Norwegian black metal is some crazy stuff. Since the late '80s, the
scene has been characterized by paganism, violence, and some of the
best damn heavy metal ever recorded.
The scene was largely influenced by a trio of non-Norwegian bands in
the 80s - Venom, Celtic Frost, and Bathory. England's Venom is widely
considered to be the first black metal band, and their campy satanic
posturing was a huge influence on Europe's extreme metal scenes. Their
second album, "Black Metal", gave the new genre its name. Celtic Frost
was one of the most influential metal bands in Europe, although I've
never been a really huge fan of theirs. But the band that had the most
direct influence on Norway's extreme metal scene was a one-man studio
project from Sweden called Bathory. Bathory's album "Under the Sign:
The Sign of the Black Mark" pretty much defines the typical black
metal sound - loud, fast, and poorly recorded. However, the Viking
Trilogy, consisting of the albums "Blood, Fire, Death", "Hammerheart",
and "The Twilight of the Gods", is what really kicked off the
explosion of Scandinavian metal. These albums coupled the brutal black
metal sound of "Black Mark" with the sounds of classical and
Scandinavian folk music, and their pagan themes resonated with the
Scandinavian youth. This led to a great deal of anti-Christian
sentiment and Norwegian nationalism, as the disaffected youth embraced
their Viking heritage.
The early 90s saw the Norwegian metal scene rise in prominence on the
world stage as bands constantly tried to "out-evil" one another. Three
main bands emerged - Mayhem, Burzum, and Emperor. Anyone with even a
passing interest in Norwegian metal should hear all of these bands.
(Especially Emperor, IMHO) Mayhem became the musical leader of the
scene, while Varg Vikernes of Burzum became the centerpoint of the
Black Metal "movement", for lack of a better word. Emperor, meanwhile,
garnered the most critical acclaim. Varg (aka "Count Grishnakh") was
responsible for starting a wave of church-burnings and grave
desecrations and eventually murdered Mayhem guitarist Euronymous. He
describes his actions as terrorism designed to awaken his fellow
Norwegians to their enslavement by Christianity, and is an advocate of
Norwegian "racial purity" and an admirer of Hitler and the Nazi
regime. His infamy is so great in Norway that he has been compared to
Charles Manson. Members of Emperor were among Varg's companions in
crime, and several served time for arson and other crimes. Drummer
Bard "Faust" Eithun was convicted of the murder of a stranger in park.
The band reformed when everyone but Bard had been paroled, and became
the leading band in the Norwegian metal scene until they broke up in
2001.
In the time since the murder of Euronymous, the violence in the scene
has diminished slightly, but church burnings and anti-Christian themes
have continued. Emperor has probably had the most lasting influence on
the scene, as the sound that they created has been the blueprint for
many bands such as Norwegian metal superstars Dimmu Borgir, as well as
a large number of non-Norwegian bands. Mayhem is still around,
although the only original member in the group is drummer Hellhammer.
Some of the better bands to develop include Immortal, Enslaved, and
Green Carnation, whose excellent album "Light of Day, Day of Darkness"
consists of a single 60 minute track that combines black metal with
Pink Floyd style progressive rock. Also interesting is Mortiis, who
left Emperor before they recorded their first album and has gone on to
a well received career in electronica, and who never appears anywhere
without troll makeup. Despite only recording one demo with Emperor, he
has been credited with the band's interest in Norwegian folk music and
was very influential in the genesis of the black metal scene.
If you want more detail, check out the book "Lords of Chaos: The
Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground" by Michael Moynihan &
Didrik Soderlind. It has some mixed reviews at amazon.com, but I found
it to be an interesting and informative read. (And I discovered a few
cool new bands to listen to.) Or if you prefer, you could just google
for some of the key figures. A few people/bands to start with: Varg
Vikernes, Count Grishnakh, Mayhem, Burzum, Emperor, Mortiis
Steve |
