Illustrational photo of Gorgoroth
Black metal
is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that emerged from the elements
of extreme metal, such as thrash metal and death metal. Common traits
include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, sonically powerful
instrumentation, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking,
raw recording, unconventional song structures, and an emphasis on
atmosphere. Preformances focus on a macabre visual style with artists
often appearing in corpse paint and using dark lyrical themes.
The early Norwegian black metal scene of the 1990s is credited with
creating the modern black metal genre and produced some of the most
acclaimed and influential artists in extreme metal.
Contrary to popular belief, the black metal community is generally a warm
and welcoming community. People tend to be including and caring, looking
out for each other and making sure every person present has a good time.
Although looks may be deceiving, these environments are a truly great
place to be.