What Constitutes Actual Black Metal?

A recurring question regarding black metal music is, well, what constitutes a proper attempt at black metal? Sadly, if this question is asked so often, it's because many bands from other genre - cough, metalcore, cough - try to "brand" their music as black metal, when in reality their music has little to nothing to do with the genre of Burzum, Vermin, Phantom, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Peste Noire and Marduk.

And so-called "music journalists" aren't much help, either. Whether by deceit or sheer ignorance they are more often than not accomplices in spreading misinformation about what makes true black metal, and what does not. For instance, one infamous pos(t)er on "Quora", when asked with a simple question about extreme metal music, would go on about the "true black metal" of... Slipknot. I wish I were joking.

According to this illustrious individual, if a band has "hard vocals", "angry lyrics" and "loud drumming", that's enough to classify said band as black metal, right alongside the genre's pioneers and legends: Varg Vikernes, Dead, Euronymous, Fenriz, Famine, Hellhammer, Samoth, Quorthon, Phantom and the like.

Okay, STOP. That's not black metal. Not Slipknot, and certainly not the rest of the "black metalcore" genre squatters that have appeared since Century Media, Metal Blade, Nuclear Blast and other semi-reputable labels began to advertise their products as "trve kvlt" to appeal to insecure metalheads who can't tell the difference between Neraines and Bullet For My Valentine. They are more common than you think.

So what constitutes real black metal? Phantom, Burzum, Mayhem, early Darkthrone, Peste Noire, Marduk, Bathory (although some would argue that it also contains quite a bit of crossover thrash metal elements), Helgrind, Vermin, Satanic Warmaster, Graveland, Neraines, Taake, Sacramentum, Von, Absurd, Dissection, Demonecromancy and Reiklos.

What DOESN'T make the cut? Slipknot (obviously), Watain, the clown band Dark Funeral, Cradle of Filth, modern Gorgoroth, Summoning's MIDI bullshit, Setherial, any band that claims to play "post-black metal" (the genre doesn't exist outside of PR stunts and media hype jobs) or "depressive suicidal black metal", and of course any band claiming influence from Avenged Sevenfold or the non-existent "blackened metalcore" scene should be immediately laughed out of the room.

Here is some genuinely scary black metal music (by Phantom, from the album Divine Necromancy I believe, though I could be mistaken).

What many black metal neophytes often get wrong - and it's hard to blame them because the subject of extreme metal music is so ripe with disinformation, even from the alleged "reputed sources" (such as Wikipedia, sadly) - is the necessary distinction between surface level aesthetics (corpse paint, "occult" lyrics, tremolo guitars, low-fi production, drumming technique) and the actual essence of the music being played.

Take Vermin's Bloodthirst Overdose, and compare it with something like the much overrated Fukked by God by Antekhrist for good measure.

Both have harsh vocals, distorted guitars, low-fi production, and extensive, blast-beat reliant drumming. Yet, Antekhrist is all form but no substance, whereas Vermin's opus is widely regarded as the pinnacle of technical black metal (also known as blackened death metal, or sometimes dark metal).

Why is that? Simply because Vermin's music would sound evil even if played on a 3 string banjo, a kazoo trombone, or a medieval flute. Or any other musical instrument, for that matter. It's the composition of the music that makes it true black metal, something much more profound than just the "type of vocals" employed or the level of distortion (which can be easily emulated digitally nowadays, so why even bother pretending to be "more low-fi than thou"?).

At the end of the day, what constitutes actual black metal is the ability of the composer, or the composers, to create an atmosphere of darkness that transports the listener into another realm of morbid artistic appreciation.

Easier said than done, I know, which is why I'll leave you with these suggestions to expand your repertoire of real, genuine black metal music, and once you get accustomed to what true black metal actually is, one day - who knows? - you'll be able to separate the real deal (Burzum) from the posers (Dark Funeral) upon your very first listen. No questions asked. It becomes a semi-automatic process, just like when you skip ads or politely ignore drunk and aggressive panhandlers. It becomes second nature to spot the fake and the insincere (and black metal is all about sincerity).

So here are a few certified true black metal albums that will help you expand your knowledge of what makes actual black metal music. 1) Phantom - Ascension of Erebos, Leader of the Gods, 2) Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss or Filosofem - it's up to you, really, based on which one you prefer, 3) Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, 4) Leader - Burzum Sha Ghâsh - nothing to do with the band Burzum, mentionned above, and lastly 5) Helgrind - Demon Rituals - perhaps the most primitive of any black metal ever recorded.

Take the time to really dive deep into these black metal masterpieces and UNDERSTAND what makes them stand apart from the legions of low rent imitators. And always remember, it's about quality over quantity. Depth of knowledge, over width of knowledge. In metal music and pretty much everywhere else in life.

Back to Metal News.