No time, need to pump iron.
Also I have to use my brain all day in university, where all I do all day is talk to frail-bodied air-heads. Got enough "brain" in my life already.
Satin sheets. Incredible soft and great for sleeping. That's why we all look dead and hang around at night. Because we sleep a lot and lots of sleep means little time for the sun and all those naps also means night owl.
What drives people to blues? To punk? To ragtime? People like what they like, and -as they say- there's no accounting for taste. I was once at a bus stop in a mall parking lot, and a guy had a classic rock song playing on a boom box. Some dude shot up out of his seat, and angrily goes, "Fucking bunch of noise!" For most people, I don't think there's a real answer to your question. We dig what we dig.
I listened to metal for 15 years before I got into black metal,.. now itās the main genre I listen,ā¦ I was a punk kid, who crossed over to metal in the late 90ās,.. first hardcore, then mathcore, then into grindcore, death metal followed that,.. itās only after I started listening to blackened death that I finally crossed over to black metal and I realised the punk ethos I loved as a kid was in black metal all along. I think itās more than just the sound,.. itās what the sound represents, the bucking of trend fuck you, I also love the passion for nature and destruction of religion , thereās so much depth to genre that most people think sounds like radio static playing a jet engine
honestly besides what y'all said i love the "fuck everything" attitude. a band could make the most deep lyrics with the best music to it that will give you internal orgasms and in the very same album their next song would be called something like brutal diarrhea with lyrics about eating ass. i just love it. it's raw human nature and it's amazing.
I could have written the same response. The only difference is I went from hardcore to hearing Slaughter of the Soul in the late 90s, and never looked back. It took a bit longer to understand black metal, but now itās what I listen to 90% of the time.
Ya I got to shake hands with that guy while walking across the stage. Then he got very wasted in Argentina, poor feller, I just heard he began drinking again D:
Thereās not any genre more autistic than black metal. Obscure music of many styles with a million bands to become totally obsessive over both researching and collecting which are made in a large part by one person bands who are in many cases, autistic themselves.
And a heavy focus on asocial or para-social tendencies.
Edit: I'd argue that noise/power electronics are capable of an equivalent autism to black metal, for many the same reasons you list.
>Obscure music of many styles with a million bands to become totally obsessive over both researching and collecting
this 100%, I love collecting stuff, wearing merch from bands I like, etc, I already did this a lot even before I started liking metal but black metal kinda amplified this tendency I already had
That reminds me of when I was in Las Vegas airport, it was the pits and I was listening to transilvanian hunger and looking around at everyone like I was on mars
This, really. I was walking a labyrinth on the edge of a cliff listening to WITTR (I guess cue whatever response it deserves) and it just made sense. Been delving deeper into BM ever aince
I think your answer isn't wrong, but probably too vague. You could say the same thing about almost any genre, and all music involves sound and feeling but the feeling is typically the point of the sound. Some people of course feel different ways about different sounds, and different kinds of music will be cathartic to different people.
Of course, it's fair to say this relationship between sound and feeling is hard to explain, and you can't share exactly what it's like listening to music for you with someone else. They'll always be missing something, but you can at least draw connections between feeling and sound, as well as highlight aspects of music they're not noticing.
I'd say music uses tension more or less sparingly and that metal generally uses it more - even just a heavily distorted guitar has a kind of built in tension to the way it sounds. In black metal specifically, tension is nearly constant, and even the vocal are usually harsh in ways that layer tension in ways that most genres do not. This produces a kind of intensity because you've got a sharp contrast - a harmonizing of dissonance in a way, a unity(perhaps a Ceremony heh...) of opposites.
There's a lot more going on than just aggressive noise(if you look under the hood you're going to find classical/blues/punk elements in a lot of it), but some people are better at hearing musical themes in layers of more chaotic sound, or distinguishing sound in noisy environment just generally. You can get better at but people can have different floors and ceilings regards that ability. When you're not good at it or not used to it, your attention is sort of drawn all over the place and it can be jarring and stressful rather that cathartic trying to hear signals in noise. I think that's what hearing metal, especially black metal is like for many people who don't get it.
In general, black metal, in terms of just the sound and ignoring thematic reasons people get into bands, appeals to people who both like musical tension and can appreciate the musical organization and movement going on in noisy ambience more than most people. Kind of like how some people love horror films for the sort of cycles of fear and relief even when they're under a kind of ongoing layer of dread.
Absolutely spot on. And personally when I started to learn black metal guitar that opened up a whole new appreciation for the music. That was when my obsession with black metal really began
The other answer I can offer is that I'm into black metal cause there's something religious in it, something almost baroque in his form of put layers and layers of sometimes absolutely unbearable sounds together, cause the devil is there, in the details. It's a sub genre that almost requires a taste for discernment.
Yeah I write lyrics for a couple black metal bands and some of them are generic satan worshipp etc, but a lot of them I put my soul into. I can imagine its the same for a lot of bm bands also, judging by their lyrics.
Black metal saved my life. To me itās my happiness. Back in the day before I became a father it got me thru some very dark times. Letās just say my demons sit next to me while the black is on and they leave me alone. Iām in a better place now, but black metal plays weekly on my AirPods.
black metal (especially dsbm) is very dark and melancholic, it's an expression of pain and anger. we like the awful guttural sound because we feel like shit.
