I find it hard to get into black metal...

[polarity]

I personally think "Det Som Engang Var" is the most overrated black metal song ever. Sure, it's good, and "Hvis..." as a whole is a classic, perhaps even my favorite black metal album, but I find the remaining songs on the disc to be far superior. "Tomhet" is probably my personal favorite, though .

 

[anonymousnick2001]

I like the subtle minimalism of Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, the title track.

 

[Bahomet]

If you listen to it more for the meaning behind it rather than the actual sound of it you may enjoy it more. That's how I got into it. If you don't really care for what most black metal bands are about, then you may never like black metal.

 

[Lies and Perfidy]

Download "Perun's Celestial Silver" by Nokturnal Mortum. If you don't like this, then you won't like folk black metal. If you do like it, then check out more from the band, as well as Dub Buk and Temnozor.

I largely dislike BM, but I've gotten very into this genre thanks to the insane catchiness of songs by said bands.

 

[no country for old wainds]

Download "Perun's Celestial Silver" by Nokturnal Mortum.

NeChrist version, preferably.

 

[Lies and Perfidy]

Agreed. I always forget about that, since I never listen to the Lunar Poetry version.

 

[Oblivious Maximus]

It took me a while to get into BM. Burzum was the band that did it for me. Once you get into BM more, listen to Moonblood's Blut Und Krieg. It's phenomenal.

 

[ShadowOfDeath]

I love how when someone says they can't get into something we all recommend a bunch of shit.

Black metal takes a special ear to enjoy. If you don't like it don't try to like it either. Just listen to a few bands and make up your mind. Though if i didn't click the first time, especially with emperor i wouldn't bother. As It's clicked for me since the first time i ever heard it. Don't know everyone elses case though.

 

[Demilich]

Black metal takes a special ear to enjoy. If you don't like it don't try to like it either.

I'll partly agree with you on this one, black metal takes something different to enjoy from other types of metal. It was the last type of metal I got into, and now it may be close to my favourite. I used to prefer death metal by far over black, but upon gradually listening to a bunch of black metal bands (starting with Naglfar and some others that had some death in them as well), I got hooked, and have come to love that distinct aesthetic that makes black metal what it is. I don't think I'll ever go back.. it's been a good ride so far.

Just let it come naturally.

 

[PD]

I am fairly new to black metal. I don't have the album Scattered Ashes.
I do have In The Nightside Eclipse. I'm listening to it right now. If you like Cosmic Keys To My Creations and Times, I would have to suggest that you stay away from Darkthrone. Maybe Old Mans Child will click, but it's not similar in style to this stuff, to me. I saw someone recommend Nokturnal Mortum - Goat Horns , that one may click for you.
There are so many style in this genre, that it gets hard to recommend anything based on a couple songs that you like. I like the simpler BM like Darkthrone's Ravishing Grimness, and Immortal's Damned In Black are two of my favorites. I also like Immortal SOND and Heart of Winter, and you may like those. Emperor are not one of my favorites, Old Mans Child and Dimmu Borgir are well liked here also. I'm not sure how well those two fit in the BM category though with their newer stuff.
My copy of In The Nightside Eclipse is a fairly clean recording, it's the remastered version, and seems to have "good" production. Maybe you just need this remastered version.

 

[Oblivious Maximus]

My first Emperor album was In the Nightside Eclipse, and at first I was turned off by the production, but I slowly got into it. When I first heard Darkthrone, I wasn't turned off by the production at all, the music was so great. I now love BM. It's one of my favorite genres.

 

[Life Sucks]

Way back a long time ago when I first started listening to black metal, I also found it hard to get into. It took a while to get used to the raw production and lack of palm muting, as I was listening to only thrash and death metal at the time. But black metal slowly grew on me, and now I love it.

 

[anonymousnick2001]

You might also find yourself only liking a few bands, you know, being a casual fan. Which is also just fine.

