Thursday, November 10, 2011

11•11•11 A Date with Special Meaning?

Dates such as 11/11/11, are happening more often since the start of the new millennium.

The hype for these special dates is building across popular culture, with films and stories being made about the end of the world and news reports about expectant parents eagerly waiting for their children to be born on these dates.

But is there a special meaning behind these unique dates? Or is it just pure math?

Significance of 11/11/11
Based on past calendar dates such as 10/10/10, or October 10, 2010, no significant or unusual phenomenon occurs simply because of a date that has the same numbers in a sequence.

The numerical sequence of November 11 holds a special significance in the binary numeral system, which is the base-2 number system that represents numeric values using two symbols, 0 and 1. The date of November 11 has a binary number of 111110 where it has a decimal equivalent of 62 in the year 2010, and a binary number of 111111 with a decimal equivalent of 63 in the year 2011.

The number eleven has a special characteristic in mathematics where it is the sixth prime number. It contains some interesting peculiarities where the number eleven times itself equals a palindrome:
(2 digits) 11 x 11 = 121
(6 digits) 111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
(9 digits) 111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321

Special days observed on 11/11/11
Various events occur in different parts of the world on November 11. These events include:

• Veterans Day in the United States.
• Remembrance Day in Australia.
• Remembrance Day in Canada.

Many Americans, Canadians and Australians have a moment of silence at 11am (11:00) local time on November 11 each year to honor soldiers who fought for their country.

Dates such as 11/11/11 are also popular for weddings, product or service launches, and other planned events as the date is easy to remember.

The Great Blue Norther of 11/11/11
The Great Blue Norther of November 11, 1911 was a cold front that affected the central United States. Many cities had record high temperatures in the early afternoon and record dropping temperatures by nightfall. This was the only day that many cities in the Midwest were able to break record highs and lows for the same day.

Cities such as Springfield, Missouri recorded a high of 80°F (27°C) before the cold front, 40°F (4°C) by nightfall, and a record low of 13°F (-11°C) by midnight. The main cause for the dramatic cold snap was an extremely strong storm system that separated the warm, humid air from the frigid, arctic air.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Gorgoroth - Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam

Gorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. Formed in 1992 by Infernus (who is also the only original member remaining), the band is named after the dead plateau of evil and darkness in the land of Mordor from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The group is currently signed to Regain Records and have released eight full-length studio albums. A re-recording of their third album, Under the Sign of Hell, was released in 2011, and a new full-length album has been in the works since late 2009.

Early Years (1992 - 1995)
Gorgoroth was founded in 1992 by guitarist Infernus after making a pact with the devil. In 1993, the band released their first demo, entitled A Sorcery Written in Blood. On January 7, 1994, Firda, the major newspaper in the county of Sogn og Fjordane where the band originated from, ran a cover story on the demo, with the headline "Local music with Satanic symbolism". According to the article, the release of the demo and flyers with Satanic symbols led to "concerned parents contacting the Sheriff's Office in Fjaler". After the demo was released, Gorgoroth signed a record deal with Embassy Productions and started work on their debut full-length Pentagram. When bassist Kjettar left the band in 1993, Samoth of Emperor joined Gorgoroth as their new bassist, and participated in the recording of the album. After Pentagram was completed and released in 1994, drummer Goat left the band and was replaced by Frost from Satyricon. The band performed their first concert at Lusa Lottes Pøbb in Oslo, Norway, on May 3, 1994, at a four-day Black Metal Nights festival with bands such as Dark Funeral (who also made their live debut), Dissection, Enslaved, Marduk (who played their first gig abroad), Gehenna and Hades Almighty.

This was followed by gigs with Enslaved in Bergen (in June and September) and in Haugesund (in November), and the band performed their first gig abroad in Annaberg-Buchholz in Germany on December 10, 1994. The same year, the band commenced the recording of Antichrist (originally titled Død), their second full-length album.

Pest (left) and Infernus in 2010
Vocalist Hat decided to leave Gorgoroth in September 1995, but agreed to finish recording the vocal tracks for Antichrist. After Hat left, Infernus recruited vocalist Pest from Obtained Enslavement as Gorgoroth's new vocalist. In December 1995, the band supported Cradle of Filth at the London Astoria, a show which also included the band Primordial. This marked the first Gorgoroth live appearance of both vocalist Pest and bassist Ares. In 1995 the band had been offered a record deal with Moonfog Productions, but this offer was rejected in favour of an offer made by German label Malicious Records. Malicious Records released the band's second album, Antichrist, in 1996, and also re-released the debut album Pentagram. The band went on a European tour with Satyricon and Dissection in April 1996, followed by a one-off gig in Bergen with Hades Almighty and Gehenna, at which the live EP The Last Tormentor was recorded. The band also played a one-off gig in the fall in Bischofswerda, Germany, with Behemoth. Soon the name Gorgoroth was commonplace in the black metal underground, both in Norway and in the rest of Europe, if somewhat overshadowed by some of the more famous black metal bands such as Mayhem or Emperor. The band's third full-length album, Under the Sign of Hell, was recorded in spring 1996, and guitarist Tormentor joined the band later in the year. Under the Sign of Hell was released in 1997, and Gorgoroth went on their first headlining European tour in fall 1997, with support by Mystic Circle. It was on this tour that Infernus and Tormentor were approached by the major German heavy metal record label Nuclear Blast, who wanted to sign the band. The band accepted the offer in late 1997.[citation needed]