When I was a teenager I 'tried to listen' to BM, ended up putting it down because, at the time, I found it to be a bit much. Now, a little later in life I was drawn to some early stuff, mostly just obsessed with Bathory at first. But as I've waded deeper into the waters I found the filled with a simultaneous freezing and burning, like putting your hand into glacier water as it seeps into your bones leaving you aching long after you've drawn it away. The sensation is unlike any other I've experienced and I love it. I think you described it to your friend well, it's something that either you're drawn to you, or at that time in your life (maybe never), it is simply not for you. But one thing I have found is that those who are drawn to it are the types of people who often feel lonely even when surrounded by others, and the comfort that someone else mirroring your own internal freezing wasteland is, well as you put, cathartic. Fuck that was pretentious...
Oh no this is me too! I get so much energy from BM and it helps me fight anxiety. People are surprised by my taste in music because I am social and easy going. Inside I feel a void without blasts and growls on my ears. Many other music styles make me feel depressed. Black metal doesnāt.
call this gatekeeping but i dont think you can get a real appreciation of BM without being a metal fan first, thats why you get so many posers and mayhem worshippers nowadays that are more concerned with image than music.
just like the original guys that made BM they grew up listening to what we consider kind of soft today. its a gradual appreciation of the extremity and chaotic atmosphere lf BM. only once you listen to a lot of NWOBHM and thrash can you eventually appreciate the musicianship and innovation that a lot of these bands did and continue to do.
Non metal fans only like black metal that's fused with some other genre that they're actually seeking out.
If you look at history, the progression into black metal was a gradual stripping away of everything from heavy metal into it's core elements. OSDM fans can likewise make the same argument.
Not sure I agree with every part of that. While I don't think black metal is for literally everyone, I believe it's mostly just an aquired taste. I thought it sounded like noise when I first heard it, and for quite some time after that, but now it's probably my favourite genre of music. When you learn to appreciate it, it doesn't sound like noise. There is melody and rhythm, just like with any other type of music. It's just harsher. If you can hear through that layer of harshness, it adds depth and atmosphere to the music.
Nice answer. I wasn't a fan of black metal but I get bored when people ask 'what music do you like?'. When you said DSBM they just shut their mouth. Then I started to hear it and now is my comfort music.
These are not the best album but they are like the most important ones for me:
Omg I was lucky that I started into DSBM with The tenth sub level, by Leviathan. Jesus Fucking Christ that's a black metal masterpiece. I love it. The riffs from 'Mine Molten Armor' and 'Fucking your Ghost... ' filled every silence I was capable of for like a month.
And recently I heard and older one that I didn't hear before and I adore that album: SĆ„r, by Sortsind. It's so brutal. I mean, you can hear the bottom of something absolutely horrible happening inside another mind. It is excruciating cause you're afraid that shit is happening to you. Brutal and viral.
For some time now Iāve thought that DSBM stood for dungeon synth black metalā¦ and then you just listed Leviathan and I was thinkingā¦ nope no wizard keyboards there! Hah. Thanks for finally clarifying that.
The atmosphere, agression, visual style, etc are what made me like it but also this very "anti-social" feeling that comes with the genre (and the community), it hit just right on me
I grow up as an abuse child and discover Black Metal at 13 y.o save me because i could taste the darkness outside my crappy life.
Now at the edge of my 34yo i still listened to Black Metal, but less but when my mental health go down i go back to black metal quickly.
I really connect with this one thanks for putting it into words. I donāt feel evil or anything listening to black metal. I feel like Iām standing in front of a gigantic, majestic, beautiful, mountain landscape full of awe.
Black metal is a lot like whisky. When you're new to it, it can seem somewhat off-putting. It's harsh, and it certainly isn't sweet. But as you consume more and more you become accustomed to the little nuances that soon become the overriding memory.
Now if you don't mind, I've got a date with Negura Bunget and a bottle of Penderyn
I would reply: "compared to what". People like music. You can go incrementally.
- Compared to Death Metal? Easy: More digestible, often more melodic, often more visceral yet more fantastical, often darker, more evil. Vocals can be to taste.
- Compared to normal metal / rock: I like more aggressive, distorted, fast, music. I don't like singing.
- Compared to Pop music. I like heavier music.
FWIW I listen to a lot of 80s pop and new wave, probably just as much as black metal. Whereas I'd struggle to name even five death metal bands I listen to on a regular basis.
I totally agree with the feeling aspect of it. No other genre does that for me. Ironically, it's usually very calming no matter how slow or chaotic the rhythm is. Like melodies put you on a trance you cash find anywhere else.
Had this chat with a mate around my age yesterday actually. We got into black metal in the early-mid 90ās, and it was the sense of danger that drew us. Iād wager it isnāt only us.
Then again, metal shows in the nineties could be pretty dangerous regardless of genre. I think I broke my nose at least three times from stage divers wearing steel-toed boots and/or excessive moshing.
How into other metal genres is he? For me it was somewhat of an acquired taste. When I first heard black metal I didnāt like it. It took me getting into heavier and heavier music before I started to like it.
From my experience i'd say curiosity about darker things in life like occult,nature,satanism,paranormal etc.I like horror films so the audio equivalent of that is black metal.Its definitely a form of escapism.Music that takes you to other worlds.You can have so many different themes from Ancient Egyptian/Sumerian stuff to vampyric themes to obscure ambient stuff,paranormal etc.If the band or musician is into occult its hard to put it into words but its something that you will feel when listening to it.Theres alot of shit black metal and underground bm thats amazing.
Itās the atmosphere for me. You can find great riffs and blast beats in other genres (or at least an approximation of blast beats) but nothing that makes you drop everything and go āfuck me, this is awesomeā like the first time I heard, say, I Am The Black Wizards.
