Black Metal is dead, which is wonderful. Those of us that are truly committed to this strange art know that its death does not mean its end; no, not at all, because unlike most other music, black metal strongly wields the power of necromancy. In fact, I'd argue black metal itself is very much rooted in this power of the "black wizards." And if this sounds like just decadent fantasy, you're wrong; necromancy is real. Why would Socrates so averse to writing his ideas? Because he understood that writing took away the spirit of the words. Yet, Plato wrote those words down and so we are able to raise his ghost out of the past and have him speak to us as if he were here, but in a material shell devoid of spirit.
Every time you open a book or listen to a song you are raising the dead. What black metal does is openly embrace this fact. There is the fetish for the rotting, the unholy, the magical, and the "necro" because it understands that living in the modern world means living within a history that grows upon itself constantly. We are living our lives and conducting our affairs on a mountain of human corpses, and as a true art, black metal embraces this metaphor of our existence today, glories in the fact that all educated westerners are using the power of black magic and the forces of the dead to their own benefit.
Let us resurrect it then; not by thinking forward (how will the fans respond? what is new?) but by stepping backwards into the ancient graveyard and taking the dead into our arms. No doubt the reason why Dead Can Dance appeals to black metal people so much is that Dead Can Dance performs these same rites of necromancy, just in a more ceremonial and less taboo fashion. While Dead Can Dance is reminiscent of Elizabethan magic in terms of raising the dead, black metal is more like the lone bearded sorcerer performing instinctual shamanic rituals to speak with spirits that can help him seek ultimate power (something which he probably knows he can never find, but is still passionate about the search itself and the weird wonders it allows him to witness).
Like a ritual, what successful black metal needs to do is provide an atmospheric framework that allows for the feeling of power, the feeling of not only connection with the spirits and the surrounding environment, but control over them. This means that any tongue-in-cheek snickering or reminders of the ordinary and day-to-day will break the spell. It must be consistently weird, dark, and fanatical, with the unflinching earnestness of an occult master.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
(review) Illuminacht - Reflections of the Boundless Light
Being an Alaskan black metal person, I naturally have an interest in what my locality has to offer. While I'm not the type to go to shows or really physically involve myself in the local scene at all, I will still try to contribute in what ways I can by offering reviews.
If you want more information about the band it can be found here.
The album starts off with a boring into. Typical droning ambient metal intro stuff.
Sable Veils Beyond has a thick sound to it. The harmony of the guitars is done in an interesting way that appears pretty complex. The riff-work is very dynamic and has a lot of movement, but ultimately it doesn't seem to go anywhere or provide any new insights or interesting ideas. Whenever I personally hear the term "melodic" accompanying any kind of metal, I usually assume that it will sound pretty, but never surprising or interesting, and that description fits perfectly to this song. It's only good as background music. It has a very passive but upbeat sound to it, like it was an attempt to make depressing music but the composer was in a good mood when he went to do it. There's no darkness here, there's no reason why these ideas should be given in a black metal format.
Marching Through Time is another cliché ambient piece. The effects applied to the guitar make for a somewhat interesting sound, but the marching Nazi boots is such an overdone thing in this kind of music that it seems downright silly to include them unless you're working in the NSBM tradition.
Coveted Codes of Ascendence starts off with some very forced dissonance. The effects on the guitar are a cool addition that break the cliché's of underground black metal a bit, and I certainly think more people should experiment with them, although it isn't used very well here, it is still more interesting than more of the Darkthrone worship. The vocals are somewhat new, utilizing the distorted hiss/whisper that we hear in a lot of the depressive projects today such as Xasthur. It can be used well in certain circumstances, but it sounds to me more like the artist was just being lazy and not wanting to hurt his throat doing the clean growls.
Monolith of Wrath is yet another continuation of the boredom. All cliché black metal fare. The clean guitar is well done, but not particularly original. Still, it was too short, being far better than the surrounding dissonance. The dissonance here doesn't seem to serve any purpose like the best black metal does. Burzum uses dissonance to highlight the beautiful riffs and make them more powerful by contrast, Averse Sefira manages to put small phrases of beauty within its longer statements of dissonant horror. Illuminacht seems to be just using the dissonance because that is what all the other black metal bands do, and he's just following the tradition.
The outro is alright, though I feel as if I've heard it a million times.
This record is a great example of why black metal is suffering so much today, not because it's bad, but because it's boring and mediocre. Yes, you guys are making the same noises that the early bands were, but you're completely lacking in the spirit. What brought black metal to its triumphant golden age, to make the sounds that were completely unique and original at the time, was the fact that it had a vast spirit of rebellion and romanticism. All these bands today have are daydreams about being what the early bands were, and so they try to get there through imitation opposed to the inner self discovery. By just imitating others you are entirely missing the point of rebellion that made black metal great.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Mental Illness
It's peculiar how quick we are to give aberrant social behaviors the status of a "disorder." What has started out in our society as shyness is slowly becoming more and more recognized as "social anxiety disorder," especially as one gets older.