Tenure with Nuclear Blast (1997–2004)
The move to Nuclear Blast was controversial among many black metal enthusiasts who pertained to the tenets of an 'underground black metal scene', however Gorgoroth sought to utilise Nuclear Blast's distribution capacity for their own ends. The first album recorded and released for Nuclear Blast was Destroyer (1998). New singer Gaahl joined the band at this time, but was heard on only one song, the title track "Destroyer". The music and lyrics on the album were mainly written by Infernus, but guitarist Tormentor also contributed as composer, most notably on the title track, and former vocalist Pest wrote the lyrics on 4 tracks. In May 1998, Gorgoroth played five dates in Germany on Cradle of Filth's European tour, with support from Old Man's Child and Einherjer. Gorgoroth also performed at Wacken Open Air in summer 1998,[14] and performed at the Tuska Open Air Metal Festival in Helsinki, Finland, and in Oslo, Norway with Gehenna and Dødheimsgard.

In 1999, Gorgoroth began journeying into unknown territory with the recording of Incipit Satan. Though mainly written by Infernus once again, the album delved into musical ideas not expanded upon by the group in previous recordings. Songs such as "Will to Power" showcased strong industrial, dark ambient, and noise influences (more so than on Destroyer and Under the Sign of Hell, both of which showed signs of experimentation). The song "When Love Rages Wild in My Heart" featured clean, bluesy vocals. Overall, the album displayed progressive tendencies, yet still retained a traditional black metal edge and Infernus' signature sound. The album was recorded during 1999, after drummer Vrolok and bassist T-Reaper had left the band and been replaced by drummer Erlend Erichsen (a.k.a. Sersjant) and bassist King ov Hell. Drummer Erlend Erichsen left the band after the recordings were finished, and Incipit Satan was released in 2000, preceded by a European tour in December 1999, supporting Morbid Angel.

In May, 2000, Gorgoroth headlined a European tour, with bands like Old Man's Child and Krisiun as supporting acts. In early June 2000, Gorgoroth performed at the first Hole in the Sky festival in Bergen, Norway. This festival was arranged in memory of former Gorgoroth drummer Grim, and also included bands such as Immortal, Enslaved, Obtained Enslavement, Hades Almighty and Aeternus. On June 23, 2000, Gorgoroth headlined the "Knüppelnacht" stage at the With Full Force festival in Leipzig, Germany.

After a couple of Norwegian concerts in 2000 and 2001, Gorgoroth made their hitherto only live appearance in the US, at the Milwaukee Metalfest in August 2001. In September and October 2001, the band went on two mini tours of Mexico and Colombia. In 2001 Gorgoroth was also featured on a tribute album to the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem, with a cover version of that band's "Life Eternal" from the De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas album. This song had been recorded in 1998, and featured Gaahl on vocals, as well as Infernus and Tormentor on rhythm guitars, T-Reaper on lead guitar and bass, and Vrolok on drums. This is the only released Gorgoroth recording which has not appeared on a full-length Gorgoroth album. In February 2002, vocalist Gaahl was put into custody after being accused of having beaten a man at an after-party. This led to him having to serve 9 months in prison in 2002, due to an already existing unserved 1-year sentence for previously committed acts of violence. He was released from prison in December 2002.

In 2002, Tormentor decided to quit the band due to no longer being able to cooperate with King, ending the stable 5-piece line-up of Gaahl, Infernus, Tormentor, King ov Hell and Kvitrafn, which had been formed in 2000. After Tormentor's departure, Gorgoroth began writing their new album, Twilight of the Idols. The album showed a return to a more solidified black metal style, but was still quite different from early Gorgoroth releases, mainly due to the fact that most of the album's songs were written by bassist King and drummer Kvitrafn rather than Infernus. The band played their first live gig in a year and a half at Garage in Bergen in April 2003, with Tormentor returning as guitarist for a one-off show.

