[Column] Black Metal: Genealogy of darkness and aesthetics

Column en BlackMetal ExtremeMetal History Metal

26 Nov 2025

[Column] Black Metal: Genealogy of darkness and aesthetics

Black Metal — History of the evolution of dark music

Text: mmr｜Theme: Comprehensive tracing of black metal with detailed regional analysis, individual band sections, subdivision chronology, and illustrations

Black metal has evolved in its own way, embracing extreme expression, anti-establishment, and aesthetic destruction. This genre is one of the most complex in the history of metal music, as it comprehensively intertwines not only musicality but also ideology, culture, regional characteristics, and artistic expression.

Prologue: Why black metal is “special”

Black metal is the most “conceptual” and most “aesthetic” of heavy metal, It is also the genre that is most influenced by cultural background.

You can’t tell just by the characteristics of the sound. Religious views, geographical environment, ethnic culture, philosophy, political situation, natural environment, recording techniques, and underground ethics. All of these things combine to make black metal a unique entity that is different from other genres.

In this article, we will comprehensively organize the overall picture based on historical facts, and Furthermore, Regional analysis, deep digging of individual bands, and chronological breakdown are also integrated. Build the definitive full-length black metal theory.

Chapter 1: Origins — The germ of dark aesthetics in the 1970s

Black metal is often thought to have originated in the 1980s, but Its foundation was established at the dawn of heavy metal in the 1970s.

■ “Darkness” of Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath’s debut in 1970 was The concept of “dark” such as occultism, ominousness, and gloomy mood is at the center of metal.

■ Important elements before the appearance of Venom

Influence of occult literature
Expansion of demonological expressions
Popularization of anti-religious art
Proximity of street culture and extreme music

The “spiritual origins” of black metal were already beginning to emerge at this stage.

Chapter 2: First Wave (1981-1989)—Establishment of wild darkness

In 1981, Venom was born. Their 1982 album Black Metal gave rise to the genre’s name.

■ Characteristics of the first wave

Thrash/speed metal style
Rough playing
Full-scale devil worship/antichrist
Lo-fi recording
Live-focused violence

■ Key bands

Venom (UK)
Bathory (Sweden)
Hellhammer → Celtic Frost (Switzerland)
Sarcofago (Brazil)
Tormentor (Hungary)

The music of the first wave was wild; The texture is completely different from the later ““cold, spiritual, icy’’ second wave black.

However, the aesthetic framework (Satan, anti-religion, dark recording, anti-commercialism) was established.

Chapter 3: Second Wave (1990-1998) — Norway changed the world

The most important era in black metal history was 1990-1998. The focus was on young Norwegian underground musicians.

■ Key concepts

Establishing lo-fi recording as “aesthetics” *Tremolo riff
Scream Vo
Expression of “ice wasteland” through repetition and speed
Corpse Paint
Natural view of winter, forest, and solitude

■ Representative band

Mayhem
Darkthrone
Burzum
Emperor
Immortal
Satyricon

■ Serious incident

1991: Dead of Mayhem passed away.
1992: Church arson incident
1993: Euronymous murder case
1993–1994: Major album releases all at once

The Norwegian scene combines violence and aesthetics. Sparking a global debate, black metal is more than just music. It has become a cultural phenomenon.

Chapter 4: Third Wave (1998-2005)—Global Spread and Mutation

While inheriting the sound image of the second wave, Since 1998, internationalization and diversification have progressed rapidly.

■ Main trends

Rise of USBM (Leviathan, Xasthur)
French DSÔ/LLN philosophy
Progressive (Enslaved)
Atmospheric-oriented
Fusion with folk music

Black metal is said to be a “diversification of ideas, music, and cultural areas.” Move to a new phase.

Chapter 5: Fourth Wave (2005-2025) — Post-Black and Multiculturalization

Since 2005, while inheriting the traditional aesthetics, “New light,” “new emotions,” and “new view of nature” are introduced, Black metal is being redefined.

■ Representative trends

Post-Black/Blackgaze (Alcest, Deafheaven)
North American type based on nature spirituality (WITTR)
Global spread of atmospheric systems
Expansion of Eastern European nationalism and natural poetics (Drudkh)
New Generation in East Asia (Zuriaake et al.)

Black metal is no longer just a European thing. It has evolved into “conceptual music born from the reactions of cultures around the world.”

Here, we will systematically delve into the bands that have become the cornerstone of black metal history by era, region, and trend.

