Technically Advanced Black Metal

[sonofhendrix13]

After listening to a pretty good amount of Black Metal I'm starting to get the impression that most of it is pretty simple musically. Every once in awhile I will hear a few pretty complex riffs but in most cases it seems pretty basic. It is much faster than most music and is therefore somewhat harder to play, but alot of it still uses power chords and simple patterns. Alot of the faster stuff is just based on rapidly repeated single notes.

Maybe I'm wrong about the majority of black metal but I'm wondering if anyone can recommend some examples of more advanced black metal guitar.

 

[Meandor]

some would argue that true black metal is not about guitar playing. The focus is more on "atmosphere"

 

[The Grimace]

No, you're right.

Any black metal involving what I'm sure you mean by "advanced" guitar playing (teh HEVY ThRaSH RiFFz!!1) is.... well, not black metal, or crappy "blackened death".

Maybe Satyricon's "Nemesis Divina", but it's still kinda death-y. I dunno. Learn to love minimalism.

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Yeah, I noticed this, that's why I enjoy some fo the avant garde stuff like Borknagar, Vintersorg and others.

 

[genocide roach]

emperor can be technical

i think black metal can be technical without losing the atmosphere. after all, intensity and chaos adds to a certain atmosphere, as does slow and dissonant.
~gR~

 

[Hexer]

try Mephistopheles, they can be pretty technically and melodic, I'm shure some people will say, that this isn't a blackmetal band, but well.... I dont really care

 

[Barking Pumpkin]

I like listening to the "Opus Satana" orchestral version of "Inno A Satana." You've probably heard that, but if you haven't, it's nice. Doesn't really help you though.

 

[PaulRawNerve]

it DOES however show off just how technical emperor are.. fantastic stuff.

 

[sonofhendrix13]

I like listening to the "Opus Satana" orchestral version of "Inno A Satana." You've probably heard that, but if you haven't, it's nice. Doesn't really help you though.

I've heard Inno A Satana but I've never heard Opus Satana. What CD is it from?

I just recently bought In the Nightside Eclipse by Emperor and it did have some fairly advanced parts.

 

[Barking Pumpkin]

Opus A Satana is one of the bonus things they added for the re-release of Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk. For ItNE, they were the Bathory and Venom covers, and for Anthems is was Opus A Satana and a live version of "The Loss And Curse Of Reverence."

 

[Nefarious_]

Black metal is not about technicality at all, although a 'technical blackmetal' subgenre is kinda starting to form. For me, real understanding of what blackmetal truly is only came once I heard Darkthrone's 'Transylvanian Hunger'. TH is like raw alcohol, it's pure, minimal, and will eventually give you brain damage other BM bands are more like strong scotch, and some are like cheap vodka. You'll see what I mean I'm sure. Like Emperor is like fine scotch, refined and delicious, but still gets you fucked, Endstille for example, are the other end of the scale, they are the cheap vodka, brutal, agressive, fast and nasty. OK ok, I know, enough with the alcoholic metaphors.

Blackmetal is as much to do with ideology and philosophy as it is to do with music. The songs have a real meaning to most bands, blackmetal is about making an overall soundscape, making an atmosphere to suit the subject matter and ideology of the song/band. It's hard to explain. On the surface, blackmetal isn't very technically advanced at all, (except for drummers, hellhammer & frost are fucking brilliant, for example) but it's not supposed to be, just look at Burzum: undoubtedly one of the most popular BM artists, but primitive and simple in the extreme.

I know there are many many many conflicting ideas about 'what blackmetal is' or what 'true' blackmetal is, or even if 'true' should be applied to music at all. So don't take my opinion as the whole truth.

 

[Jeffy]

Any technical black metal? I would say the album Spiritual Black Dimensions by Dimmu Borgir is black metal but most "purists" disagree with a passion. It has some great guitar solos from Astennu, lots of sweeping. Not extremely technical but solos nonetheless. Old Mans Child also has some nifty solos. If you mean older rawer black metal than like others have mentioned, Emperor has some technical stuff. Also like previously mentioned the drums are very very fast in a lot BM.

 

[Artificial_Eternity]

Check out 1349 if you haven't. They're my favorite BM band right now, and they have some solos and stuff, and while not too technical in riffing, they have damn good atmosphere for a non-symphonic (thankfully!) BM band.

 

[ShadowOfDeath]

I'd say the song structures of Belenos and Graveland are more complex and constructed with more than a few power chords, but technicality is not a goal for black metal rather than archiving a certain aura as most people said. Some of the best black metal is also the most simple (burzum for example, alongside many other black metal bands)

 

[genocide roach]

Check out 1349 if you haven't. They're my favorite BM band right now, and they have some solos and stuff, and while not too technical in riffing, they have damn good atmosphere for a non-symphonic (thankfully!) BM band.

i dunno, the new 1349 is pretty tech
~gR~