Twilight of the Idols was released by Nuclear Blast in May 2003, and the band subsequently performed at the Hole in the Sky festival in Bergen in August 2003. This marked the first Gorgoroth live appearance of session guitarist Apollyon of Aura Noir.

Controversy in Kraków (2004)
On February 1, 2004, during a concert being recorded for a DVD in Kraków, Poland, the band displayed sheep heads on stakes, a bloodbath of 80 litres of sheep's blood, Satanic symbols, and four naked crucified models on stage. A police investigation took place with allegations of religious offence (which is prosecutable under Polish law) and cruelty to animals. Though these charges were considered, the band was not charged as it was ruled that they were unaware of the fact that what they were doing was illegal, although the concert organiser was eventually fined 10000zł in 2007 as he knew about it and neither informed the band that it was against the law nor intervened. The whole controversy led to the band being dropped from the roster of the Nuclear Blast Tour and the footage of the concert being confiscated by the police. Following this controversy - and with Gorgoroth also having achieved a larger degree of worldwide recognition through Nuclear Blast's distribution facilities - the contract between both parties was bilaterally terminated. Gorgoroth further secured a reputation as a band with a vehement anti-Right Hand Path agenda, of which select employees in the company were alleged to have felt uneasy with due to their own personal beliefs.

After a successful South American tour of Brazil, Chile and Argentina, and a performance at Norway's Inferno Festival, it was announced in April 2004 that drummer Kvitrafn had decided to leave the band. For the band's European and Central American headlining tours of October and November 2004, drummer Dirge Rep (ex-Enslaved, Gehenna) and guitarist Teloch (Nidingr) were recruited.

Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam (2005–2007)
After various gigs around Norway and Europe in the first half of 2005, including the With Full Force Festival in July, Gorgoroth then went out on a month long European tour with 1349 in November 2005, this time with Skagg (Gaahlskagg) replacing Teloch as live guitarist. On December 10, 2005, Gorgoroth played live in Trondheim, Norway, a gig which was to be their last live performance until summer 2007.

Gorgoroth released Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam in June 2006 through Regain Records. This was only the second Gorgoroth album to be released since 2000's Incipit Satan - a noticeable reduction in productivity from a band that had previously released 2 demos, 5 full-length albums and 1 live EP between 1993 and 2000. For the recording of the new album, Frost again performed on the drums. This album helped the band to expand its fan base. A short time after the album was released, bassist King quit the band. According to the official website, King left because he "had problems fronting some of the ideological aspects of his band GORGOROTH's agenda".

In an interview made shortly after quitting the band, he confirmed he had problems with the ideology in public, but not in his private life. Gorgoroth was nominated in the "Metal" category at the 35th annual Spellemann Awards for this album (the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy Awards). Gaahl served a sentence in jail from spring to December 2006 for the assault which happened in February 2002, and Infernus served a 4-month sentence for 'gross negligent rape' between October 2006 and March 2007, for an incident which took place in 2003. When the latter was released, it was reported that Infernus had started 'working on new material, both music and lyrics for an upcoming album, title yet undecided'.

In January 2007, it was reported that Gaahl was under investigation by Norwegian Police for his comments in an interview in Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005), which had been broadcast on Norway's Lydverket NRK 1 on January 24, 2007, where he said 'church burnings are things that I support one-hundred percent, and they should have been done much more and will be done much more in the future'. In April 2007, a 5-part series entitled True Norwegian Black Metal, produced by Peter Beste for Vice, aired on VBS.tv, covering some of the aspects of Gaahl's life. With King back in the band, the video for 'Carving a Giant' off Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam was also filmed and broadcast on Norwegian MTV that month.

In July and August 2007, Gorgoroth returned to the live arena with performances at festivals in Norway, Germany and the Czech Republic. In September 2007, the band went on a South American tour of Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador and Chile with Belphegor. These would be the last Gorgoroth concerts to feature Gaahl and King.

Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt (2007 onward)
In October 2007, Infernus announced the decision of Gaahl and King ov Hell to part ways on the band's official Myspace page. Gaahl and King claimed that they had "fired" Infernus from Gorgoroth and claimed the rights to the name of the band, with King having made a trademark application the previous month. This dispute was concluded in March 2009 when a court verdict was announced, which recognised Infernus as the legitimate user of the name and that Gaahl and King had excluded themselves from Gorgoroth upon attempting to remove the founding member.

Shortly after parting ways with Gaahl and King, Infernus said that he was in the process of finishing and preparing the material he reportedly started in October 2006 and was first reported writing when he was released on parole in March 2007, declaring the title to be Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt, to be released on Regain Records. He also stated that future live performances would minimalise use of the Gorgoroth songs written between 2002 and 2004 (although only three songs by King ov Hell and two by Kvitrafn - four of which had lyrics written by Gaahl - were ever performed live), and that priority would be given to both older and brand new material. In December 2007, he revealed Tomas Asklund and Frank Watkins had joined Gorgoroth as drummer and bassist, respectively. Watkins later took the stage name "Bøddel", which is the Norwegian word for "Executioner".