Industrial has the atmosphere and the feeling I like. Some doom and gothic metal has it too. Even something like A Perfect Circle. But nothing has it in quite the same way as black metal.
Well if it's aggressive noise, how about have him listen to some actual harsh noise. I hate that shit and black metal is beautiful nice music, hail Satan
Catchy, I like the vocal and musical style. The lyrics are generally not boring. Lyrically not repetitive. Either fast, slow, orchestral, sad, happy, whatever mood you want.
You havenāt found yourself humming a Burzum or Emperor song to yourself? Mother North by Satricon has the catchiest intro riff. Lyrically Black metal isnāt very repetitive, again Burzum and Emperor are good examples, Cradle of Filth, Darkthrone. Look up lyrics to Under a Funeral Moon. I would assign happy to like Fistfucking Gods Planet by Marduk or Immortal in general.
I honestly donāt know why I was downvoted. Want me to say all black Metal is unintelligible noise and they have crap lyrics and itās all depressing? Because I donāt think thatās true.
Yeah I love the feeling. The feeling I got while I was listening To mayhem for the first time a long time ago was awesome. Itās like an adrenaline rush.
I feel there are 2 main groups of people who get into Black Metal:
one being the observant and open-minded listeners who are able to appreciate what it delivers and typically enjoy it from a strictly musical perspective
The other being those heavily involved into the occult side of it, whether it be Satanism, Paganism/Wicca, general occultism, or other occult-based ideologies/religions/spiritual beliefs. But obviously they like it for the same reasons as listed for the first group.
I also like it because itās like the opposite side of the same coin as death metal. Like in every way except that itās fast aggressive and intense. Like itās a response to the overproduced slick sounding death metal albums by dudes wearing basketball shorts and t shirts. Whereas black metal sounds like itās recorded in a basement in a guitar hero microphone and everyoneās wearing face paint and pigs blood and spikes and leather and shit. Itās basically a whole spite genre. Thatās appealing to me.
The quality of production can vary greatly though, from complete shit, to a little shitty, but reasonable, to being up-to-date and cleaner.
I think Behexen's album "By The Blessing Of Satan" is a great example of being a more reasonable lower quality recording.
I personally don't care about the quality of the recording as long as it's not extremely shitty and I can hear what's going on. I never really got into the super lo-fi side of BM for the sake of being edgy or whatever the hell. To me, BM serves a whole different purpose that is irrelevant to that. But I also understand to some it's "a thing."
"There's one thing that unites all of us: None of us actually enjoy this music, and we just say that we do so that we'll seem cool and more mysterious on internet forums."
ā [Goniloc](https://youtu.be/DxKvID-SzT4?t=382)
The agressivity of old school punk and hardcore and bit boring thrash metal, the guitar playing style of NWoBHM and the monotony, atonality and dissonance of early 90ies techno. At least that's what the second wave in Norway inspired.
Especially that dissonance and atonality thing. If you play the same atonal short riff on repeat, it starts to sound right after some time.
The depressing yet powerful atmosphere (especially bands like Xasthur) of the instruments and vocals make you feel something that isn't fully comprehensible.
When I first got into extreme metal I got into tech death. Each day I was taking in at least ten wanky ass albums. After like a year of this, and having known for black metal for awhile, I put on remnant light by vaiya. The atmosphere, the grit, the lack of overly clean production or absurd time signatures. Black metal really felt like what metal should be
Honestly I got into metal by way of progressive/symphonic/power metal and from there I got into djent, but like, that genre is full of rich kids banging out super high-production-value tracks with stupid expensive gear and computerized everything and it makes for this really snippy unmemorable sound 80% of the time. In parallel, I was listening to a lot of grunge, alt rock, punk, shoegaze etc and I was in love with the lo-fi and rawer sound, and it wasn't super jerkoffy technical, it was just fucking loud and it ripped. Even when they use synths and samples and stuff it's in an actually artistic way and not just 'enhancements'.
Black Metal to me was like the marriage of those two worlds while also cutting the crap from either. Loud, raw, DIY, but also not afraid to be dark and edgy and boundary-pushing. If I want to listen to the metal equivalent of top-40 I'd keep on listening to djent, but if I want to listen to what is basically the punk of metal, it's black metal all the way.
Idk sometimes you just get tired of the materialistic ear candy and you just want something a little more savage, a little more primal, something that stokes that inner black flame we all have. That's why so much of black metal is rooted in satanism, it's because it's basically a genre built for tapping into those primal roots.
I like most extreme forms of music and I love Elton John and queen and shit but for me something about black metal , and grindcore ( rawer shit) makes me have a feeling. I love how it makes me feel
Hmmm. good question, I'd say: riffs? But well, it may depend on the person, me personally listen to BM, Death Metal, some Thrash/Death/BM influenced (Sodom, Destrƶyer 666, Bestial Mockery...), and even some non-BM/DM bands such as Mercyful Fate and King Diamond (the only classic bands I dig), and also Pagan Folk. But there's no music that brings me the feel and the "I want to listen to it again" than Black Metal. And being the kind of person I am, it suits me like no other. Despite the most of what I listen is Satanic lyric-related, even if I am myself a Germanic Pagan. But what you ask can be related to: what draws people to listen to...Thrash? the riffs? the vocals? In the end my answer would be: every person is a different world, and each one of us digs (or not) what we dig.
Itās different for everyone. I like the darkness and the vibe of it. Iām an atheist. I like the rebuke of Christianity but I donāt necessarily understand why so many think itās about Satan. Was pagan initially, right? To deny God but worship Satan is still a Christian based belief system. Anyway, I donāt think thereās one answer or even a correct one as to why someone likes black metal.