Society tells you that there is something wrong with you, and yet, it's never questioned whether the problem possibly rests more with society itself. In the environment we evolved in, shyness would easily be remedied by the fact that one is born and raised to constantly be around others. And of course one would become very familiar and comfortable with the people in their tribe. Shizophrenics would likely become the shamans and the forseers of various dangers, and even if there is no real truth to their abilities, at the very least it would give the tribe the confidence to press forward (a similar function religions have always served).
My point is, in the modern society, our grassland based genetics aren't always compatible, and in that way we will be leaving many people in the dust. Of course, that's just evolution, but the curious thing is that we're evolving to an environment that we're creating ourselves. We're evolving to an environment that is constantly changing along with us. Now as to whether this new environment is getting more or less hostile to those with social difficulties, well, it's impossible to tell. People that don't interact well have found a new savior in the internet, and those who were before unable to interact at all have medications that do allow them to do so. We still do not yet know where the internet is going. If we reach the point of artificial intelligence, then it is pretty obvious that our potential future will look pretty gloomy.
I'm going to back up a bit though. Right now, those of us who don't "fit in" well in modern society, we can play a very valuable cultural role if we can recognize our place. As outsiders we are given a special vantage point on the situation that is not limited to just the within view that everyone else sees. With this viewpoint (and plenty of free time) we are able to create great works of art and various other works that offer a peak into the cosmic.
Society tells you that there is something wrong with you, and yet, it's never questioned whether the problem possibly rests more with society itself. In the environment we evolved in, shyness would easily be remedied by the fact that one is born and raised to constantly be around others. And of course one would become very familiar and comfortable with the people in their tribe. Shizophrenics would likely become the shamans and the forseers of various dangers, and even if there is no real truth to their abilities, at the very least it would give the tribe the confidence to press forward (a similar function religions have always served).
My point is, in the modern society, our grassland based genetics aren't always compatible, and in that way we will be leaving many people in the dust. Of course, that's just evolution, but the curious thing is that we're evolving to an environment that we're creating ourselves. We're evolving to an environment that is constantly changing along with us. Now as to whether this new environment is getting more or less hostile to those with social difficulties, well, it's impossible to tell. People that don't interact well have found a new savior in the internet, and those who were before unable to interact at all have medications that do allow them to do so. We still do not yet know where the internet is going. If we reach the point of artificial intelligence, then it is pretty obvious that our potential future will look pretty gloomy.
I'm going to back up a bit though. Right now, those of us who don't "fit in" well in modern society, we can play a very valuable cultural role if we can recognize our place. As outsiders we are given a special vantage point on the situation that is not limited to just the within view that everyone else sees. With this viewpoint (and plenty of free time) we are able to create great works of art and various other works that offer a peak into the cosmic.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Black Metal's War with Christianity
Christianity has created the modern world as we know it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Christianity, coming from one who values science and what we define today as 'progress.' Actually, I'll rephrase that, there are definitely things wrong with it today, but in the scope of human history, I'd argue that it was an inevitable institution. Christianity was in the middle ages what science is to us now, just as paganism was to the dark ages what Christianity is to us now. Try to put yourself in the place of a person living in medieval times. The smartest people in society were the monks and priests, they are the most literate, know latin, spend their time in prayer, meditation, and reading, these people were the academics and scientists of today. Science did not exist, and of course evolution was not known of, so there was nothing to contradict these ideas (and you can bet the common, superstitious "folk" knowledge was worthless). Christianity was a unified vision of what a utopia, Heaven, should look like, and with this unified vision we have moved further and further into trying to create this vision on earth. Oddly enough, as westerners have more or less entered the closest thing to the "earthly paradise" as this planet has ever seen, we have begun to lose this unified vision and all the values and ideas that have resulted from it.
Why are we giving up God in favor of a more pleasurable, orgiastic, and secular lifestyle? In a movie I heard somebody argue that one does not have morals without either religion, or a very guilt-ridden personality. That makes sense to me. I don't have a religion, yet I have very strong morals. I recognize that morals and other such concepts are our own creations, but then again so is this entire universe as we know it, so there is no reason to necessarily discard them just because they don't "exist" outside of our consciousness. It makes no difference to me, and the way I see it, we've been fighting and fucking in the mud for most of human history until we've had a reason to suppress our morals. Then again, I do have a very guilt-ridden personality, so who can say? The reason we are giving up God, though, is simply because science is showing us that the old beliefs were wrong. Science lacks God though, it lacks morals, and it lacks meaning. It is because of this that science has been able to take over religion's role in explaining the universe, but it is has not taken over its role in giving purpose, meaning, morals, etc. This is why religion still exists. Of course, for those who are secular, these things can easily be found in art with a little searching.