In April 2008, Infernus announced he was to depart for Stockholm, Sweden, where the next few months were spent rehearsing the material for Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt in Tomas Asklund's Monolith Studio.

The controversial 2004 Kraków concert was finally released on DVD in June 2008, more than 4 years after its recording. It was released by Metal Mind Productions under the title Black Mass Krakow 2004, and entered the Norwegian music DVD chart at position 4 in its first week of release. It remained in the charts for five weeks, peaking at a number 3 position.

On May 30, 2008, Regain Records announced the June 2008 release of True Norwegian Black Metal - Live in Grieghallen, a new Gorgoroth album which had been recorded live in studio in mid-October 2007. The recording line-up consisted of Infernus on guitars and bass, Gaahl on vocals, Teloch on session guitars, and Garghuf on session drums. However, ostensibly in part due to the circumstances of the ongoing name dispute, the distribution of the album was temporarily halted in July 2008, with the final decision to be made in a yet-to-be announced trial in Sweden.

Infernus also announced in August that a pre-recording for Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt was made with guitars, bass and drums. After having spent the previous few months rehearsing in Monolith Studio, Infernus said that he was working on arrangements with assistance from former Gorgoroth guitarist Tormentor.

In September 2008, Infernus announced Tormentor had accepted his offer to rejoin Gorgoroth, together with Tomas Asklund and Bøddel. On December 4, 2008, it was announced that Pest had returned as the vocalist.

Shortly after the conclusion of the Gorgoroth name dispute, recording of Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt began when Tomas Asklund commenced with the drum tracks in Monolith Studio. Infernus "manually recorded six basic guitars" for the album, and Bøddel and Pest recorded bass and vocals respectively in June.

In May 2009, it was announced that Gorgoroth would play live again on August 29, 2009, at the 10th anniversary edition of the Hole in the Sky festival in Bergen, Norway. This would be the band's first live appearance since September 2007.

In late June 2009, it was announced that the vocals on True Norwegian Black Metal - Live in Grieghallen were rerecorded by Pest. A week later the release dates and track listing for Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt were revealed.

At the band's headlining concert at the Hole in the Sky festival on August 29 the set list consisted mainly of older material, including two songs off the Pentagram album which had not been performed live since October 1997. The band also performed live, for the very first time, the new song "Aneuthanasia" off Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt. Gorgoroth also performed at UKA 2009 in Trondheim, Norway, on October 19, 2009. This concert coincided with the release of Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt.

Upon its release the album was well received, with many reviewers commenting on the band's return to its roots, comparing the album with earlier releases like Antichrist (1996). It was revealed in October 2009 that work on the follow-up to Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt, including rehearsals by Infernus and Tomas Asklund in Stockholm, had taken place around that time. On April 1, 2010, it was officially announced that half of the yet-to-be-titled new album had been prerecorded in pre-production form, and that work on the album would continue through the year in between touring and festival appearances, with a tentative 2011 release date.

In April 2010 Gorgoroth embarked on a mini-tour of Europe consisting of five dates in Germany as well as one each in France, Belgium, Italy and Holland, to promote Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt. The band also performed at five European festivals in summer 2010: Germany's Summer Breeze Open Air festival, the Ragnarök Festival in Germany, Brutal Assault in the Czech Republic, Bloodstock Open Air in the UK, and the Finnish festival Jalometalli. In September 2010, Gorgoroth embarked on a mini-tour in South America and were announced to be touring Europe again in November 2010 after switching to Massive Music booking agency.

It was announced in October 2010 that the band was about to put the finishing touches on a re-recording of their 1997 release Under the Sign of Hell, with a probable early-to-mid 2011 release date, as well as giving a tentative late 2011 release date for the next album containing newly written material.

Suppression of lyrics and tablature
Gorgoroth not only refuses to publish their lyrics - and in some cases tablature, but also actively suppresses any public showings of fan-written reconstructions. The reason for this suppression is not fully known, though Infernus has expressed disdain towards the prospect of material being covered by other bands, among other reasons. The metal-lyric website Darklyrics.com contains the message “Gorgoroth lyrics removed due to copyright complaint by the band,” in lieu of any actual lyrics.

The Story of Black Metal

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure.

During the 1980s, several thrash metal bands formed a prototype for black metal. This so-called "first wave" included bands such as Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Sarcófago. A "second wave" arose in the early 1990s, spearheaded by Norwegian bands such as Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, Immortal and Emperor. This scene developed the black metal style into a distinct genre.

