Another older article, this time about what it means to be “Black Metal”.

Losing the theatrics of the early and mid ’90s – Euronymous’s constant attempts to portray both the Norwegian scene and himself, as the leader of the scene, as “evil”; the exterior façade of Les Légions Noires, seeking to out-do the Norwegians’ supposed Satanism – many purveyors of modern Black Metal experience only cold, sharp capitalism. To the mind of the mundane man, the entirety of what occurred in Black Metal, both musically and otherwise, is “entertainment”, a short distraction from the drudgery of everyday life, something to laugh and joke about with friends and colleagues. Money goes in; fun comes out. We’ve already ascertained that these people will leave the movement alone, as, indeed, they are doing now, with the endless waves of Hipster Black Metal beginning to falter and fail, and the dominion of Hessiandom rising. However, what is left of something once it has been milked for all it was ever worth?

We should reject the usage of the term “Black Metal” to refer to a specific style of music, a specific way of playing and writing. The core ideas which influenced the early musicians (and by “early musicians”, I’m referring to the second wave, circa ’89 to ’94) yielded vastly different forms of music, from the doomy, atmospheric dream-journeys of Burzum, to the lightning fast battle songs of Immortal, with forays into the musical landscapes of Emperor and the Wintry occultism of Darkthrone and Mayhem. From a technical point of view, Darkthrone stated that palm-muting “was not Black Metal”, despite the fact that Burzum used palm-muting up to and including Hvis Lyset Tar Oss. Euronymous’s playing style relied on tremolo picking and ringing minor chords, whereas Burzum and Emperor made copious use of broken chords and dissonance. Darkthrone inhabited a realm of their own, focusing on absolute simplicity, and rarely deviating from tremolo picked intervals/single notes played over blast/d beats. Even vocal styles were vastly different between these bands, with Burzum opting for the trademark wail, Emperor making use of a subtlely disturbing screech, Darkthrone employing mid-range growls, and Mayhem’s Attila delving into the inner workings of the human voice on every single track, unveiling the extremities of tone and effect therein.

The prime concern of the moment, therefore, is not a solidification of style (which was never the intention until the “third wave” of musicians arrived), but, rather, a solidification of intent. What is the purpose of our music? What are we attempting to evoke (or invoke)? How is our understanding of Reality and its many facets translated into sonic Art?

The observed traits of Black Metal are as follows; understanding of the failures of the modern (human) world (consumerism, materialism, capitalism, individualism); hearkening back to ancient values and concerns (truth, honour, glory, God); respect and reverence for Nature and the natural world (forests, the Moon, wolves); submission to the inevitability of Reality through acceptance of our intrinsic yet surpassable humanity (tl;dr: WAR, bloodshed, struggle); opposition, playing the devil’s advocate (quite literally – “Satanism”, “Nazism”, and so on).

The goal of any artistic endeavour is to “lift the veil from Reality”, in the immortal words of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Through Black Metal, we sift through the awful pleasantries of modern society (humanitarianism, political correctness, social guilt, etc.), and take a peek at what’s really there – Nature, the Supreme Ideal, Death, Suffering, and Power. We, as musicians and artists, must bring these things (and their compatriots) to the centre of our attention, so that we might best enlighten both ourselves and the listeners/viewers/readers.

First of a series of articles I wrote, only this was ever, and will ever be, published:

We inhabit a plurality of worlds, each of which fall in and out of the others, and of which only some are truly “real”, in the sense that they are eternal and indifferent to all other worlds. The two most prominent and common in the modern human’s life are the fundamental world – basic “Reality”, comprising physical and metaphysical objects and forces – and the human world, which is constructed entirely out of ideas, concepts, and memetic entities. The former is, as has been previously stated, indifferent. The latter cannot, by definition, be indifferent, as its very source is human conceptualisation.

There is a single and absolute Reality, which is self-perpetuating. This is what has, for aeons, been called “God”, in the highest sense of the word (Brahman). As humans have evolved and developed, they have constructed for themselves a fortress of humanity, which shields them from the harshness of this single and absolute Reality. We have tried desperately hard to rein in the real world, the forces of Nature, and all aspects of the divine and the mundane which we can experience. We claim land and shape it to our purpose, we build edifices to shelter and house us, we capture and train animals that we might, by our own ingenuity, be aided by an exterior force. As a result of the continuation of these actions, we now see ourselves as being fundamentally superior to all else that exists – certainly on this planet, if not in the entire knowable universe.

Of course, no individual would be so blasé as to state that the human race was the absolute pinnacle of existence, and all else was beneath us. We are not so consciously deceived – it takes no time at all to consider the scenario of a man locked in a room with a ravenous tiger, and we would be hard pressed to favour the man in such a stand-off. However, despite our ability to fathom something greater or more powerful than ourselves, we constantly march against the simple truth that we are not all-powerful in the face of Nature. This leads to a myriad of problems, affecting both the objective Reality and the human world. I will not list these problems: they are evident to those who open their eyes.

I wrote this almost a year ago, and it deserves to be read by more than two people:

Reverence is a necessity, in a world where complacency is the norm. What are we, but the most infinitesimal specks of inanity, compared to the Glory of the Cosmos, the beauty of Nature, the quality of the absolute which is inherent to Reality? We are nothing to Existence, and Existence is everything to us. What right have we to believe it to be the other way around? What right have we to see ourselves as the centres of Existence? What right have we to proclaim that all Existence is void upon our cessation? We have no right, we have no rights, and Nature laughs at our feeble attempts at Power, as she dashes our heads against the rocks, time and time again. Ours is neither the most glorious nor the most prosperous Civilisation, and it is certainly not the most virtuous. We shall fall, as all Men have fallen before us, and all Men shall fall after us, and we shall be remembered in histories of the future as a decadent and futile Civilisation, a failed attempt at a Global Culture. Men conspired to reach the heavens, and so they built a great tower, but God was displeased by their efforts, and he destroyed their creation, and sundered Humanity, that Men might never attempt such a thing again.

Reverence and respect for the Earth that birthed us. Reverence for our Forefathers, our Ancestors, who understood this world, and passed their knowledge down to us. Respect for the Heroes who once walked this world, putting higher goals above themselves, yielding their entire being to greater purpose. What is money to the Man who will live a million lives? Are we not all such men? Is our soul not an eternal object, does our Life not continue, even once this shell is emptied of it? What madman would bear the curse of Karma for hollow joys in one life, while his soul suffers indignity in another life?

I have been born into a life of luxury and ease, and for that I am grateful. I do not need to fight for my food, or my water, or my shelter, I am placed above plants, animals, and common men, and my purpose is to become all that I can be. How many lives are easier than mine, and how many of those lives are wasted on frivolity? We are given life that we might become more than what we are, not so that we can become comfortable in what we are. I am only happy with being who I am, for I am one who strives to become more than he is, and even now, I see a loophole there, which allows me to become better than what I am, for I can strive harder; I can strive to strive, and strive at that, and so on, indefinitely, until my evolution becomes instantaneous, and I am thrust towards Godhead, and my birth will never again occur. For eternity, I will live in contemplative peace and serenity, knowing the eternal joy of continuous existence with God.