In the 1980s, black metal was a term that denoted any band that was
using Satanic or occult themes in their lyrics. Most of the time, the overall aesthetics of the band and their albums matched
this. Some bands, such as Bathory, Slayer and Possessed were likely just using this image to come off as extreme. With Venom,
it almost seemed like a tongue-in-cheek 'fuck off' to the establishment, more than anything else. Then there was Mercyful
Fate, a band that appeared to be taking the occult matters very seriously. In any event, these old bands were adhering to
the traditional rock and metal attitude of rebelling against the norm. Throughout the '80s, more bands came along to join
the Satanic legions, with the likes of Sodom, Hellhammer, Poison, Tormentor and others joining the crusade against Christianity.
As the decade wore on, many bands dropped the Satanic lyrics and imagery, which was taken by many as a sign that they were
not serious about it. It would be up to the next generation of black metal bands to take things to a new level.
In the grim lands of Norway, a scene was developing that was centered around the band Mayhem. As Euronymous and his band mates turned from the gore-inspired themes of their youth to the dark and Satanic approach that would culminate on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, many of the younger musicians were influenced by this and followed suit. Not content to simply wear cod-pieces and use choreographed moves and pyro, Mayhem did their best to create a morbid atmosphere on stage with the use of rotten pig heads, as Dead cut himself and bled all over the place. Of course, Dead's subsequent suicide was used by Euronymous to further add to the mystique surrounding Mayhem. Some felt that his reaction to, and exploitation of, this death was rather tasteless, but he was determined to show just how serious his band was, compared to those that came before. Concepts of darkness, evil and death were not just lyrical themes; they were a way of life. This ideology crept into many other members of the Norwegian scene, who were not only resurrecting the old black metal style, but were adding their own black magic and creating something new. However, the significance of the musical developments in Scandinavia will forever be overshadowed by the extracurricular activities that followed the release of such albums as Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism, Wrath of the Tyrant, Burzum and A Blaze in the Northern Sky. Several of these musicians went on to commit various crimes, most notably murder and church burning. This took things to an unprecedented level. Whereas Venom and Mercyful Fate sang the praises of Hell and Satan, these guys were taking an active part in the war against the oppressive Judeo-Christian establishment, going so far as to burn down historic churches that they felt had no business being built on Norwegian soil. It seemed as if many of them were living in their own world, unbound by the rules that most people take for granted. This was quite evident by the time Varg Vikernes murdered Euronymous. Things were quite out of hand. Churches continued to burn, on and off, and the murders even spread to Sweden, as Jon Nödtveidt of Dissection got himself mixed up with a murder and a prison stay. Clearly, the second generation of black metal bands had made a definitive statement that they were more dedicated to Satan, the occult and the destruction of Christianity. However, their behaviour often led to their own personal destruction. Those that followed were aware of the countless downfalls of living such an extreme lifestyle, and most of them backed away from the edge that many had leapt from. Yet they still wanted to be taken just as seriously, if not moreso, than their predecessors.
And so it came to pass that the modern era of black metal became filled with musicians that profess to take everything quite seriously; however, while wishing to appear extreme and to be respected in the black metal scene, they want no part of the troubles that come along with killing people and burning down houses of worship. As with most people that fear taking actual action, they take the moral high road and claim to be wiser and more mature than the bands that had influenced them. They are very cautious, but desperately want to be taken seriously and have no desire to return to the ways of the '80s, when it looked like most were just using Satanism as a cool and rebellious image. It is understandable that they want to feel as if they are taking things to yet another level. In their case, it is more spiritual. At least, that's what they say. The strange thing is that a lot of these bands that belong to the 'Orthodox' black metal camp come off as quite feeble-minded and laughable. These people seem as if they spend all of their free time studying scripture, rather than listening to old Bathory records. Their lyrics reflect a severe devotion to the Book of Lies, also known as the bible. Whereas the preceding generations of black metal musicians had a firm grip on reality in the sense that they recognized Judeo-Christian mythology as the nonsense that it is and wrote about destroying it, modern bands are true believers in the Great Lie. Some well-known musicians in the scene even believe in the existence of god. This breed of theistic Satanists almost seem to be working to the opposite effect of those that came before them; i.e. necessitating the existence and legitimacy of god based on their spiritual stance. Unfortunately, many of today's black metal musicians spend more time studying theology than history, and they are willingly brainwashing themselves into believing in one of the greatest hoaxes to ever plague mankind. As a result, they are spreading this filth to their followers.
It is a sad thing that so many humans are afflicted with herd mentality. Most people want so desperately to be part of something, no matter what it is, just so they won't be alone. All too often, heavy metal in general has been looked upon as some sort of boys' club or a refuge for rejects. Those that think for themselves or analyze things with a critical mind are more and more in the minority while the sheep continue to follow their misguided shepherds. This is quite prevalent within the black metal scene. As if it is not bad enough that we have all of these idiot bands that try to give legitimacy to the bible with how they constantly refer to it as anything other than a work of fiction; the majority of their fans are just as weak-minded as they are. In what can be looked at as a form of idol-worship, many fans these days take on the beliefs of the bands that they listen to. That is not to say that all of them really believe, since it is quite common for people to put on an image that has nothing to do with their true thoughts. Still, a great number of these morons really seem to soak up anything that their 'masters' say. There then came a noticeable shift in what these fans were spending their money on. Less and less were they buying the actual albums or t-shirts or even bullet belts and spikes. Increasingly, they began spending all of their spare cash on occult books and religious texts in general. It all may come down to some huge conspiracy to raise book sales for Jewish occult authors.