Black metal has often been met with hostility from mainstream culture, mainly due to the misanthropic and anti-Christian standpoint of many artists. Moreover, several of the genre's pioneers have been linked with church burnings and murder. For these reasons and others, black metal is usually seen as an underground form of music. Additionally some have been linked to neo-Nazism, however it should be noted that many black metallers and most prominent black metal musicians reject Nazi ideology and oppose its influence on the black metal subculture.

Instrumentation
Black metal guitarists usually favor high-pitched guitar tones and a great deal of distortion. The guitar is usually played with much use of fast tremolo picking and dissonance. Guitarists often use scales, intervals and chord progressions that yield the most fear-inducing and foreboding sounds. Guitar solos and low guitar tunings are rare in black metal.

The bass guitar is seldom used to play stand-alone melodies. It is not uncommon for the bass guitar to be inaudible (or almost inaudible) or to homophonically follow the bass lines of the guitar. Typically, drumming is fast-paced and uses double-bass and/or blast beats.

Black metal songs often stray from conventional song structure and often lack clear verse-chorus sections. Instead, many black metal songs contain lengthy and repetitive instrumental sections.

Vocals and lyrics
Traditional black metal vocals are high-pitched and raspy and include shrieking, screaming and snarling. This is in stark contrast to the low-pitched growls of death metal.

The most common and founding lyrical theme is opposition to Christianity and other organized religions. As part of this, many artists write lyrics that could be seen to promote atheism, antitheism, paganism or Satanism.

The hostility of many secular or pagan black metal artists is in some way linked to the Christianization of their countries. Other oft-explored themes are depression, nihilism, misanthropy, death and other dark topics. However, over time, many black metal artists have begun to focus more on topics like the seasons (particularly winter), nature, mythology, folklore, philosophy and fantasy.

Production
Low-cost production quality was a must for early black metal artists with low budgets, where recordings would often take place in the home or in basements; a notable example of such is the band Mayhem, whose record label Deathlike Silence Productions would record artists in the basement of the shop Helvete.

However, even when they were able to raise their production quality, many artists chose to keep making low fidelity (lo-fi) recordings. The reason for this was to stay true to the genre's underground roots and to make the music sound more "raw" and "cold". One of the better-known examples of this is the album Transilvanian Hunger by Darkthrone – a band that has been said to "represent the DIY aspect of black metal" by Johnathan Selzer of Terrorizer magazine. Many have claimed that, originally, black metal was not meant to attract a big audience. Vocalist Gaahl said that during its early years, "black metal was never meant to reach an audience, it was purely for our own satisfaction".

Imagery and performances
Unlike artists of other genres, many black metal artists do not perform concerts. Bands that choose to perform concerts often make use of stage props and theatrics. Mayhem and Gorgoroth among other bands are noted for their controversial shows; which have featured impaled animal heads, mock crucifixions, medieval weaponry, and band members doused in animal blood.

Black metal artists often appear dressed in black with combat boots, bullet belts, spiked wristbands, and inverted crosses/pentagrams to reinforce their anti-Christian or anti-religious stance.[1] However, the most stand-out trait is their use of corpse paint – black and white makeup (sometimes mixed with real or fake blood), which is used to create a corpse-like appearance.

In the early 1990s, most pioneering black metal artists used simple black-and-white pictures or writing on their record covers. This could have been meant as a reaction against death metal bands, who at that time had begun to use brightly-colored album artwork. Most underground black metal artists have continued this style. In the main, black metal album covers are usually atmospheric or provocative; some feature natural or fantasy landscapes (for example Burzum's Filosofem and Emperor's In The Nightside Eclipse) while others are violent, perverted and iconoclastic (for example Marduk's Fuck Me Jesus and Dimmu Borgir's In Sorte Diaboli).

FIRST WAVE

The first wave of black metal refers to those bands during the 1980s who influenced the black metal sound and formed a prototype for the genre. They were often speed metal or thrash metal bands.

Venom's album, titled Black Metal inspired the name of the genre.
The term "black metal" was coined by the English band Venom with their second album Black Metal (1982). Although deemed thrash metal rather than black metal by today's standards, the album's lyrics and imagery focused more on anti-Christian and Satanic themes than any before it. Their music was fast, unpolished in production and with raspy or grunted vocals. Venom's members also adopted pseudonyms, a practice that would become widespread among black metal musicians.

Another major influence on black metal was the Swedish band Bathory, led by Thomas Forsberg (under the pseudonym Quorthon). Not only was Bathory's music fast, lo-fi and anti-Christian, Quorthon was also the first to use the "shrieked" vocals that came to define black metal. The band played in this style on their first four albums: Bathory (1984), The Return of Darkness and Evil (1985), Under the Sign of the Black Mark (1987) and Blood Fire Death (1988). At the beginning of the 1990s, Bathory pioneered the style that would become known as Viking metal.