Why is black metal at war with Christianity? Most would agree that the single most common them in black metal is hostility toward Christianity, but what is the reason for it? There are a lot of reasons. First off, it has to do with the fact that many of us who were raised in a secular lifestyle realize that Christianity is a load of horse shit, yet we want this connection with God. One way we can honestly feel this connection with the divine is by being involved, even if that means fighting directly against it. Even by following the devil, one still receives a connection with the universe. Any spiritual practice we have essentially connects us to the same sort of thing, and that is the abstract space in which we are given understanding into the workings of the universe and our place within it. Just like there are a million different sects of this essentially Judaic religion, there are a million different ways to connect with the devil as well. It is for that reason that the different expressions and approaches to black metal vary so drastically. For instance, some seem to be all about blasphemy, in the most violent and grotesque ways they can imagine. Through doing this, the individuals connect with the devil in the same way Dante did when he wrote the Inferno and it is for that reason that connecting with either hell or heaven will give you insight into the workings of the universe. Orthodox black metal, bands like Deathspell Omega, seem to connect with the divine in a way similar to medieval monks, at least in the sense that the lift up an image of the divine that is very out of reach and very awe-inspiring, though like all black metal, this image of God (or Satan) that they put forth is pure evil instead of pure good. I think meditation on pure anything will allow one to connect with the divine, as long as it is done deeply enough.
What's the big picture? The big picture is that black metal and death metal are both trying to destroy Christianity, at least the way Christians interpret it today. Black metal differs in that, usually it seems to want to replace it with something else. While death metal is just seeking to destroy it, black metal destroys it and then introduces new paths towards enlightenment. So far, all that it has offered the listeners is the destruction, and the beginning of the new pathway. This is not enough. Christianity is dying and it needs a replacement NOW. There is no reason why the replacement cannot come from this little niche in the art world. Of course, that sort of thinking won't lead anywhere. Black metal seems to have tapped into all of these truths unconsciously and instinctually (just as I expect all spiritual works have done). What we need to do, as both fans and artists, is recognize that the art we are making is essentially divine in nature. The best black metal is that which is 100% serious, it connects with Satan in the same way that Gregorian chant connects with God. If we pursue this divine spirit in black metal, we might truly be able to offer a replacement, so instead of just complaining about how this system is flawed, we can be truly proactive in our artistic endeavors and fix it ourselves.
It's time for black metal's degeneration to end. Nobody takes black metal seriously anymore. Almost all of the releases now are just rehashes of the old with the occasional gimmicky experiment. What is the difference between bands then and now? To me it seems to be that bands now are playing it safe. They don't take the music as anything more serious than just another form of entertainment, and so they play the same thing again and again. We need to realize that this is LIFE, this is our only life, and this is one of the only chances we are going to get to change the world. So will we change the world with this music, or will we just continue the elitist kvlt circle-jerk? This is our music, and we all feel like there is something profound and important here, but if we don't get off our asses then it's going to remain hidden and will be forgotten when the "scene" dies and collapses in on itself. In my eyes, the future of traditional black metal can only be with further emphasis on the occult/divine/mysteriousness. For me, that has always been the main appeal, and it seems, due to the success of bands like Averse Sefira and Deathspell Omega, that this truly is the path that it should be travelling.
Why are we giving up God in favor of a more pleasurable, orgiastic, and secular lifestyle? In a movie I heard somebody argue that one does not have morals without either religion, or a very guilt-ridden personality. That makes sense to me. I don't have a religion, yet I have very strong morals. I recognize that morals and other such concepts are our own creations, but then again so is this entire universe as we know it, so there is no reason to necessarily discard them just because they don't "exist" outside of our consciousness. It makes no difference to me, and the way I see it, we've been fighting and fucking in the mud for most of human history until we've had a reason to suppress our morals. Then again, I do have a very guilt-ridden personality, so who can say? The reason we are giving up God, though, is simply because science is showing us that the old beliefs were wrong. Science lacks God though, it lacks morals, and it lacks meaning. It is because of this that science has been able to take over religion's role in explaining the universe, but it is has not taken over its role in giving purpose, meaning, morals, etc. This is why religion still exists. Of course, for those who are secular, these things can easily be found in art with a little searching.