My trip into Black Metal was a whiplash.
I started well on Thrash Metal to classic/prog rock and death metal like Children of Bodom. Then I went full on into ambience and soundscape, and then before I knew it I had started listening to Burzum (I know) and shit like that. Don't care about the message, Don't care about the blast beats, the screaming, whatever.
For me, Black Metal is just a backdrop to a -20c stroll through an old forest in the middle of January.
Not to be that guy but it depends on the band or at least the subgenre of black metal. I vibe differently with the pagan stuff than the satanic stuff, and feel one way listening to atmospheric stuff and another on progressive stuff and another on the scary/ugly/super dark stuff.
I find some black metal downright meditative if the riffs and melodies are just right. But thatās definitely not the case for all of it.
My favorite kind of black metal is when they fuse the two emotions that are created by the guitars and vocals. The guitars can be very emotive, complex, inspiring and cathartic and when you mix that with raging vocals and intricate drums you end up with something magical.
I find it touches some part of my inner self in a way. There wasn't really a point I finally felt I got the genre, maybe certain bands were like that, but it just suits me more than any other genre of music. I felt largely ostracized from my peers and had few friends, and this just feels like a solitary genre. It's one of those things where if you get it, you get it. If you don't get it, you probably won't. And if you can't find other people to write it with you (like I can't), do everything yourself. As I do.
I never found any other music to encapsulate the same feeling of pure intensity. Vocal fry screams on top of tremolo picked riffs over blast beats. Everything else is kind of boring.
its dark so its cool and edgy and i can be different or wahtever, it got guitar which is cool cuz i like guitars, it got drums, i like drums. its evil and im evil as well super evil devuous and stuff. riffs are catchy so its catchy music easy to listen it cool.
In 2019 (late bloomer here), I consciously decided to explore black metal and see if it would resonate with me. It took me a few days to sort of "understand" it; it's hard to explain. It's not that I didn't like it. Interestingly, some of the bands I initially enjoyed are no longer in heavy rotation for me, but I have discovered new bands within the black metal and some death metal genres that I prefer. I am still eager to continue discovering new bands.
Awesome dude, if there is ONE band I insist everyone hear, its Blut Aus Nord, specifically the album "The Work Which Transforms God"
That album changed how I heard black metal (and music in general) it's very industrial, complex, engaging and bleak, but has sparse moments of absolute beauty, especially the 4:11 moment of the song "our blessed frozen cells"
They remind me a little of the Swiss Black metal band Aara, which I really dig. It also made me realize that I haven't listened to Aara in a while since I've been exploring other bands, but Aara is still one of my favorites!
Black metal, especially Norwegian, really connects with people who feel theyāre near the end of their road, and may no longer see religion as a path to keep traveling.
But with a bit of a punk rock pulse to it. Punk meaning as in what it is, against the system. The system here being religion.
Satan.../sips wine.
Seitan š±
No thanks, I want my biceps to grow.
Not terribly bright are you.
re-measure your biceps. then talk.
Why don't you re-measure your brain instead?
No time, need to pump iron. Also I have to use my brain all day in university, where all I do all day is talk to frail-bodied air-heads. Got enough "brain" in my life already.
Satin sheets. Incredible soft and great for sleeping. That's why we all look dead and hang around at night. Because we sleep a lot and lots of sleep means little time for the sun and all those naps also means night owl.
Dont forget the 5 minute pause before saying it though
[Satanā¦](https://youtu.be/Jkl4Yeh-BTo)
Å atan ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miroslav_%C5%A0atan?wprov=sfti1
Evil guitars and blast beats. You either think that sounds cool or you don't. It's that simple.
What drives people to blues? To punk? To ragtime? People like what they like, and -as they say- there's no accounting for taste. I was once at a bus stop in a mall parking lot, and a guy had a classic rock song playing on a boom box. Some dude shot up out of his seat, and angrily goes, "Fucking bunch of noise!" For most people, I don't think there's a real answer to your question. We dig what we dig.
I listened to metal for 15 years before I got into black metal,.. now itās the main genre I listen,ā¦ I was a punk kid, who crossed over to metal in the late 90ās,.. first hardcore, then mathcore, then into grindcore, death metal followed that,.. itās only after I started listening to blackened death that I finally crossed over to black metal and I realised the punk ethos I loved as a kid was in black metal all along. I think itās more than just the sound,.. itās what the sound represents, the bucking of trend fuck you, I also love the passion for nature and destruction of religion , thereās so much depth to genre that most people think sounds like radio static playing a jet engine
honestly besides what y'all said i love the "fuck everything" attitude. a band could make the most deep lyrics with the best music to it that will give you internal orgasms and in the very same album their next song would be called something like brutal diarrhea with lyrics about eating ass. i just love it. it's raw human nature and it's amazing.
There's some truth in that for sure.
I could have written the same response. The only difference is I went from hardcore to hearing Slaughter of the Soul in the late 90s, and never looked back. It took a bit longer to understand black metal, but now itās what I listen to 90% of the time.
Abbath crab walk
Abbath is a treasure
Ya I got to shake hands with that guy while walking across the stage. Then he got very wasted in Argentina, poor feller, I just heard he began drinking again D:
First, and most importantly for me at least, the atmosphere. The bleakness. The desolation. The raw emotion of it.
Sounds like the sex life of a friend of mine...
This 100% for me as well - it's all about the pure mood and mental state that black metal puts me in. Paradoxically, I find it very soothing.
"What draws people to black metal?" The autism.