Other artists usually considered part of this movement include Hellhammer and Celtic Frost (from Switzerland), Kreator, Sodom and Destruction (from Germany), Bulldozer and Death SS (from Italy), Tormentor (from Hungary), Von (from USA), Sarcófago (from Brazil) and Blasphemy (from Canada).

SECOND WAVE

The second wave of black metal began in the early 1990s and was spearheaded by the Norwegian black metal scene. During 1990–1994 a number of Norwegian artists began performing and releasing a new kind of black metal music; this included Mayhem, Thorns, Burzum, Darkthrone, Immortal, Satyricon, Enslaved, Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Gorgoroth, Ulver and Carpathian Forest. They developed the style of their 1980s forebears as a distinct genre that was separate from thrash metal. This was partly thanks to a new kind of guitar playing developed by 'Blackthorn' (Snorre Ruch) of Thorns/Stigma Diabolicum and 'Euronymous' (Øystein Aarseth) of Mayhem. 'Fenriz' of Darkthrone has credited them with this innovation in a number of interviews. He described it as being "derived from Bathory" and noted that "those kinds of riffs became the new order for a lot of bands in the '90s". As seen below, some members of these Norwegian bands would be responsible for a spate of crimes and controversy, including church burnings and murder. Within this scene, an aggressive anti-Christian mindset became a must for any artists to be finalized as "black metal". 'Ihsahn' of Emperor believes that this trend may have developed simply from "an opposition to society, a confrontation to all the normal stuff". Visually, the dark themes of their music was complemented with corpsepaint, which became a way for black metal artists to distinguish themselves from other metal bands of the era.

In neighboring countries, bands began to adopt the style of the Norwegian scene. In Sweden this included Marduk, Dissection, Lord Belial, Dark Funeral, Arckanum, Nifelheim and Abruptum. In Finland, there emerged a scene that mixed the black metal style with elements of death metal and grindcore; this included Beherit, Archgoat and Impaled Nazarene. Black metal scenes also emerged on the European mainland during the early 1990s - again inspired by the Norwegian scene. In Poland, a scene was spearheaded by Graveland and Behemoth. In France, a close-knit group of musicians known as Les Légions Noires emerged; this included artists such as Mütiilation, Vlad Tepes, Belketre and Torgeist. Bands such as Von, Judas Iscariot, Demoncy and Profanatica emerged during this time in the United States, where thrash metal and death metal were more popular among extreme metal fans.

By the mid 1990s, the style of the Norwegian scene was being adopted by bands worldwide. Newer black metal bands also began raising their production quality and introducing additional instruments such as synthesizers and even full-symphony orchestras.

Helvete and Deathlike Silence
During May–June 1991, Øystein Aarseth (aka 'Euronymous') of Mayhem opened an independent record shop named Helvete (Norwegian for hell) in Oslo. Musicians from Mayhem, Burzum, Emperor and Thorns often met there, and it became the foremost outlet for black metal records. In its basement, Aarseth founded an independent record label named Deathlike Silence Productions. With the rising popularity of his band and others like it, the underground success of Aarseth's label is often credited for encouraging other record labels, that previously shunned black metal acts, to then reconsider and release their material.

Dead's suicide
On 8 April 1991, Mayhem vocalist Per Yngve "Pelle" Ohlin (aka 'Dead') committed suicide in a house shared by the band. While fellow musicians often described Ohlin as odd and introverted off-stage, his on-stage persona was very different. He went to great lengths to make himself look like a corpse and would cut his arms while singing.

He was found with slit wrists and a shotgun wound to the head; the shotgun was owned by Mayhem guitarist Øystein Aarseth (aka 'Euronymous'). Ohlin's suicide note read "Please excuse all the blood" and included an apology for firing the weapon indoors. Before calling the police, Aarseth went to a nearby shop and bought a disposable camera to photograph the body, after re-arranging some items. One of these photographs was later used as the cover of a bootleg live album called Dawn of the Black Hearts.
In time, rumors spread that Aarseth had made a stew with bits of Ohlin's brain and had made necklaces with bits of his skull. The band later denied the former rumor, but confirmed that the latter was true. Moreover, Aarseth claimed to have given these necklaces to musicians he deemed worthy. Mayhem bassist Jørn Stubberud (aka 'Necrobutcher') noted that "people became more aware of the [black metal] scene after Dead had shot himself ... I think it was Dead's suicide that really changed the scene". Two other members of the early Norwegian scene would later commit suicide: Erik Brødreskift aka 'Grim' (of Immortal, Borknagar, Gorgoroth) in 1999 and Espen Andersen aka 'Storm' (of Strid) in 2001.

