I've noticed here of late, or at various places in the UM Forum, that there seems to be a bit of bashing about (older) Black Metal.
Being someone who got back into Metal a few years ago (given I started listening to Metal in 1986.. I'm 30) because of hearing Opeth, I've found myself initially getting into Death, then Melodic Death, Doom Death, Doom, Avant Doom and now, I've been stuck into Black (inc Viking) Metal and "Avant" Black for some time.
I did find that initially, (older) Black Metal was a little hard to digest. The low-fi production was a major distraction (given I used to get into cleaner production, and tighter sounds), but I'm finding that things like blastbeats (especially when used in bursts - see Immortals "Sons of Northern Darkness" album), the characteristic Black Metal shrieking (as opposed to low Death growls), and riffing styles have a positive and firm place in extreme music.
Sidenote: For those who don't know, the low fi and riffing styles of Black Metal come from punk, since Black Metal was essentially a fusion of punk and earlier Metal (circa late 70s and 80s). When you keep this in mind, it's much easier to listen to the music without letting factors of production / blast beats etc getting in the way
I guess I feel that Black Metal has more left "unexplored" than Death and (especially) Doom do. As much as I love Doom, the last band to do anything creative with Doom was probably Unholy (see their album, Rapture, it's an amazing piece of art). I also feel that Black Metal, given it's less emotional aspect (and also that it has Viking Metal as an offshoot) has more creative possibilities than Doom or Death do - while for example, Opeth are really a brilliant band, what they're doing is now... how can I say, predictable and perhaps a bit formulaic?
Consider how we see artists like Vintersorg and (both older and current) Borknagar taking Black-ish styles of metal away from nature and into science. Or Agalloch - taking melodic-ish Black metal into the realms of nature and combining with electronic subtleties, classical structures and unusual instruments).
This is actually VERY cool when you think about it, and to me, I feel it's a bit "untapped" and requires quite a bit of intelligence from the bands to dive into given it's academic factors. Couple this with Emperor-styled keyboard syphonics and acoustic sections, and we have some really cool things going on (example: Enslaved - clean/black/death vocals, combined with almost proggy structures, and a Black Metal base under it).
I know I might earn some flaming here, but ... I've been thinking about all this for quite some time now, it's been something I have also discussed with another friend who takes Metal VERY seriously... try to be creative with your responses folks, I look fwd to seeing your thoughts.
Cheers, Hubster
Being someone who got back into Metal a few years ago (given I started listening to Metal in 1986.. I'm 30) because of hearing Opeth, I've found myself initially getting into Death, then Melodic Death, Doom Death, Doom, Avant Doom and now, I've been stuck into Black (inc Viking) Metal and "Avant" Black for some time.
I did find that initially, (older) Black Metal was a little hard to digest. The low-fi production was a major distraction (given I used to get into cleaner production, and tighter sounds), but I'm finding that things like blastbeats (especially when used in bursts - see Immortals "Sons of Northern Darkness" album), the characteristic Black Metal shrieking (as opposed to low Death growls), and riffing styles have a positive and firm place in extreme music.
Sidenote: For those who don't know, the low fi and riffing styles of Black Metal come from punk, since Black Metal was essentially a fusion of punk and earlier Metal (circa late 70s and 80s). When you keep this in mind, it's much easier to listen to the music without letting factors of production / blast beats etc getting in the way
I guess I feel that Black Metal has more left "unexplored" than Death and (especially) Doom do. As much as I love Doom, the last band to do anything creative with Doom was probably Unholy (see their album, Rapture, it's an amazing piece of art). I also feel that Black Metal, given it's less emotional aspect (and also that it has Viking Metal as an offshoot) has more creative possibilities than Doom or Death do - while for example, Opeth are really a brilliant band, what they're doing is now... how can I say, predictable and perhaps a bit formulaic?
Consider how we see artists like Vintersorg and (both older and current) Borknagar taking Black-ish styles of metal away from nature and into science. Or Agalloch - taking melodic-ish Black metal into the realms of nature and combining with electronic subtleties, classical structures and unusual instruments).
This is actually VERY cool when you think about it, and to me, I feel it's a bit "untapped" and requires quite a bit of intelligence from the bands to dive into given it's academic factors. Couple this with Emperor-styled keyboard syphonics and acoustic sections, and we have some really cool things going on (example: Enslaved - clean/black/death vocals, combined with almost proggy structures, and a Black Metal base under it).
I know I might earn some flaming here, but ... I've been thinking about all this for quite some time now, it's been something I have also discussed with another friend who takes Metal VERY seriously... try to be creative with your responses folks, I look fwd to seeing your thoughts.
Cheers, Hubster
Thanks!