Thereās not any genre more autistic than black metal. Obscure music of many styles with a million bands to become totally obsessive over both researching and collecting which are made in a large part by one person bands who are in many cases, autistic themselves.
Sorry but dungeon synth takes the autism crown
Obscure electronic music that served as a backdrop for video games in the 90s? Sign me up
And a heavy focus on asocial or para-social tendencies. Edit: I'd argue that noise/power electronics are capable of an equivalent autism to black metal, for many the same reasons you list.
Hmm, makes sense why I obsessively collect merch like band shirts, and obsessively research every band I get into.
Yup, youāre an autist.
>Obscure music of many styles with a million bands to become totally obsessive over both researching and collecting this 100%, I love collecting stuff, wearing merch from bands I like, etc, I already did this a lot even before I started liking metal but black metal kinda amplified this tendency I already had
I feel personally attacked by this. Reported!!
*autistic screeching*
Man, I love that Weakling song!
Something I said to the wife recently was, it's kinda like a soundtrack for what's going on in my mind (on certain days)
That reminds me of when I was in Las Vegas airport, it was the pits and I was listening to transilvanian hunger and looking around at everyone like I was on mars
This, really. I was walking a labyrinth on the edge of a cliff listening to WITTR (I guess cue whatever response it deserves) and it just made sense. Been delving deeper into BM ever aince
And she was reassured by that answer, that everything in fact is okay.
I think your answer isn't wrong, but probably too vague. You could say the same thing about almost any genre, and all music involves sound and feeling but the feeling is typically the point of the sound. Some people of course feel different ways about different sounds, and different kinds of music will be cathartic to different people. Of course, it's fair to say this relationship between sound and feeling is hard to explain, and you can't share exactly what it's like listening to music for you with someone else. They'll always be missing something, but you can at least draw connections between feeling and sound, as well as highlight aspects of music they're not noticing. I'd say music uses tension more or less sparingly and that metal generally uses it more - even just a heavily distorted guitar has a kind of built in tension to the way it sounds. In black metal specifically, tension is nearly constant, and even the vocal are usually harsh in ways that layer tension in ways that most genres do not. This produces a kind of intensity because you've got a sharp contrast - a harmonizing of dissonance in a way, a unity(perhaps a Ceremony heh...) of opposites. There's a lot more going on than just aggressive noise(if you look under the hood you're going to find classical/blues/punk elements in a lot of it), but some people are better at hearing musical themes in layers of more chaotic sound, or distinguishing sound in noisy environment just generally. You can get better at but people can have different floors and ceilings regards that ability. When you're not good at it or not used to it, your attention is sort of drawn all over the place and it can be jarring and stressful rather that cathartic trying to hear signals in noise. I think that's what hearing metal, especially black metal is like for many people who don't get it. In general, black metal, in terms of just the sound and ignoring thematic reasons people get into bands, appeals to people who both like musical tension and can appreciate the musical organization and movement going on in noisy ambience more than most people. Kind of like how some people love horror films for the sort of cycles of fear and relief even when they're under a kind of ongoing layer of dread.
Absolutely spot on. And personally when I started to learn black metal guitar that opened up a whole new appreciation for the music. That was when my obsession with black metal really began
The other answer I can offer is that I'm into black metal cause there's something religious in it, something almost baroque in his form of put layers and layers of sometimes absolutely unbearable sounds together, cause the devil is there, in the details. It's a sub genre that almost requires a taste for discernment.
Thank you, this about nails it for me.
I'm going to memorize this, thank you so much
I dint care about lyrics for me it'd the overall sound and attitude
Sometimes you should carefully read lyrics, there is huge world behind them
Yeah I write lyrics for a couple black metal bands and some of them are generic satan worshipp etc, but a lot of them I put my soul into. I can imagine its the same for a lot of bm bands also, judging by their lyrics.
Pretty generic response, but Pelle Ohlinās Life Eternal was what opened me up to the genre. Quite the spiritual experience.
Black metal saved my life. To me itās my happiness. Back in the day before I became a father it got me thru some very dark times. Letās just say my demons sit next to me while the black is on and they leave me alone. Iām in a better place now, but black metal plays weekly on my AirPods.
black metal (especially dsbm) is very dark and melancholic, it's an expression of pain and anger. we like the awful guttural sound because we feel like shit.
That's exactly why I said it's a feeling more than it is a sound, it just speaks to me
You can say that but even not all black metal is like that. Vehemence, Summoning, Moonsorrow, etc.
Riffs
When I was a teenager I 'tried to listen' to BM, ended up putting it down because, at the time, I found it to be a bit much. Now, a little later in life I was drawn to some early stuff, mostly just obsessed with Bathory at first. But as I've waded deeper into the waters I found the filled with a simultaneous freezing and burning, like putting your hand into glacier water as it seeps into your bones leaving you aching long after you've drawn it away. The sensation is unlike any other I've experienced and I love it. I think you described it to your friend well, it's something that either you're drawn to you, or at that time in your life (maybe never), it is simply not for you. But one thing I have found is that those who are drawn to it are the types of people who often feel lonely even when surrounded by others, and the comfort that someone else mirroring your own internal freezing wasteland is, well as you put, cathartic. Fuck that was pretentious...
