Black Metal is Dead

[Conservationist]

I wouldn't say that much of "modern Black Metal" is Black Metal in the slightest

On the other hand, many people would say that a musical genre can evolve, just as a band's music evolves. 

Evolve just means changes over time, to biologists. In a saner view, it means adapts to one's environment. Evolution can be devolution, which every half-bright science student will quickly tell you is not a scientific term. So what -- black metal hasn't evolved toward a higher form of art; it has been assimilated by mainstream rock and punk.

Post-1994 black metal is mostly that assimilation.

The Norwegians invented the genre. Venom was just heavy metal with punk tempos.

[Conservationist]

Speaking of dying, Xasthur just died -- to be resurrected as an indie/drone project:

http://xasthurnews.blogspot.com/2010/03/out-now-and-ending-now.html

Hipsters killed black metal. Art is finding meaning within that's compatible with the world. Hipsters are empty within, and therefore fear the world, and so they dress up the safely mundane as the ironic, wild, crazy, etc. Decay is always hip. Hipsters came into black metal and turned it into indie rock/punk. Now we all see the end result. Their labels are going bankrupt, their fans are fairweather friends, and now the whole sick sellout is collapsing. Good. 'What is falling, push!'

[scourge]

One of the more amusing trolls:

Except maybe sodomy, there aren't many ways to win at anything while wearing studded leather.

[Xr]

Black Metal is on suspended animation. Till... say... WE NEED A FUCKING WAR!!!!!

crap

Western life is plushy lately.

[Libido_Itch]

Speaking of dying, Xasthur just died -- to be resurrected as an indie/drone project:

I want to know how a band like Xasthur has gotten so popular and acclaim over the years, when I heard the first cd i would have never thought.

Also, a lot of these kids making bm parody videos have metalcore bands..

[Umbrage]

I heard this band is the new trend:
http://www.myspace.com/thedevilsblood

I probably need to readjust my senses and consider "retro" to be automatically shit. At first I thought bands like Negative Plane could lead to an interesting new subgenre within BM that uses seventies influences in ways that the early Greek BM bands hadn't done yet. But this is just boring rock music with some psychedelic touches. Damn u ajna offensive!!1

Oh and good riddance on Xasthur but it seemed like the trend was dying for a while already anyway. I guess the shift to indie/drone is a good business move.

[WAAAAAAGH!]

I heard this band is the new trend:
http://www.myspace.com/thedevilsblood

I probably need to readjust my senses and consider "retro" to be automatically shit. At first I thought bands like Negative Plane could lead to an interesting new subgenre within BM that uses seventies influences in ways that the early Greek BM bands hadn't done yet. But this is just boring rock music with some psychedelic touches. Damn u ajna offensive!!1

Oh and good riddance on Xasthur but it seemed like the trend was dying for a while already anyway. I guess the shift to indie/drone is a good business move.

Oh but they are deep with all the pyramid sigils on their myspace page and stoner 70's melodies. Ajna offensive has a more than this band to put down its name. If I recall, Funeral Mist and DSO are sold there.

[Father_Thunder]

One of the more amusing trolls:




Whatever happened to that metal fail/win thread anyway?

Someone just needs to make a "metal illustrated" poster for morons - left column has a series of win photos against a right column of fails.

Post good photos if you have any; the fail ones should be easy to find on the net haha,

That made it look better...

[.....]

Sell these to the Black Metal hipster

http://skuls.superdiesel.net/index_eng.html

[istaros]

If Black Metal is a style which was played ten years ago, or twenty years ago, and is now merely mimicked, then it's pretty dead.

If it's being mimicked, it is the same. So it's been dead all along?

To respond to your earlier statement, it is not "simplicity", but, rather, "the appearance of simplicity" which is prevalent (in some cases) in Black Metal.

I don't see any musical complexity whatsoever in Darkthrone, Burzum, Bathory, etc. As with most ambient music, any complexity comes about only in listening to (not just hearing) the music. The complexity is in the reaction and the meaning, not the method. The method is an absolute dearth of frills - this is where black metal's magic lies. It means something without requiring an academic explanation for understanding that meaning. You're given a very basic template, and your mind (or soul, if you're inclined to believe in such a thing) is set free to roam. Any baroque components, even if hidden, would only serve as roadbumps.

It's also where the genre's pitfall lies. Simplicity is easy to replicate. It's almost impossible to replicate well.

[killgod]

there are decent black metal band out there like satyricon , old cradle of filth ,behemoth, dark funeral, venom, the list goes on and on.
this goes  any genre of music,  as long as tours and cds are sold it and people still listen to its not dead .

[nothingnowhere]

there are decent black metal band out there like satyricon , old cradle of filth ,behemoth, dark funeral, venom, the list goes on and on.
this goes  any genre of music,  as long as tours and cds are sold it and people still listen to its not dead .

As long as they buyin' we be sellin' !!!!!

Who cares if black metal is dead? We could sit around and have the same conversations about it over and over again, or we can move on and listen to quality music.