Perhaps more than any other genre, black metal has been defined and redefined to a point where it is in some ways difficult to square the umbrella with some of the music that falls under it. Even the definition of satanism, that most closely-aligned philosophy, has been read and expressed in so many different and occasionally contradictory ways that it’s reached a point where it could mean anything. To some, this is the whole point, the ultimate freedom. Over the past four decades, black metal has both grown and worn many hats, from the wild-eyed NWOBHM of Venom, to Mayhem’s darkness, through the primitiveness of Darkthrone, the majesty of Emperor, and beyond into rewriting rules and reestablishing old, traditional ones. It would be impossible to truly tell the story ...