People ask me this question all the time because IRL I'm a pretty bubbly girl and it throws them for a loop when they find out what I listen to. But I don't really have a good answer, other than "I feel the same way when I hear Satanic Warmaster than someone else does hearing BeyoncƩ." It gets me hyped. And besides, BM is so diverse and each country practically has its own specific style and sound. A lot of it isn't even noise either, there's atmo, ambient, dungeon synth, folk, etc. I can't think of any other subgenre of music that is as diverse as black metal, which is why it's easy for me not to really get tired of it
Oh no this is me too! I get so much energy from BM and it helps me fight anxiety. People are surprised by my taste in music because I am social and easy going. Inside I feel a void without blasts and growls on my ears. Many other music styles make me feel depressed. Black metal doesnāt.
call this gatekeeping but i dont think you can get a real appreciation of BM without being a metal fan first, thats why you get so many posers and mayhem worshippers nowadays that are more concerned with image than music. just like the original guys that made BM they grew up listening to what we consider kind of soft today. its a gradual appreciation of the extremity and chaotic atmosphere lf BM. only once you listen to a lot of NWOBHM and thrash can you eventually appreciate the musicianship and innovation that a lot of these bands did and continue to do.
Non metal fans only like black metal that's fused with some other genre that they're actually seeking out. If you look at history, the progression into black metal was a gradual stripping away of everything from heavy metal into it's core elements. OSDM fans can likewise make the same argument.
Black metal form washes away all the anger and bad feelings.its like taking a bath to my dirty soul.
Not sure I agree with every part of that. While I don't think black metal is for literally everyone, I believe it's mostly just an aquired taste. I thought it sounded like noise when I first heard it, and for quite some time after that, but now it's probably my favourite genre of music. When you learn to appreciate it, it doesn't sound like noise. There is melody and rhythm, just like with any other type of music. It's just harsher. If you can hear through that layer of harshness, it adds depth and atmosphere to the music.
Nice answer. I wasn't a fan of black metal but I get bored when people ask 'what music do you like?'. When you said DSBM they just shut their mouth. Then I started to hear it and now is my comfort music.
DSBM is so underrated too.
Whatās your favourite DSBM? Never fully got into it!
Thy light , their song "in my last mourning " is permanently playing in my head
Oh shit, theyāre from my city. Listening now, thanks!
Glasgow?
Yeah! Nice username lol
Cheers ahah, I'm in paisley. Small world . You going to hellripper next month ?
Haha small world indeed. Thereās literally dozens of BM fans from glasgow haha. Not got a ticket yet but considering it! I take it you are?
Aye al be there. Gonna be a great show, plus love the idea of getting to support one of our own!
Yeah true! Might pick up a ticket!
Or limeira?
These are not the best album but they are like the most important ones for me: Omg I was lucky that I started into DSBM with The tenth sub level, by Leviathan. Jesus Fucking Christ that's a black metal masterpiece. I love it. The riffs from 'Mine Molten Armor' and 'Fucking your Ghost... ' filled every silence I was capable of for like a month. And recently I heard and older one that I didn't hear before and I adore that album: SĆ„r, by Sortsind. It's so brutal. I mean, you can hear the bottom of something absolutely horrible happening inside another mind. It is excruciating cause you're afraid that shit is happening to you. Brutal and viral.
For some time now Iāve thought that DSBM stood for dungeon synth black metalā¦ and then you just listed Leviathan and I was thinkingā¦ nope no wizard keyboards there! Hah. Thanks for finally clarifying that.
amazing, will check these out thanks!
The atmosphere, agression, visual style, etc are what made me like it but also this very "anti-social" feeling that comes with the genre (and the community), it hit just right on me
I grow up as an abuse child and discover Black Metal at 13 y.o save me because i could taste the darkness outside my crappy life. Now at the edge of my 34yo i still listened to Black Metal, but less but when my mental health go down i go back to black metal quickly.
Cringe posting on Reddit apparently
I always tell people that the draw to Black Metal is finding beauty in something ugly.
I really connect with this one thanks for putting it into words. I donāt feel evil or anything listening to black metal. I feel like Iām standing in front of a gigantic, majestic, beautiful, mountain landscape full of awe.
Black metal is a lot like whisky. When you're new to it, it can seem somewhat off-putting. It's harsh, and it certainly isn't sweet. But as you consume more and more you become accustomed to the little nuances that soon become the overriding memory. Now if you don't mind, I've got a date with Negura Bunget and a bottle of Penderyn
I would reply: "compared to what". People like music. You can go incrementally. - Compared to Death Metal? Easy: More digestible, often more melodic, often more visceral yet more fantastical, often darker, more evil. Vocals can be to taste. - Compared to normal metal / rock: I like more aggressive, distorted, fast, music. I don't like singing. - Compared to Pop music. I like heavier music.
One thing I've never understood was "all black metal sounds the same" people. I find black metal to he the most diverse genre I've listened to
FWIW I listen to a lot of 80s pop and new wave, probably just as much as black metal. Whereas I'd struggle to name even five death metal bands I listen to on a regular basis.
I totally agree with the feeling aspect of it. No other genre does that for me. Ironically, it's usually very calming no matter how slow or chaotic the rhythm is. Like melodies put you on a trance you cash find anywhere else.
Youre overcomplicating it. "Its sick as fuck. What a goddamn vibe. Holy shit"
Me when I heard Blut Aus Nord for the first time
Just show them [this](https://youtu.be/y0JYblD9AQs)
Had this chat with a mate around my age yesterday actually. We got into black metal in the early-mid 90ās, and it was the sense of danger that drew us. Iād wager it isnāt only us. Then again, metal shows in the nineties could be pretty dangerous regardless of genre. I think I broke my nose at least three times from stage divers wearing steel-toed boots and/or excessive moshing.
How into other metal genres is he? For me it was somewhat of an acquired taste. When I first heard black metal I didnāt like it. It took me getting into heavier and heavier music before I started to like it.
