The topic that I chose to inform people on is Norwegian Black Metal culture. Many people are very unaware of anything to do with Norway, let alone a musical subculture. And those that are aware of what people who belong to this subgroup are bothered by the ideals and the violence that Black Metal is associated with. That is not the case; I am hoping to show that those involved are not all the same, I hope to enlighten a conservative audience of the meaning of expression through music. A bit of back-story is perhaps in need for my proposal to even be considered. Black Metal first arose with Venom, a British band. Venom took on a mystical stage presence and thus influenced many artists around the 1980’s.
Black Metal music is an insane assault of both aggressive and beautiful tones. Artists use very technical skills on guitars, and the vocals are very deep and demonic in sound. Most of the material used in Black Metal song writing is Satanic in nature. This is the main reason that fans of this subgenre of metal are looked down upon. Not only the sadist satanic lyrics that cause many people to consider fans degenerates, events that are violent also have a lot to do with the condescending attitude Black Metal fans are faced with. In the early 1990’s a wave of violence rocked Norway at the hands of the “Black Circle”. A group of friends whom decided that they were not going to take the injustice they faced from all forms of authority.
Varg Vikernes, a prominent figure in the scene, lead youths to burn churches, and even went as far as murdering a fellow Black Metal fan/musician himself. This was the dawn of a new era if you will, because what was once frowned upon was now considered dangerous and morally wrong. Vikernes claimed in later interviews that he was ashamed of the way that Christianity and American culture had invaded Norway. He bragged about several of the things that he had done with his friends to newspapers, which ultimately lead to his arrest. In my actual paper, I will expand with detail the extremes of this “culture” and contrast with the normal individuals that listen to, and live by this genre of metal. I hope to show that while Vikernes and others take these strong courses, that not all fans are alike, and therefore should not be pigeonholed by their actions. I will explore the complex natures of the scene, and dissect the extremes from the norms.
Another reason that Black Metal fans are looked down upon is the manner in which they dress. You will typically see them in T-shirts with sometimes “vile” imagery, or you will see the artists, in their nailed arm guards, and spikes galore. As sad as it is, people are still judged by appearance alone. So of course, Black Metal fans are going to get the shitty end of the stick as far as appearance is concerned. However, what conservatives need to know is that many of the people, who listen to Black Metal, are actually quite smart, and gentle in nature. Most of the fans do not want the negative attention that Vikernes generated associated with them. I know that I do not want to have anyone considering me as heathen because of the music I listen too or the views I have. Yet that is what the individuals in Norway face, along with people in other parts of the world. Once the shit storm that was the 1990’s erupted, we have had to justify ourselves as well as explain actions of those involved in those events.
Ames, Mark. "Black Metal Nation: How Norway Spawned the World’s Most Violent Rightwing Metalheads." Exiled Online. Exiled Online, 23 July 2011. Web. 13 Aug. 2011.
Christe, Ian. Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. It, 2004. Print.
Moynihan, Michael, and Didrik Soderlind. Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground. Feral House, 1998, 2003. Print.
Until The Light Takes Us. Dir. Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell. Perf. Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell, Varg "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes, Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg, Kjetil "Frost" Haraldstad, Olve "Abbath" Eikemo. Variance Films, 2010. DVD.
· I will probably use another print source; I have ordered two from Amazon.
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