 

[MasterOLightning]

Thanks everyone for your suggestiongs. One of the worst things I have going is a slow 56K modem, which makes it hard to download songs. I also don't have any friends with BM collections, and I don't have the disposable income to buy records that I may not end up liking. But I think that I may end up going for Immortal or Naglfar. I heard half of the Immortal song Tyrants, and I can get into that, but I don't know what album it's from.

 

[Life Sucks]

Thanks everyone for your suggestiongs. One of the worst things I have going is a slow 56K modem, which makes it hard to download songs. I also don't have any friends with BM collections, and I don't have the disposable income to buy records that I may not end up liking. But I think that I may end up going for Immortal or Naglfar. I heard half of the Immortal song Tyrants, and I can get into that, but I don't know what album it's from.

Tyrants is from Sons of Northern Darkness, their last CD. Their last three CDs aren't true black metal, but are great stepping stones for getting into black metal.

 

[AjDeath]

Has anyone else experienced this? I have the Emperor collection Scattered Ashes, figuring that would be a good place to start. Some of the songs sound pretty good (Curse You All Men, Thus Spake the Nightspirit, Ye Entracemperium, Cosmic Keys to my Creations and Times, which I like in spite of that irritating buzz.) Others don't really click with me. Should I just keep listening and listening and hope I start to like it? Are there other bands or albums that are more accessible/better? Darkthrone, Burzum, Mayhem? Please don't give me anything so obscure that only 50 people have heard it. Are there some of you who just have never gotten into black metal at all?

All Black metal is pretentious and the vocals are annoying. This said, I still like Immortal, but that is it.

The rest is all shite to me. So there is why you don't like most of it, most of it sucks. That is just my opinion. Feel free to form your own, and so on.

 

[polarity]

All Black metal is pretentious and the vocals are annoying.

Of all the criticisms that you can throw and black metal, "pretentious" is the one that seems to me to have the absolute LEAST validity. What makes you think it's pretentious, at all? Also, vocal aesthetic always struck me as a rather superficial element of metal music.

 

[AjDeath]

Of all the criticisms that you can throw and black metal, "pretentious" is the one that seems to me to have the absolute LEAST validity. What makes you think it's pretentious, at all? Also, vocal aesthetic always struck me as a rather superficial element of metal music.

Pretentious-making claims to some distinction, importance. I always thought that metal music, black metal in particular, has taken the genre a little too seriously. I mean take the titles of some albums, Grand Dec, Anthems. To me it seems self important. I know not if this was intentional or not, and frankly I don't care. As to the vocals, I listen to death metal and the vocals get boring for me. Black metal vocals are downright annoying. As I said before, this is just my opinion.

 

[anonymousnick2001]

Pretentious-making claims to some distinction, importance. I always thought that metal music, black metal in particular, has taken the genre a little too seriously.

Yes, I can see how one might perceive that. Just remind yourself it's a bunch of Norwegian geeks in corpsepaint shaking their fists at big, bad, Christianity and take it all with a grain of salt.

As to the vocals, I listen to death metal and the vocals get boring for me. Black metal vocals are downright annoying. As I said before, this is just my opinion.

Okay, but you never really gave a reason why. I find gurgly-grunty death vocals to be even more difficult to understand than well-executed black metal vocals.

 

[AjDeath]

Yes, I can see how one might perceive that. Just remind yourself it's a bunch of Norwegian geeks in corpsepaint shaking their fists at big, bad, Christianity and take it all with a grain of salt.


Okay, but you never really gave a reason why. I find gurgly-grunty death vocals to be even more difficult to understand than well-executed black metal vocals.

In death metal the vocals are like another percussion instrument, it keeps things flowing and sometimes, if well executed, the vocals add to the atmosphere of the song. The reason I don't like BM vox is because, from what I have listened to, there is no rythm to them, which is a good way at venting anger and being intense, but it is like a layer that did not need to be added. As stupid as this may sound to BM fans, I find it just a little too chaotic.