Black Metal - Stylistic Divisions

Stylistic Divisions

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. Snorre Ruch of Thorns, on the other hand, has said that modern black metal is "too narrow" and believes that this was "not the idea at the beginning". Eric Horner of the American band Throne of Malediction says that "black/extreme metal takes something that can be called 'fashion' and makes it true 'art' It is a genre where beautiful piano compositions can sit next to screeching banshee vocals and raw guitars. It has no limits, as far as I'm concerned".

Since the 1990s, different styles of black metal have emerged and some have melded Norwegian-style black metal with other genres.

• Symphonic black metal is a style of black metal that incorporates 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 melds the Nordic black metal style with Nordic folk music and focuses on Viking themes. Viking metal often has a harsh black metal sound, which may be "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 Swedish band Bathory.

• Pagan metal is a term for metal bands whose lyrics and imagery focus on paganism. The Norwegian band In the Woods... was one of the first bands commonly viewed as pagan metal. In the mid 1990s, Irish bands such as Cruachan and Primordial began to combine black metal with Irish folk music.

• Blackened death metal melds death metal with black metal. Examples of blackened death metal bands are Belphegor, Behemoth, Akercocke and Sacramentum.

• Black/doom, also known as blackened doom, melds doom metal with black metal. Examples of blackened doom bands are Barathrum, Forgotten Tomb, Woods of Ypres and Katatonia.

• War metal, also known as war black metal or bestial black metal, is an aggressive and chaotic black metal style, described by Rock Hard journalist Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann as "rabid" and "hammering". It is influenced by first wave bands like Bathory, Venom, Possessed and Sodom as well as by old grindcore, black and death metal bands like Repulsion, Autopsy, Sarcófago and the first two Sepultura releases. War metal bands include Blasphemy, Archgoat, Impiety, In Battle, and Zyklon-B.