Black metal

Here is a very short introduction to black metal, my version:

The first wave of black metal is associated with bands like Bathory and Venom. In 1982 Venom released the album Black Metal, which gave the name to the genre.

The second wave of black metal emerged in the early 1990's, with bands like Mayhem, Immortal, Gorgoroth, Burzum and Satyricon. Characterisitic features of black metal are distorted guitars, blast drumming, and a special vocal style (grim vocal). The song structure is often unconventional, sometimes with several musical ideas in one song, different from the usual verse-chorus structure of rock and pop. The lyrical themes are often anti-religious.

Black metal has always been underground culture, not accepeted by mainstream society, often associated with satanism and church burning. However, less than a handful of individuals in the black metal community were directly involved in church burnings in the early 1990's. Well known are the infamous acts of Varg Vikernes (known as Count Grishnackh in the one-man band Burzum), who killed his band-mate Euronymus and set several churches on fire. The Count was released in 2009, after 16 years in jail. A new Burzum album will be released in 2010!

To get a kick start on black metal, run to your local metal store and buy these three albums:
o Pentagram by Gorgoroth
o Nemesis Divina by Satyricon
o Over Bjørgvin gråter himmerik by Taake

Below is a list of my favorite black metal albums. You will find most of these albums (and many more) in the CD collection of a black metal enthusiast.

Arcturus:
Aspera Hiems Symfonia (1996,2002)

Burzum:
Burzum/Aske (1992,1995)
Det som engang var (1993)
Hvis lyset tar oss (1994)
Filosofem (1996)

Carpathian Forest:
Defending the Throne of Evil (2003)

Darkthrone:
A Blaze in the Northern sky (1992)

Dimmu Borgir:
For all tid (1994)
Stormblåst (1996,2005)
Enthrone Darkness Triumphant (1997)
Death Cult Armageddon (2003)

Emperor:
Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (1997)
Scattered Ashes: A Decade Of Emperial Wrath (Best of album, 2003)

Gorgoroth:
Pentagram (1994)
Antichrist (1996)
Under the Sign of Hell (1997)
Destroyer (1998)
Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt (2009)

Immortal:
At the Heart of Winter (1999)
Sons of Northern Darkness (2002)

Keep of Kalessin:
Armada (2006)
Kolossus (2008)

Mayhem:
De Mysteriis dom Sathanas (1994)
Ordo ad Chao (2007)

Satyricon:
Dark Medieval Times (1994)
Shadowthrone (1994)
Nemesis Divina (1996)
Volcano (2002)
Now Diabolical (2006)

Solefald:
Red for Fire: An Icelandic Odyssey : Part I
Black for Death: An Icelandic Odyssey : Part II

Thorns:
Stigma Diabolicum (Best of album, 2007)

Taake:
Nattestid ser porten vid (1999)
Over Bjørgvin gråter himmerik (2002)
Hordalands dødskvad (2005)

Ulver:
Bergtatt (1995)

1349:
Hellfire (2006)