From the minions under the despicable light of mainstream music there lies a plethora of talent undiscovered, ignored by the multitude who bask in that sunlight of electronic music. It is all but a grave miscalculation on the part of the “musical” community. I can name bands in every type of genre who make immensely beautiful music, but in this article as a part of the Metalhead Diaries series I shall be writing on black metal. It is one of the most misunderstood genres in music even if we delve into the metal scene. Metal in itself is unfathomably massive and somewhere there lies the caverns of black metal that is again vast. It is quite vast. I may be repeating myself, but you have to give it time and you will soon discover the beauty of black metal, given the fact that you are fond of heavy music – that’s a prerequisite for entering the metal scene.
Black metal, since time immemorial, has been accused of being the underlying musical inspiration towards arson, depression and sin. It is hilarious to note that because of a few men being held for murder, a few cases of arson and his association with black metal, the whole genre has been tainted with the mark of unsocial behaviour and representation. Let us examine the common perception of black metal. Anti-Christian lyrics, satanic costumes, album covers and the demonic blast beats led ardent religious people to believe that all the antipathy towards the church stemmed from this underground genre of music. The ghastly men, as they would describe, would record music that Satan would listen to the entire day wearing a smirk as he whips his slaves with his whip of infernal justice. Pray, tell me, how people who do not even befriend Satan would come to know his taste in music. What if he listens to Pink Floyd on his high days, King Crimson on his flowery days when he feels happy to have whipped an intrusive servant and Neun Welten on his dark days? We can never know. For the next version of the Metalhead Diaries I may go for an exclusive one on one interview with the Lord of Hell, Satan himself!
That kind of brings us to an innocent query on some of your behalf, why do we while listening to some bands go “HAIL SATAN!” It’s because, Satanic lyrics, duh. We shriek hounds of hell. Basically, we have subjected the poor hounds to the eternal summers of Hell. They should soon be shaving of their furs in frustration. Evolution will show you that I am right. Hail global warming!
I understand the fact that in Northern Europe, there is some amount of open resentment towards the Church but I being born into another religion besides being an atheist, hardly care. I shall not go forward to oppose or antagonise any religious people because I respect their beliefs and they should do the same for me. But my argument thus stands – black metal is a genre of music that deserves more respect than just from the underground music fans. It is time to rise up above the ground and spread some peaceful darkness (I shall come back to this term later). Too much of light can blind us.
For those of you, who are not aware of black metal, let me offer you a short introduction to our future of salvation. The genre has various sub genres such as ambient black metal, atmospheric black metal, epic black metal, pagan black metal, symphonic black metal, depressive black metal to name a few, or rather the more well-known sub genres. Viking metal and folk metal often utilize black metal elements in their music that more or less makes them a black metal band. Xasthur, Burzum, Summoning, Emperor and Darkthrone might be one of the most popular bands in this genre. I am naming just four bands as it is in my opinion not a black metal bands I listen to show off list article. I shall never do that, do not fear. (Dimmu Borgir are too mainstream to be included in this discussion and I must admit they have fallen in recent times). Any suggestions? Well, do not miss Alrakis, Aquilus, Falls of Rauros, Skagos and Ellende. Now we shall proceed further. (Apologies to those who are more than familiar with this for having stabbed you in the eyes).
According to many resources, bands like Celtic Frost were held as pioneers of extreme metal and soon by the mid-80s, bands like Mayhem and Bathory set the tone for the blistering paced blast beats combined with heavy distortions, shrieked vocals and unconventional song structures. The so called second wave bands somehow gave birth to the stigma associated with the genre as some of the pioneers were held for arson and similar charges. We are well familiar with the command that religious institutions command in this world and no surprise, till today the genre meets the ire of more “enlightened” bands who take more of fans’ piss than flowers. So the next time you have the lamp of enlightenment thrust down your face accompanied by the creepiest of sneers and the persistent pestering heat of salvation, you know what to queue next on your playlist.
The fact in present times is that the genre has been embraced in very welcome terms by many upcoming bands and fans alike. I would name Wodensthrone and Fen as some of the modern black metal bands that have been well received by listeners. The genre previously held a counter detestation for incorporating anything else but extreme in their music but Varg showed us that even only a keyboard might be sufficient to create black metal music. Now, besides, using keyboards to create a chilling atmosphere, bands incorporate acoustic passages, chants (epic / Viking black metal) and innovative song structures to attain the same results. Also, the atmospheric and depressive black metal genres do not even make Anti-Christ references. Black metal in short is not an extreme sub-genre of heavy metal (as Wikipedia with all its intelligence defines) but it is a philosophy, an idea that is born out of lands that were so cold that people probably got frustrated with it. It is a world which cannot be encompassed in 1600 words. Well, whatever it is that spurned the movement, I am grateful.
Earlier I managed to, with arduous dexterity, squeeze in a paradoxical phrase – peaceful darkness; as promised I shall elucidate. Darkness is usually employed as a metaphor to express the lack of luck in a person’s life. When he can’t duck the bricks thrown at his by “fate” and falls face forwards in a pile of mud unceremoniously. Not all people have a butler to pick them up and ask them “Why do we fall Master?” Well, not all of us can afford butlers with rising taxes and rents. The person describes such a condition as darkness and associates the emotions one feels in a pitch black room – a burglar shall jump out from behind the cabinet, biff him on the head and steal his wife’s jewels. That is a more viable fear than one of ghosts or maybe striking the toe on a chair to script a satirical tale. Darkness is such a state where one is basically helpless. The common phrase used in conjecture with this is the light at the end of the tunnel. Now, imagine the inverse of the situation and idea described above. You enter a room lit by a score of bulbs and with a plethora of people laughing, drinking and fornicating. Yes, let us assume that of the fear of the burglar the fornicators chose the corner of a well lit room (politicians). Now, how long can you survive peacefully in such a room with so little space and the accompanied ruckus? The normal impulse would be to retire to your Salvation in Solitude and probably turn the lights dim and relax. That is what I would term as peaceful darkness as my perception of dim lighting is the only light on my laptop. I used this phrase to describe the impact of black metal bands and I assure you that those of us who hold a soft spot for this genre will agree.
It does not at all times mean that extreme music harbours ill feelings in people. A Mozart lover is as susceptible to commit murder as black metal lover. Let us face it, one’s musical taste hardly defines their actions. And it would be untoward as human beings to judge another person by his musical taste alone. Having said all this, I would finally like to reiterate that this genre of music deserves more attention, more tolerance and recognition for the talents of the artists. In my country, I would be lucky to even find a Burzum CD forget an Oak Pantheon CD.
It is my humble request to my extreme metal fans to discover this genre with patience and ardour as it promises months and years of bliss at your disposal. We also need to scare away the Biebers and Minaj’s. It is a holy mission.
On the next edition (apologies for the second edition to be so late), we interview Satan. Like I said last time, your nearby tapri wala has read this shit before you.
Ink Idle 
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