Venom (UK): The progenitor that defined the genre name

Start of activities: 1979 Representative works: Black Metal (1982), Welcome to Hell (1981)

Although Venom does not have many of the “philosophies” and “aesthetics” typical of black metal, They were the first band to strongly present the term “Black Metal” in the title of their work. *Musically, it has a rough sound that falls between thrash, punk, and NWOBHM.
Chronos and other members did not seriously advocate religious mysticism; Uses Satanism/anti-religion as a shock factor.
As a result, later generations of Scandinavian black artists regarded Venom as the origin of “attitude, not music.”

Bathory (Sweden): Establishing the foundations of musical black metal

Central character: Quorthon Major works: Bathory (1984), The Return… (1985), Under the Sign of the Black Mark (1987)

Bathory was the first to clarify the “musical format” of Scandinavian black metal.
Features
Guitar like a wall of noise
Screaming voice with deep and wide echo
Minimal structure of the riff
Faster rhythm (especially 1985-87)
The melody line is reminiscent of Sweden’s unique “chill” and “humidity” and is directly connected to subsequent movements.
In the 90’s, they transitioned to the Viking metal period, and went beyond the scope of black metal to recreate Norse mythology aesthetics.

Mayhem (Norway): Center of the Norwegian Circle

Major works: Deathcrush (1987), De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (1994)

The member composition, incidents, and ideology are all symbols of the second wave of black metal.
Dead (Per Ohlin)’s stage performance (corpse make-up, raw meat, etc.) A decisive event that brought ritual elements of “death and inhumanity” into black metal.
Euronymous is based in Helvete (a record store in Oslo). **Formation of a black metal inner circle (close small community). **
Later gained worldwide attention for the Euronymous murder case (1993) and the church arson incident.

Burzum (Norway): Establishment of minimalism and mysticism

Central character: Varg Vikernes Major works: Burzum (1992), Det Som Engang Var (1993), Hvis lyset tar oss (1994)

The music aims for thorough minimalism, A style that aims to create a trance-like nature and the collapse of the sense of time through repetition.
Continuing to make a strong statement in the Norwegian cultural and religious debate in the early 1990s, Due to excessive media coverage, black metal’s ““dangerous image’’ was established.
After the incident (murder of Euronymous) and arrest, Burzum’s sound source became more ambient-oriented.

Darkthrone (Norway): Defining the lo-fi aesthetic

Major works: A Blaze in the Northern Sky (1992), Under a Funeral Moon (1993), Transilvanian Hunger (1994)

Until 1991, it was oriented toward death metal, but **Strongly influenced by Bathory, they established the “purest form” of Scandinavian black metal. **
The recording is extremely lo-fi,
Vertical guitar wall
Monotonic hi-hat and snare hits
Extremely light base becomes the definitive version of the “sound of Scandinavian black metal” = “cold sound.”

Emperor (Norway): Creating a symphonic expanse

Major work: In the Nightside Eclipse (1994)

Due to extensive use of the keyboard, A pioneer who expanded black metal to orchestral sound**.
Samoth and Ihsahn’s biaxial structure became the prototype for all later symphonic BMs.

Immortal (Norway): An original arctic mythology

Major works: Battles in the North (1995), At the Heart of Winter (1999)

Build a fictitious ice and snow world called “Blashyrkh”, It is unique in that it emphasizes fictional myth rather than violence.
The speed of the guitar and drums and the density of the fictional world became the source of later “fantasy BM”.

Chapter 7: Specialized analysis by region (systematized by country/cultural background)

Norway: Second Wave Temple

Main axis: Mayhem / Burzum / Darkthrone / Emperor / Immortal / Satyricon and others *Cultural background
Discontinuation between Christianity (Lutheranism) as the national religion and ancient Nordic culture
Blockade of youth culture in the early 1990s
Historical friction between politics and religion
Musical features
Lo-fi oriented
Scandinavian folk descending phrase of the melody
Tremolo riff with a frigid atmosphere

Sweden: the land of melody and order

Main axis: Bathory / Marduk / Dark Funeral / Dissection
Features
Sweden is stable in recording technology; Produces a unique sound that combines coldness and high resolution.
Dissection’s introduction of death melodies spread to melodic BM all over the world.