Church burnings
Musicians and fans of the Norwegian black metal scene took part in over 50 arsons of Christian churches in Norway from 1992 to 1996.Some of the buildings were hundreds of years old and seen as important historical landmarks. One of the first and most notable was Norway's Fantoft stave church, which police believed was burnt by Varg Vikernes of the one-man band Burzum. However, Vikernes would not be charged until his arrest for the murder of Øystein Aarseth ('Euronymous') in 1993 (see below). The cover of Burzum's EP Aske (Norwegian for ashes) is a photograph of the Fantoft stave church after the arson. The musicians Samoth, Faust, and Jørn Inge Tunsberg were also convicted for church arsons.

Today, opinions on the church burnings differ within the black metal community. Guitarist Infernus and former vocalist Gaahl of the band Gorgoroth have praised the church burnings in interviews, with the latter saying "there should have been more of them, and there will be more of them". However, Necrobutcher and Kjetil Manheim of Mayhem have berated the church burnings, with the latter claiming "It was just people trying to gain acceptance within a strict group [the black metal scene] ... they wanted some sort of approval and status".

Euronymous's murder
On 10 August 1993, Varg Vikernes of Burzum murdered Mayhem guitarist Øystein Aarseth (aka 'Euronymous'). That night, Vikernes and Snorre Ruch of Thorns traveled from Bergen to Aarseth's apartment in Oslo. Upon their arrival a confrontation began, which ended when Vikernes fatally stabbed Aarseth. His body was found outside the apartment with 23 cut wounds – two to the head, five to the neck, and 16 to the back.

It has been speculated that the murder was the result of a power struggle, a financial dispute over Burzum records, or an attempt at "out doing" a stabbing in Lillehammer the year before by another black metal musician, Bard 'Faust' Eithun.[28] Vikernes claims that Aarseth had plotted to torture him to death and videotape the event – using a meeting about an unsigned contract as a pretext. On the night of the murder, Vikernes claims he intended to hand Aarseth the signed contract and "tell him to fuck off", but that Aarseth attacked him first. Vikernes also said that most of Aarseth's cut wounds were caused by broken glass he had fallen on during the struggle.
Whatever the circumstances, Vikernes was arrested within days and in May 1994 was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the murder and for four church burnings. Vikernes smiled at the moment his verdict was read and the image was widely reprinted in the news media. In May 1994, Mayhem finally released the album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, which features Aarseth on electric guitar and Vikernes on bass guitar. In 2003, Vikernes failed to return to Tønsberg prison after being given a short leave. He was re-arrested shortly after while driving a stolen car with various weapons. Vikernes was released on parole in 2009.

Conflict between scenes
There was said to have been a strong rivalry between Norwegian black metal and Swedish death metal scenes. Fenriz and Tchort have noted that Norwegian black metal musicians had become "fed up with the whole death metal scene" and that "death metal was very uncool in Oslo" at the time. A number of times, Euronymous sent death threats to some of the more mainstream death metal groups in Europe. Allegedly, a group of Norwegian black metal fans even plotted to kidnap and murder certain Swedish death metal musicians.

A brief feud between Norwegian and Finnish scenes gained some media recognition[citation needed] during 1992 and 1993. The feud was partly motivated by seemingly harmless pranks; for example Nuclear Holocausto of the Finnish band Beherit made prank calls in the middle of the night to Samoth of Emperor (in Norway) and Mika Luttinen of Impaled Nazarene (in Finland). The calls consisted of senseless babbling and playing of children's songs, although Luttinen believed them to be death threats from Norwegian bands.[citation needed]

Notably, the album cover of Impaled Nazarene's Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz has "No orders from Norway accepted" and "Kuolema Norjan kusipäille!" ("Death to the assholes of Norway!") printed on the back. The Finnish band Black Crucifixion criticized Darkthrone as "trendies" due to Darkthrone originally being a death metal band.

Stylistic divisions
Symphonic black metal is a style of black metal that uses symphonic and orchestral elements. This may include the usage of instruments found in symphony orchestras (piano, violin, cello, flute and keyboards), 'clean' or operatic vocals and guitars with less distortion.

Viking metal are terms used to describe black metal bands who incorporate various kinds of folk music. Viking black metal bands focus solely on Nordic folk music and mythology. Their harsh black metal sound is "often augmented by sorrowful keyboard melodies". Vocals are typically a mixture of high-pitched shrieks and 'clean' choral singing. The origin of Viking metal can be traced to the albums Blood Fire Death (1988) and Hammerheart (1990) by the Swedish band Bathory. In the mid 1990s, Irish bands such as Cruachan[38] and Primordial began to combine black metal with Irish folk music.