In the grim lands of Norway, a scene was developing that was centered around the band Mayhem. As Euronymous and his band mates turned from the gore-inspired themes of their youth to the dark and Satanic approach that would culminate on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, many of the younger musicians were influenced by this and followed suit. Not content to simply wear cod-pieces and use choreographed moves and pyro, Mayhem did their best to create a morbid atmosphere on stage with the use of rotten pig heads, as Dead cut himself and bled all over the place. Of course, Dead's subsequent suicide was used by Euronymous to further add to the mystique surrounding Mayhem. Some felt that his reaction to, and exploitation of, this death was rather tasteless, but he was determined to show just how serious his band was, compared to those that came before. Concepts of darkness, evil and death were not just lyrical themes; they were a way of life. This ideology crept into many other members of the Norwegian scene, who were not only resurrecting the old black metal style, but were adding their own black magic and creating something new. However, the significance of the musical developments in Scandinavia will forever be overshadowed by the extracurricular activities that followed the release of such albums as Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism, Wrath of the Tyrant, Burzum and A Blaze in the Northern Sky. Several of these musicians went on to commit various crimes, most notably murder and church burning. This took things to an unprecedented level. Whereas Venom and Mercyful Fate sang the praises of Hell and Satan, these guys were taking an active part in the war against the oppressive Judeo-Christian establishment, going so far as to burn down historic churches that they felt had no business being built on Norwegian soil. It seemed as if many of them were living in their own world, unbound by the rules that most people take for granted. This was quite evident by the time Varg Vikernes murdered Euronymous. Things were quite out of hand. Churches continued to burn, on and off, and the murders even spread to Sweden, as Jon Nödtveidt of Dissection got himself mixed up with a murder and a prison stay. Clearly, the second generation of black metal bands had made a definitive statement that they were more dedicated to Satan, the occult and the destruction of Christianity. However, their behaviour often led to their own personal destruction. Those that followed were aware of the countless downfalls of living such an extreme lifestyle, and most of them backed away from the edge that many had leapt from. Yet they still wanted to be taken just as seriously, if not moreso, than their predecessors.
And so it came to pass that the modern era of black metal became filled with musicians that profess to take everything quite seriously; however, while wishing to appear extreme and to be respected in the black metal scene, they want no part of the troubles that come along with killing people and burning down houses of worship. As with most people that fear taking actual action, they take the moral high road and claim to be wiser and more mature than the bands that had influenced them. They are very cautious, but desperately want to be taken seriously and have no desire to return to the ways of the '80s, when it looked like most were just using Satanism as a cool and rebellious image. It is understandable that they want to feel as if they are taking things to yet another level. In their case, it is more spiritual. At least, that's what they say. The strange thing is that a lot of these bands that belong to the 'Orthodox' black metal camp come off as quite feeble-minded and laughable. These people seem as if they spend all of their free time studying scripture, rather than listening to old Bathory records. Their lyrics reflect a severe devotion to the Book of Lies, also known as the bible. Whereas the preceding generations of black metal musicians had a firm grip on reality in the sense that they recognized Judeo-Christian mythology as the nonsense that it is and wrote about destroying it, modern bands are true believers in the Great Lie. Some well-known musicians in the scene even believe in the existence of god. This breed of theistic Satanists almost seem to be working to the opposite effect of those that came before them; i.e. necessitating the existence and legitimacy of god based on their spiritual stance. Unfortunately, many of today's black metal musicians spend more time studying theology than history, and they are willingly brainwashing themselves into believing in one of the greatest hoaxes to ever plague mankind. As a result, they are spreading this filth to their followers.
It is a sad thing that so many humans are afflicted with herd mentality. Most people want so desperately to be part of something, no matter what it is, just so they won't be alone. All too often, heavy metal in general has been looked upon as some sort of boys' club or a refuge for rejects. Those that think for themselves or analyze things with a critical mind are more and more in the minority while the sheep continue to follow their misguided shepherds. This is quite prevalent within the black metal scene. As if it is not bad enough that we have all of these idiot bands that try to give legitimacy to the bible with how they constantly refer to it as anything other than a work of fiction; the majority of their fans are just as weak-minded as they are. In what can be looked at as a form of idol-worship, many fans these days take on the beliefs of the bands that they listen to. That is not to say that all of them really believe, since it is quite common for people to put on an image that has nothing to do with their true thoughts. Still, a great number of these morons really seem to soak up anything that their 'masters' say. There then came a noticeable shift in what these fans were spending their money on. Less and less were they buying the actual albums or t-shirts or even bullet belts and spikes. Increasingly, they began spending all of their spare cash on occult books and religious texts in general. It all may come down to some huge conspiracy to raise book sales for Jewish occult authors.
Eventually, the bands and fans alike should realize that training to become a biblical scholar does not make you more evil than the next person, nor does writing lyrics that come off as twisted bible verses make you more intelligent than the older bands that wrote about raping nuns and killing priests. This shift is one reason why the original vocalist for Deathspell Omega left the band, as he saw the writing on the wall. Putting all of this faith into the Great Lie of Judeo-Christian mythology is a sign of mental weakness. If these bands want to one-up those that came before them, without risking jail-time by setting fire to churches or killing people, then the only other option is to actually put some effort toward making worthwhile music. Very few modern bands are even bothering with this aspect of it, preferring to use various gimmicks to try to set themselves apart from the older bands, when it is clear that their music is vastly inferior, in most cases. Even bands that have made decent music lose some respect when they go on talking about their theistic Satanism and how well versed they are in Jewish nonsense. All they are doing is making themselves look ridiculous and contributing to this growing trend. It is sometimes good to understand and know your enemy, but these people would do well to put down the bibles and spend more time with their guitars.