Back Track

A Guitarist’s Guide to the Artists You Need to Know

BLACK METAL

From the faux Satanism of 1980s thrash groups like Venom to the ‘mass psychosis’ of Norway’s notorious Inner Circle and beyond, black metal’s evolution as a genre of extreme music has been a difficult one. While many bands still employ the pageantry of corpse paint and occult symbolism, it’s the signature wall of sound – especially the use of frenetic tremolo picking paired with blast beat drumming – that has seeped into a diverse range of 21st century heavy music. None more black? You be the judge…

START WITH EMPEROR ANTHEMS TO THE WELKIN AT DUSK (1997)

1 By the late 90s, black metal was acquiring a surprising air of respectability, and Emperor’s sophomore release did much to legitimise the genre for an audience still focused on the scene’s unseemly origins. There’s a sense of real scale here, from the huge production sound and full-bodied arrangements to the hints of symphonic and progressive rock in Ye Entrancemperium and Thus Spake The Nightspirit which, despite the signature torrent of blast beats and dense, tremolo-picked riffs, utilise more hooks, harmonies and clean vocals than ever before. Synthesizer and strings add some gothic texture to tracks like Ensorcelled By Khaos and bolster the scorching instrumental The Wanderer without being overblown. Recommended track Thus Spake The Nightspirit

THEN TRY MAYHEM DE MYSTERIIS DOM SATHANAS (1994)