Black Metal

“There are too many bands out there playing this dark, forbidden music, with little or no interest for what it truly means,” says Malphas, of Inconcessus Lux Lucis, demonstrating that there are still musicians dedicated not only to black metal, but also its values. But what exactly does black metal mean? Getting in touch with some of the scene’s key players, David Keane attempts to unearth the current state of British black metal.

The black metal scene may often be divided and fraught with hostility yet one point of unity is that it is not about unity. “It is intelligent, spiritual, mysterious, aggressive, antagonistic, strong and above all individual,” explained Donn of Teutoburg Forest. Teutoburg Forest is just one of the scene’s numerous one-man bands that are springing up with increasing regularity, along with the likes of Inconcessus Lux Lucis, and the acclaimed Instinct. Joining them are one-man labels and distribution companies such as Wolf’s Hook Records, Legion Blotan and Darkness Shade Records, battling on to keep the dark flame of black metal burning in the UK. When asked ‘what is black metal?’ the same responses consistently crop up. “It is cold, introspective and isolated music for barbarians,” said Rob Bones who single-handedly runs the black metal zine ‘Blast!’

Of course, not every British black metal band features a solitary figure, clad in black, shrieking long into the night. There are plenty of groups gaining momentum, be it underground bands such as Necro Ritual and Hateful Abandon, or those with larger fan-bases like Anaal Nathrakh and Hecate Enthroned. And Britain is currently seeing the progression of many of its underground acts, with the recent signing of Winterfylleth and Wodensthrone to Candlelight Records, one of the biggest names in the business.

But what links many of these bands, each with different influences, whether it be Instinct’s nature, or Necro Ritual’s Satanism, is the recreation of these individual feelings in music. Donn said: “I saw the music as a manifestation of the spirit and philosophy,” and George Proctor of Legion Blotan went further stating: “Black Metal isn't just music, get used to it or forget about it and move on to something else.” This is evident even to the black metal newcomer, as Martin Brindley of Hateful Abandon and previously Basilisk fame explained: “When I first heard it, it felt like genuine terror, the horror behind the vague melody.”

Many of the genre’s musicians are reluctant to state musical influences on their work. As Malphas explained: “In my opinion, true art is an expression of the self, not a reflection of other’s work.” Instinct’s Verst was unable to cite any real influence musically other than perhaps Darkthrone. He said: “I am inspired and influenced by more non-musical things such as nature and solitary spirituality. My surroundings are reflected musically also; cold, vast, miserable, dark, epic, beautiful, mournful.” Yet such a stance seems bizarre given that all of these bands demonstrate a similar ‘sound’. Verst conceded that: “There is of course a framework in which to work with black metal.”

It is refreshing to hear, however, a whole genre of music that appears to have little interest in commercial success. Neither Wolf’s Hook Records, Legion Blotan, Ancient Trail Recordings nor Darkness Shade Records claim to make any profit from the bands they promote or distribute. Yet this is not to say money is no issue within the scene. Verst explained: “As long as those f**kers keep uploading releases on the internet and the vultures keep downloading mine and others work, then the labels will collapse.”

No label means no release. With many barely covering production costs with the limited number of sales, it means the underground is relying on labels to be run by fans working for the love of the music. Malphas set up Grim Being Records simply to release his own Inconcessus Lux Lucis album, and ensure it was handled correctly. And with the ease of uploading music to the internet via Myspace and YouTube, promoters can be inundated with new acts. Martin said: “It’s probably harder [for a new black metal band] now it’s pissing bands from the sky.”

But don’t black metal bands prefer to remain underground? Verst declares that he is comfortable staying in the ‘murky recesses’ of the UK underground. This is a particular point of contention within the scene, and has led to numerous bands, who have signed with more established labels, being marked as ‘sell-outs’. Anaal Nathrakh are one such band. The band’s multi-instrumentalist Mick Kenney said: “I’ve heard people saying even Anaal Nathrakh are a 'sell out' and we aren’t really even that popular.” But he shrugged off the notion. “Underground people seem to hate anything that gets even slightly popular,” he said.

It seems that not every black metal band want to continue the tradition of limiting releases to 666 blood-stained copies. Don wants as much exposure for Teutoburg Forest as possible. He said: “Not wanting to be popular is a black metal cliché that has been perpetuated by too many people who want to live in the romantic ideal of black metal.” Paul of Darkness Shades Records pointed out: “I'm sure if any British black metal band got offered a PRO-CD pressed 1000 times they would take it.”

Then what is stopping black metal reaching the heights of its metal siblings heavy metal and death metal in Britain? Asking this question seems to universally bring responses of disdain towards the state of British society. Here, at least, they can agree on something. Malphas said: “We live in a very disgusting, materialistic society, where you have to be a clone to be accepted, and where any spark of individuality is usually extinguished by the blind masses.” But still, this doesn’t explain why other extreme music has found its way onto British music channels.

The issue lies with the lyrical content, and possibly conviction, of black metal’s musical output. Wolf’s Hook Records’ owner, Incinerator, sees this as the genre’s trump card. He said: “This isn’t some ‘safe’ music scene. Some bands deal with a lot of taboo subjects: Satanism, rape, ritual killings, suicide, Nazism, and torture. Some use subjects that I won’t even mention.” Incinerator sees this as a way of ‘weeding out’ those who may be easily offended. Talking about the ‘common people’ and the ‘politically correct media’, Incinerator said: “Stay out of black metal. You’re not welcome. You may see it as some oddity or kitsch thing but it’s not. We are very serious.”

Regardless of black metal’s popularity, or lack of it, it appears those dedicated to it will remain so. Necro Ritual’s Corseth explained: “Black Metal will always exist, whatever new faces, latest fads or flavours of the month that rise and die through the years, the absolute essence has always and will always remain.”

Have we come any closer to discovering what that ‘absolute essence’ of black metal is? Rob Bones called it “cold, introspective and isolated music for barbarians.” Or maybe, as Rob later added, it is merely “a dusty old ancient book with weird symbols and words that you cannot read.” So perhaps not.

Interviews:
Teutoburg Forest
Anaal Nathrakh
Hateful Abandon
Inconcessus Lux Lucis
Necro Ritual
Instinct

Article by David Keane