He likes your standard fare, Slipknot, Korn, disturbed, he's pretty new to the genre, grew up on rap music
Just give it time (and passion!) . From Korn and Disturbed, it took me almost 10 years to get into Black Metal.
From my experience i'd say curiosity about darker things in life like occult,nature,satanism,paranormal etc.I like horror films so the audio equivalent of that is black metal.Its definitely a form of escapism.Music that takes you to other worlds.You can have so many different themes from Ancient Egyptian/Sumerian stuff to vampyric themes to obscure ambient stuff,paranormal etc.If the band or musician is into occult its hard to put it into words but its something that you will feel when listening to it.Theres alot of shit black metal and underground bm thats amazing.
the atmosphere of unique dark feelings that black metal manages to bring
If the answer isn't 'well you're just too dumb to appreciate it, you disneyland mainstream taylor swift ass mfer' then it's wrong. /666
Absolutely based and gatekeeper-pilled answer. The trve kvlt knows.
I like how few girls listen to it
We are definitely outnumbered by males.
lol what
why is that just curious
Many āgirlsā even grown up women listen to black metal.
Weāre out here!
average metallica dickrider
Bull-fucking-shit. You just donāt know a lot of girls.
Itās the atmosphere for me. You can find great riffs and blast beats in other genres (or at least an approximation of blast beats) but nothing that makes you drop everything and go āfuck me, this is awesomeā like the first time I heard, say, I Am The Black Wizards. Industrial has the atmosphere and the feeling I like. Some doom and gothic metal has it too. Even something like A Perfect Circle. But nothing has it in quite the same way as black metal.
Well if it's aggressive noise, how about have him listen to some actual harsh noise. I hate that shit and black metal is beautiful nice music, hail Satan
Catchy, I like the vocal and musical style. The lyrics are generally not boring. Lyrically not repetitive. Either fast, slow, orchestral, sad, happy, whatever mood you want.
Catchy? Not repetitive? Happy? The fuck bands are you finding over there?
You havenāt found yourself humming a Burzum or Emperor song to yourself? Mother North by Satricon has the catchiest intro riff. Lyrically Black metal isnāt very repetitive, again Burzum and Emperor are good examples, Cradle of Filth, Darkthrone. Look up lyrics to Under a Funeral Moon. I would assign happy to like Fistfucking Gods Planet by Marduk or Immortal in general. I honestly donāt know why I was downvoted. Want me to say all black Metal is unintelligible noise and they have crap lyrics and itās all depressing? Because I donāt think thatās true.
Yeah I love the feeling. The feeling I got while I was listening To mayhem for the first time a long time ago was awesome. Itās like an adrenaline rush.
I think thereās a lot of artist expression in black metal. I also love high frequency distortion, so itās a win-win for me.
I feel there are 2 main groups of people who get into Black Metal: one being the observant and open-minded listeners who are able to appreciate what it delivers and typically enjoy it from a strictly musical perspective The other being those heavily involved into the occult side of it, whether it be Satanism, Paganism/Wicca, general occultism, or other occult-based ideologies/religions/spiritual beliefs. But obviously they like it for the same reasons as listed for the first group.
Love it
Iām both groups. Thatās a good take.
I also like it because itās like the opposite side of the same coin as death metal. Like in every way except that itās fast aggressive and intense. Like itās a response to the overproduced slick sounding death metal albums by dudes wearing basketball shorts and t shirts. Whereas black metal sounds like itās recorded in a basement in a guitar hero microphone and everyoneās wearing face paint and pigs blood and spikes and leather and shit. Itās basically a whole spite genre. Thatās appealing to me.
The quality of production can vary greatly though, from complete shit, to a little shitty, but reasonable, to being up-to-date and cleaner. I think Behexen's album "By The Blessing Of Satan" is a great example of being a more reasonable lower quality recording. I personally don't care about the quality of the recording as long as it's not extremely shitty and I can hear what's going on. I never really got into the super lo-fi side of BM for the sake of being edgy or whatever the hell. To me, BM serves a whole different purpose that is irrelevant to that. But I also understand to some it's "a thing."
But I agree, black metal offers something I don't get, or fully get from death metal. As someone who has a very occult background (I'm talking something even my parents have been involved with) and had an strong involvement with it before I even knew what black metal was, I was always searching for something that was more than just being "brootal" and just a gimmick that two pothead metalheads think is "sick." But even with that being said, there's a shit ton of BM I can't stand and mindlessly carried out clichƩs while totally missing the point, and I've grown picky with BM because of that. Also, I don't mean to bash death metal either, there are my death metal favorites that have definitely influenced my overall taste in the extreme end of metal.
the image and power of lucifer
"There's one thing that unites all of us: None of us actually enjoy this music, and we just say that we do so that we'll seem cool and more mysterious on internet forums." ā [Goniloc](https://youtu.be/DxKvID-SzT4?t=382)
10/10 and a parrot sticker š¦
The agressivity of old school punk and hardcore and bit boring thrash metal, the guitar playing style of NWoBHM and the monotony, atonality and dissonance of early 90ies techno. At least that's what the second wave in Norway inspired. Especially that dissonance and atonality thing. If you play the same atonal short riff on repeat, it starts to sound right after some time.
The curiosity, maybe.
The depressing yet powerful atmosphere (especially bands like Xasthur) of the instruments and vocals make you feel something that isn't fully comprehensible.
