Black metal: Difference between revisions

The seeds of 'black metal' were planted in the early [[1980s]], with the emergence of what would later be known as the "First Wave" of black metal bands. This wave included the [[United Kingdom|British]] band [[Venom (band)|Venom]], whose full-length debut album, ''[[Welcome to Hell]]'' ([[1981]]), and the [[1982]] follow-up aptly titled ''[[Black Metal (album)|Black Metal]]'', was a huge inspiration to the future black metal scene (not to emerge until around a [[decade]] later). The music was in many ways similar to later black metal, sharing with it a less than polished production, "unclean" vocals, and elements of that overall harshness which would later come to define the genre. Venom's clothing style was also similar to that of the future black metal bands, including leather pants and spiked wristbands. Furthermore, Venom's members adopted [[pseudonyms]], the original lineup being [[Conrad Lant|Cronos]], Mantas, and Abaddon.

Another early source of inspiration for the black metal scene was the [[Sweden|Swedish]] band [[Bathory (band)|Bathory]], led by [[Quorthon]] (Thomas Forsberg). Bathory were in many respects pioneers of the black metal genre, tweaking the suboptimal production standards of Venom to better suit their raspy vocals and furiously fast tempo, as heard on early albums such as ''[[The Return (album)|The Return]]''. Bathory would continue to innovate, adding elements such as acoustic instruments, [[Scandinavia|Scandinavian]] folk music themes, and lyrics heavily influenced by [[Norse mythology]], which would become influential enough to spawn an entire sub-genre known as [[Viking metal]].

Other influences include [[Hellhammer]], [[Celtic Frost]], and the [[Denmark|Danish]] band [[Mercyful Fate]], which featured [[occult]] and [[blasphemous]] themes, something later black metal bands would embrace wholeheartedly. [[King Diamond]], vocalist and front man of Mercyful Fate, was one of the first to appear in [[corpsepaint]], something the vast majority of the black metal bands of the 1990s would imitate. Lastly, the "Second Wave" of black metal can be said to owe a debt to the Italian band [[Death SS]], which mixed [[Horror fiction|horror]] themes with [[thrash metal]] in the late 70s and early 80s.