Finland: hotbed of xenomorphs

Main axis: Beherit / Impaled Nazarene
Features
Noise, Primitives, Raw Satanism, etc. The most “heretical” black metal is concentrated.
Emphasis on “ceremoniality” rather than quality of recording.

France: a post-black pioneer

Main axis: Deathspell Omega / Blut Aus Nord
Features
Philosophical, anti-dogmatic, and avant-garde expressions stand out.
Since the 2000s, it has formed one of the central trends of black metal in the world.

America (US Black Metal): A melting pot of diversity

Main axis: Leviathan / Xasthur / Wolves in the Throne Room
Features
Cascadian BM (nature worship type)
DSBM (Depression)
Ambient BM Each style has been subdivided and led its global expansion.

Eastern Europe: The magnetic field of paganism and nationalism

*Russia, Ukraine, Poland

Drudkh, Nokturnal Mortum, Graveland etc.
Folklore/mythology/indigenous culture has a high proportion.

Chapter 8: Chronology

— Major events + list of masterpieces by year —**

Below is a fact-based timeline. Incidents and works are based on the year of official release and year of occurrence.

1980–1984 (primordial phase)

1981

Venom *Welcome to Hell 1982

Venom Black Metal (Opportunity for establishing genre name) 1984 Bathory *Bathory (defines the musical basis of Nordic BM)

1985–1989 (musical format established)

1985

Bathory *The Return…… 1987

Bathory Under the Sign of the Black Mark Mayhem *Deathcrush EP

Masterpiece

Celtic Frost (Switzerland) *Into the Pandemonium (1987) — The archetype of the avant-garde direction.

1990–1993 (era of second wave and incidents)

1990

Immortal formation
Emperor formation

1991

Mayhem: Dead (fact)
Darkthrone: Decided to switch from death metal to black metal direction

1992

Burzum Burzum
Darkthrone A Blaze in the Northern Sky

1993

Occurrence of multiple church arson incidents (facts)
Euronymous murder case (facts)
Burzum Det Som Engang Var

1994–1999 (genre expansion/maturation)

1994

Mayhem De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas Emperor *In the Nightside Eclipse
Burzum Hvis lyset tar oss Darkthrone *Transilvanian Hunger

1995

Immortal Battles in the North
Gorgoroth debut

1996–1999 masterpiece

Satyricon Nemesis Divina (1996)
Immortal At the Heart of Winter (1999)

2000–2010 (Post-Black/DSBM/Rise of US forces)

2003

Xasthur *The Funeral of Being (Foundation of DSBM)

2006

Wolves in the Throne Room *Diadem of 12 Stars (Establishment of Cascadian BM)

2010

Deathspell Omega’s philosophical trilogy reaches worldwide acclaim.

2011–2020 (Globalization and Crossover)

Towards an era where regional characteristics are incorporated, mainly in Japan, Eastern Europe, North America, and South America
Blackgaze (black roar + shoegaze) type is expanding in Europe and America
Raw Black Metal resurgence (especially in conjunction with Bandcamp culture)

Chapter 9: Diagram: Black Metal Trend System Diagram

flowchart TD A[1980s Primitive / Venom・Bathory] --> B[1990-93 Second wave / Mayhem・Burzum・Darkthrone] B --> C[Mainstream Scandinavia / Emperor・Immortal・Satyricon] B --> D[Eastern European Pagan / Drudkh・Graveland] B --> E[US Lo-Fi・DSBM / Leviathan・Xasthur] C --> F[Symphonic BM / 2000s Europe] E --> G[Cascadian BM/WITTR] F --> H[Post-black avant-garde / D.S.O.Blut Aus Nord]

Summary: What is black metal

Although black metal is a school of metal music, it is a ““comprehensive cultural phenomenon’’ with roots in many fields, including religion, aesthetics, philosophy, recording culture, and local society. More than just destructive music, it has evolved in different directions in various places, and has at times permeated art, literature, and visual culture.

Cold, darkness, spirituality, rebellion, solitude, celebration, ritual. All of these exist simultaneously in black metal.

Black metal music grew as a reflection of the climate, culture, and history of a particular region.
Since the 1990s, multipolarization (from centered on Norway to the rest of the world) has progressed.
Incidents, ideas, and social backgrounds had a strong influence on genre evaluation and image formation, In terms of music history, the essence is the changes in each band’s work structure and recording aesthetics.
Since the 2000s, it has been subdivided into avant-garde, nature-worshipping, DSBM, and post-BM. Expansion continues until the 2020s.

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