher" forum. It's about black metal and all that. Here is just the introduction piece so if it looks interesting you can read the full thing or whatever:
I am writing this because I have the desire to address, in my own way, some of the ideas and themes that seem to be rampant in the black metal fan community which I find disturbing. Unfortunately, every genre of music has some kind of attitude or lifestyle associated with it, and black metal has developed its own unfavorable associations; the story does not end there, though. Everyone is aware that black metal was formed as the musical culmination of an attitude and a lifestyle, but as much as some of the modern fans would like to think, their own attitude and lifestyle is not the equivalent of the one it was founded on.
There are a couple issues I want to discuss in this piece. I suggest skipping to whichever you are most interested in unless you wish to read all 6 pages of this (though I would be grateful for that).
The first issue is the reverance and idol worship of the old school.
The second issue is the unjustified emphasis on religion/culture in black metal.
The third issue is the so-called saturation of the genre.
The fourth issue is the vehement opposition to exposure of the music to people.
The fifth issue (to be covered later) is the difference between an influence and a rip-off, and the abuse of the latter.
Full article:
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/...ack-metal-phenomenon-reasonable-approach.html
Peace
I wrote a fairly long article (3300 words) posted in the "Philosopher" forum. It's about black metal and all that. Here is just the introduction piece so if it looks interesting you can read the full thing or whatever:
I am writing this because I have the desire to address, in my own way, some of the ideas and themes that seem to be rampant in the black metal fan community which I find disturbing. Unfortunately, every genre of music has some kind of attitude or lifestyle associated with it, and black metal has developed its own unfavorable associations; the story does not end there, though. Everyone is aware that black metal was formed as the musical culmination of an attitude and a lifestyle, but as much as some of the modern fans would like to think, their own attitude and lifestyle is not the equivalent of the one it was founded on.
There are a couple issues I want to discuss in this piece. I suggest skipping to whichever you are most interested in unless you wish to read all 6 pages of this (though I would be grateful for that).
The first issue is the reverance and idol worship of the old school.
The second issue is the unjustified emphasis on religion/culture in black metal.
The third issue is the so-called saturation of the genre.
The fourth issue is the vehement opposition to exposure of the music to people.
The fifth issue (to be covered later) is the difference between an influence and a rip-off, and the abuse of the latter.
Full article:
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/...ack-metal-phenomenon-reasonable-approach.html
Peace
Koude Haat
Member
Evil?
omghaxlol!1
MasterOLightning
Optimator
I haven't heard that much of Nokturnal Mortum, but Weltanschauung is an excellent album. Nechrist is really dense. I haven't made sense of it yet. The crisp production on Welt.. seems to suit the band better.
MasterOLightning
Optimator
Thanks for taking the time to write a thoughtful article of that sort. I enjoyed reading it. I really couldn't find anything to disagree with in it, as my favorite albums are mostly modern ones. I especially agree with your first and third points. I'm always incredulous when the old codgers come out and say there haven't been any good albums in the last dozen years or so. Saturation has always been present in all forms of metal, but time tends to forget the stuff that sucks. With the wealth of resources available (metal-archives, forums, label pages, reviews, myspaces), it shouldn't be hard to avoid bad releases.
Your second and fourth points do not seem to be big problems here.
You should consider maybe doing some revisions and looking to get this published. I understand that you probably didn't include specific modern bands because then people would just discuss your taste rather than the merit of your arguments. Still, people are going to wonder what bands you like, so they can say that they suck, in order to devalue your points.
Hubster
...
False Dawn
Member
Well, I wont use Burzum in a good way because Varg is one of the few people in black metal that to me put out utter shit(dont flame, I wont respond).
I meant that A lot of Peste Noire songs sound the same. Great Band though.
Evil?
omghaxlol!1
Thoth-Amon
Hypochondriac
- Apr 4, 2006
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Correct.
As far as the above comments on Nokturnal Mortum: Nechrist is hard to get into at first but is very excellent. Weltanschauung though very different sounding from their previous releases is just as good as anything they've put out IMO. In fact this is the only band I can think of that I love every album they have released.
WhiteRaven
Nelchael
wagontrain
Member
Thanks a lot for the feedback. I would definitely consider spending some time revising and submitting it for publication, though I really haven't the first idea where I would do that. I always seem to end up writing really long pieces and forums are a really bad place to do that, because most people don't bother reading it. And even in the Philosopher section apparently, idiots are still abound.
And yes, I specifically avoided mentioning new bands, especially because a lot of my favorites are USBM and I know that is riot-inducing for many people.
MasterOLightning
Optimator
For one, you could try Lamentations of The Flame Princess, which is a very reputable zine hosted here. It tends to deal a bit more with traditional heavy metal, and less so with black metal, but it's worth a try. There's also another magazine out of Scandinavia that's more black metal oriented. I can't recall the name right now. Maybe when less intoxicated.
hibernal_dream
A Mind Forever Voyaging
Thoth-Amon
Hypochondriac
- Apr 4, 2006
- 6,821
- 8
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WhiteRaven
Nelchael
I was wondering, if Mayhem's most influential album is "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas", then what's Immortal's?
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