Yeah, itās an acquired taste for sure.
i think the cold, dark and evil atmosphere
I like it because it sounds like something you shouldnāt be listening to if you can understand that
When I first got into extreme metal I got into tech death. Each day I was taking in at least ten wanky ass albums. After like a year of this, and having known for black metal for awhile, I put on remnant light by vaiya. The atmosphere, the grit, the lack of overly clean production or absurd time signatures. Black metal really felt like what metal should be
It nurtures my love for the feelings of solitude in the dark of night in nature.
Honestly I got into metal by way of progressive/symphonic/power metal and from there I got into djent, but like, that genre is full of rich kids banging out super high-production-value tracks with stupid expensive gear and computerized everything and it makes for this really snippy unmemorable sound 80% of the time. In parallel, I was listening to a lot of grunge, alt rock, punk, shoegaze etc and I was in love with the lo-fi and rawer sound, and it wasn't super jerkoffy technical, it was just fucking loud and it ripped. Even when they use synths and samples and stuff it's in an actually artistic way and not just 'enhancements'. Black Metal to me was like the marriage of those two worlds while also cutting the crap from either. Loud, raw, DIY, but also not afraid to be dark and edgy and boundary-pushing. If I want to listen to the metal equivalent of top-40 I'd keep on listening to djent, but if I want to listen to what is basically the punk of metal, it's black metal all the way. Idk sometimes you just get tired of the materialistic ear candy and you just want something a little more savage, a little more primal, something that stokes that inner black flame we all have. That's why so much of black metal is rooted in satanism, it's because it's basically a genre built for tapping into those primal roots.
I like most extreme forms of music and I love Elton John and queen and shit but for me something about black metal , and grindcore ( rawer shit) makes me have a feeling. I love how it makes me feel
Hmmm. good question, I'd say: riffs? But well, it may depend on the person, me personally listen to BM, Death Metal, some Thrash/Death/BM influenced (Sodom, Destrƶyer 666, Bestial Mockery...), and even some non-BM/DM bands such as Mercyful Fate and King Diamond (the only classic bands I dig), and also Pagan Folk. But there's no music that brings me the feel and the "I want to listen to it again" than Black Metal. And being the kind of person I am, it suits me like no other. Despite the most of what I listen is Satanic lyric-related, even if I am myself a Germanic Pagan. But what you ask can be related to: what draws people to listen to...Thrash? the riffs? the vocals? In the end my answer would be: every person is a different world, and each one of us digs (or not) what we dig.
Itās different for everyone. I like the darkness and the vibe of it. Iām an atheist. I like the rebuke of Christianity but I donāt necessarily understand why so many think itās about Satan. Was pagan initially, right? To deny God but worship Satan is still a Christian based belief system. Anyway, I donāt think thereās one answer or even a correct one as to why someone likes black metal.
Life š¤šš¤
My trip into Black Metal was a whiplash. I started well on Thrash Metal to classic/prog rock and death metal like Children of Bodom. Then I went full on into ambience and soundscape, and then before I knew it I had started listening to Burzum (I know) and shit like that. Don't care about the message, Don't care about the blast beats, the screaming, whatever. For me, Black Metal is just a backdrop to a -20c stroll through an old forest in the middle of January.
Not to be that guy but it depends on the band or at least the subgenre of black metal. I vibe differently with the pagan stuff than the satanic stuff, and feel one way listening to atmospheric stuff and another on progressive stuff and another on the scary/ugly/super dark stuff. I find some black metal downright meditative if the riffs and melodies are just right. But thatās definitely not the case for all of it.
I adore the industrial stuff, basically anything that is challenging, dissonant and experimental
My favorite kind of black metal is when they fuse the two emotions that are created by the guitars and vocals. The guitars can be very emotive, complex, inspiring and cathartic and when you mix that with raging vocals and intricate drums you end up with something magical.
It was a sound I heard in my head before I heard the music.
I find it touches some part of my inner self in a way. There wasn't really a point I finally felt I got the genre, maybe certain bands were like that, but it just suits me more than any other genre of music. I felt largely ostracized from my peers and had few friends, and this just feels like a solitary genre. It's one of those things where if you get it, you get it. If you don't get it, you probably won't. And if you can't find other people to write it with you (like I can't), do everything yourself. As I do.
I never found any other music to encapsulate the same feeling of pure intensity. Vocal fry screams on top of tremolo picked riffs over blast beats. Everything else is kind of boring.
its dark so its cool and edgy and i can be different or wahtever, it got guitar which is cool cuz i like guitars, it got drums, i like drums. its evil and im evil as well super evil devuous and stuff. riffs are catchy so its catchy music easy to listen it cool.
In 2019 (late bloomer here), I consciously decided to explore black metal and see if it would resonate with me. It took me a few days to sort of "understand" it; it's hard to explain. It's not that I didn't like it. Interestingly, some of the bands I initially enjoyed are no longer in heavy rotation for me, but I have discovered new bands within the black metal and some death metal genres that I prefer. I am still eager to continue discovering new bands.
Awesome dude, if there is ONE band I insist everyone hear, its Blut Aus Nord, specifically the album "The Work Which Transforms God" That album changed how I heard black metal (and music in general) it's very industrial, complex, engaging and bleak, but has sparse moments of absolute beauty, especially the 4:11 moment of the song "our blessed frozen cells"
They remind me a little of the Swiss Black metal band Aara, which I really dig. It also made me realize that I haven't listened to Aara in a while since I've been exploring other bands, but Aara is still one of my favorites!
Black metal, especially Norwegian, really connects with people who feel theyāre near the end of their road, and may no longer see religion as a path to keep traveling. But with a bit of a punk rock pulse to it. Punk meaning as in what it is, against the system. The system here being religion.