Blackened death metal is a style that combines death metal and black metal.

Ideology
Black metal is generally opposed to Christianity and supportive of individualism. Arguably, this is the only coherent sentiment among black metal artists. In a Norwegian documentary, Fenriz stated that "black metal is individualism above all". Artists who oppose Christianity tend to promote atheism, antitheism, paganism, or Satanism. Some musicians – such as Euronymous, Infernus and Erik Danielsson – have insisted that Satanism should be foremost.[43][44] Occasionally, artists write lyrics that appear to be nihilistic and misanthropic, although it is debatable whether this represents their mentality. In some cases, black metal artists have also espoused romantic nationalism, although the majority of those involved are not outspoken with regard to this. Nonetheless, many black metal artists seek to reflect their surroundings within their music. The documentarist Sam Dunn noted of the Norwegian scene that "unlike any other heavy metal scene, the culture and the place is incorporated into the music and imagery".

Regarding the sound of black metal, there are two conflicting groups within the genre – "those that stay true to the genre's roots, and those that introduce progressive elements". The former believe that the music should always be minimalist – performed only with the standard guitar-bass-drums setup and recorded in a low fidelity style. One supporter of this train of thought is Blake Judd of Nachtmystium, who has rejected labeling his band black metal for its departure from the genre's typical sound. A supporter of the latter is Snorre Ruch of Thorns, who stated that modern black metal is "too narrow" and believes that this was "not the idea at the beginning".

Some prominent black metal musicians believe that black metal does not need to hold any ideologies. For example, Jan Axel Blomberg said in an interview with Metal Library that "In my opinion, black metal today is just music." Likewise, Sigurd Wongraven stated in the Murder Music documentary that black metal "doesn't necessarily have to be all Satanic, as long as it's dark."

To this day, there are still many bands who believe in specific philosophies and ideologies. Aaron Weaver from Wolves in the Throne Room stated in an interview with Brooklyn Vegan, "I think that black metal is an artistic movement that is critiquing modernity on a fundamental level saying that the modern world view is missing something."

Unblack metal
Unblack metal, or Christian black metal, is a term used to describe musically black metal sounding artists whose lyrics and imagery promote Christianity. The Australian band Horde's debut album Hellig Usvart, released through Nuclear Blast Records, is often credited for being the first Christian black metal album, though the sole member, Anonymous, has stated that "there were similar [unblack] bands prior to Horde, even in Norway," referring to the band Antestor who formed in 1990, although prior to 1993 they were a death/doom band called Crush Evil. Hellig Usvart caused great controversy in the black metal scene, and death threats were sent to Nuclear Blast Records headquarters demanding them to release the members' names. The name of Anonymous was later revealed as Jayson Sherlock, a drummer for Mortification and Paramaecium.

Many in the black metal scene see "Christian black metal" as an oxymoron. On the British black metal documentary Murder Music: A History of Black Metal (2007), all interviewed musicians stated when asked about the matter that black metal cannot be Christian. The term "Christian black metal" drew confused replies from the black metal musicians, for example Martin Walkyier of the English metal band Sabbat commented: "'Christian black metal?' What do they do? Do they build churches? Do they repair them? (laughs)" Early groups such as Horde and Antestor refused to call their music "black metal" because they felt that the style was strongly associated with Satanism. Horde called its music "holy unblack metal," and Antestor preferred to call their music "sorrow metal" instead. However, many current Christian black metal bands, such as Crimson Moonlight, feel that black metal has changed from an ideological movement to a purely musical genre, and that is why they also call their music black metal.

National Socialist black metal
National Socialist black metal (NSBM) is a term used for black metal artists who promote National Socialist (Nazi) beliefs through their music and imagery. NSBM is not regarded as a distinct subgenre, as there is no way to play black metal in a National Socialist way. Some black metal bands have made references to Nazi Germany for shock value, causing them to be wrongly labeled as NSBM. Due to his writings, Varg Vikernes is regarded as the main inspiration for the NSBM movement. Vikernes, however, has tried to distance himself from Nazism and the NSBM scene, preferring to refer to himself as an odalist instead of a "socialistic", "materialistic" Nazi.

NSBM artists are a small minority within black metal, according to Mattias Gardel. They have been criticized by some prominent and influential black metal musicians – including Jon Nödtveidt, Tormentor, King ov Hell, Infernus, Lord Ahriman, Emperor Magus Caligula, Richard Lederer, Michael W. Ford and the members of Arkhon Infaustus. They categorize Nazism alongside Christianity as authoritarian, collectivist, and a "herd mentality".

taken from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_metal