I think black metal is my new favorite genre

I think it might just be. I'm only 25 and I pretty much discovered the genre a little over five or six years ago, if that, so I'm clearly very young and not of the age to truly call myself "one of the pack" or a "trve kvlt metalhead" or any one of those meaningless labels people within the genre like to tag themselves with to make themselves feel intellectually superior to their fellow metalheads. To be quite frank, I could care less about such imbecilic titles because they mean nothing to me. All I've come to understand is that out of all the various genres of metal I indulge in--death metal, thrash metal, melodic death metal--and even some of the ones I don't listen to that often, but still enjoy like metalcore, deathcore, and power metal, black metal is now my most favorite genre of metal.

Why?

To be honest, I can't quite put my finger on why.

I didn't grow up listening to black metal, I don't harbor any of the views espoused with the more extreme acts within the genre (like DSBM or NSBM), I don't have many favorites in black metal whereas I have tons of favorites in my other favorite genres with songs I can name, albums I've memorized from cover to cover, and so on and so forth, I don't truly understand the culture that makes up the black metal fanbase, and it doesn't evoke any deep emotional responses from me like other genres do.

Maybe it's because of the music and the atmosphere that it evokes with its lyrics, its guitars, and its imagery. When I find a good album by a band I like or I've never heard of (particularly the latter), I like to let myself become immersed in the soundscapes, the riffs, the dark ambiance, the darkness of everything. I'm moved by sounds. I love to hear everything flowing in one cohesive package, no matter if it's atmospheric like The Ruins of Beverast or unrelenting and face-melting like Mayhem or even something beautifully controversial like Myrkur or Deafheaven. Maybe it's because of the imagery. I'm not much of a religious person--in fact, I'm very anti-theist who thinks religion is harmful to people's freedom of thought--but I tend to find myself drawn to the traditional Satanic themes espoused within many of the second-wave bands coming from Norway and Sweden. Could rebelling be the reason, or just out of a morbid curiosity to try and connect with a theme I don't understand? A few years ago, I found myself interested in LaVeyian Satanism, but never really went any farther than saying I was interested in it. Perhaps it was that interest in people behind those forbidden fringes of society like Anton LaVey and Aleister Crowley that propelled my desire to want to embrace black metal as something close to me.

Maybe it's the obscurity of most albums within the genre, the underground appeal, and just its profound effect on how we think about things. One of the things I admit I do enjoy about black metal is how certain groups tend to use their music to make people think more deeply about topics or subjects. It's kind of hard to explain because, as I said earlier, I'm not incredibly knowledgeable about the genre, but I think black metal is a very intelligent genre when it's not spouting off mantras about "Satan!" this and "Rex Luciferi!" that.

So, that's all I can think of. Yeah, black metal might just be my favorite genre of metal. Of all time. Even though Megadeth is my favorite band of all time, Devin Townsend has written one of my favorite songs of all time (I even think he's one of the greatest artists of all time), and Deicide is my favorite death metal band of all time, black metal may take the cake as my favorite genre of all that. And mind you, for me, that encompasses all of the artists in the genre itself.


Here's some songs/artists that have been occupying my time. All in random order:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezig2_SziSY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBaJ7GCNMhY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6in5mzMZfo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5XWwLYeKfE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjyXiQXe5Ow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9cNZQIzShc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnjH-ZYe59c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl_LTFVnwMo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euYYqcycD6c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua7tOjlfHbY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbxuzslkDZk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCFEETZX3SY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUnS93C5U_4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY1rmqsdAVk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bUle4zMYqE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG0NkesIc-Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR-7NPW9xIk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmhOTG0rm5Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nlc72QdseQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqsNdLJ1mRk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yKaOhhQUjk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y37LP_5FrZw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e154E4TgX0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCYxR6ZuU4E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XirpA22qsxo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp9lkveYPmM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAZnHJ9-0EA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptL1NeJ6I2o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOz42CgKjks

Ok.

I went through a black metal phase in my mid-teens.

Hate black metal.

I like the melodic (Gothenburg) aspects best.

Also dig the Atmospheric type stuff and bands that mix it with various styles of folk music.

Some of it is ok. Some of it is wimpy ambient keyboard-y shoegaze sh*t.

mc666 wrote:

Some of it is ok. Some of it is wimpy ambient keyboard-y shoegaze sh*t.

Yeah, I don't get how they even call some of the "atmospheric" stuff "black"

I listen to this one channel while at work. Most of it scratches that itch, but some of it applies to your above description.

I like all kinds of BM including some you have listed but I've no problem with the more ambient/shoegaze/folk/post rock stuff. It's always been there going back to Burzum and Ulver but I like the fact that it annoys people!

Anyone into the black/death hybrid band Thulcandra? I got into them recently, good stuff.

I'm not tr00 enough for black metal. (shrugs)

I like some of it. I don't go in for the utlra grim low production stuff. To me that's just bad product. But well done Black Metal has its place.