Why is black metal at war with Christianity? Most would agree that the single most common them in black metal is hostility toward Christianity, but what is the reason for it? There are a lot of reasons. First off, it has to do with the fact that many of us who were raised in a secular lifestyle realize that Christianity is a load of horse shit, yet we want this connection with God. One way we can honestly feel this connection with the divine is by being involved, even if that means fighting directly against it. Even by following the devil, one still receives a connection with the universe. Any spiritual practice we have essentially connects us to the same sort of thing, and that is the abstract space in which we are given understanding into the workings of the universe and our place within it. Just like there are a million different sects of this essentially Judaic religion, there are a million different ways to connect with the devil as well. It is for that reason that the different expressions and approaches to black metal vary so drastically. For instance, some seem to be all about blasphemy, in the most violent and grotesque ways they can imagine. Through doing this, the individuals connect with the devil in the same way Dante did when he wrote the Inferno and it is for that reason that connecting with either hell or heaven will give you insight into the workings of the universe. Orthodox black metal, bands like Deathspell Omega, seem to connect with the divine in a way similar to medieval monks, at least in the sense that the lift up an image of the divine that is very out of reach and very awe-inspiring, though like all black metal, this image of God (or Satan) that they put forth is pure evil instead of pure good. I think meditation on pure anything will allow one to connect with the divine, as long as it is done deeply enough.
What's the big picture? The big picture is that black metal and death metal are both trying to destroy Christianity, at least the way Christians interpret it today. Black metal differs in that, usually it seems to want to replace it with something else. While death metal is just seeking to destroy it, black metal destroys it and then introduces new paths towards enlightenment. So far, all that it has offered the listeners is the destruction, and the beginning of the new pathway. This is not enough. Christianity is dying and it needs a replacement NOW. There is no reason why the replacement cannot come from this little niche in the art world. Of course, that sort of thinking won't lead anywhere. Black metal seems to have tapped into all of these truths unconsciously and instinctually (just as I expect all spiritual works have done). What we need to do, as both fans and artists, is recognize that the art we are making is essentially divine in nature. The best black metal is that which is 100% serious, it connects with Satan in the same way that Gregorian chant connects with God. If we pursue this divine spirit in black metal, we might truly be able to offer a replacement, so instead of just complaining about how this system is flawed, we can be truly proactive in our artistic endeavors and fix it ourselves.
It's time for black metal's degeneration to end. Nobody takes black metal seriously anymore. Almost all of the releases now are just rehashes of the old with the occasional gimmicky experiment. What is the difference between bands then and now? To me it seems to be that bands now are playing it safe. They don't take the music as anything more serious than just another form of entertainment, and so they play the same thing again and again. We need to realize that this is LIFE, this is our only life, and this is one of the only chances we are going to get to change the world. So will we change the world with this music, or will we just continue the elitist kvlt circle-jerk? This is our music, and we all feel like there is something profound and important here, but if we don't get off our asses then it's going to remain hidden and will be forgotten when the "scene" dies and collapses in on itself. In my eyes, the future of traditional black metal can only be with further emphasis on the occult/divine/mysteriousness. For me, that has always been the main appeal, and it seems, due to the success of bands like Averse Sefira and Deathspell Omega, that this truly is the path that it should be travelling.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
The New Eden
Everything we experience is reality. In this light, imagination takes on a completely different status. When we escape into the imagination, we are not escaping reality, because all of these things are different expressions of the universe, and are therefore as real as we perceive them to be. With this in mind, the realm of one's imagination suddenly takes on a whole new power. By fully engaging in the vast amount of books, music, film, etc. and making art of our own, we engage in a variety of new and very different experiences and with this we can come to better understand not just the world, but the entire nature of the human consciousness. The mere fact that our imaginations could possibly be so vast excites me to no end. We are little more than monkeys who happened to stumble on to something incredible in our journey through the natural world, and that incredible thing is language and culture. These two things have allowed for us to make immense strides both as a species and as individuals. Every time we read a book or listen to an album, we are taking a bit of the artist into ourselves for that moment in time. Depending on how open we are and how deeply we engage in that art, we can see life through their eyes and, if we like what we see, we can integrate a bit of that into ourselves. This process has repeated countless times throughout history, and it is called culture. It is immortalizing those who made great creative discoveries that assist us in our journey toward increasing novelty.
We are on the verge of something unbelievable. It will not be long before the Matrix actually exists. When this happens, when we can fully enter a simulated world, the entire game will change completely. The future probably lies in some sort of "online simulation," but instead of pointless grinding in a childish looking interpretation of Lord of the Rings, the simulation we will enter will allow for any user to create and contribute to the world. Due to the creativity of individuals and the public at large, this thing will take off in a way similar to YouTube, or file-sharing, or the internet in general. We have seen that throughout history, when we put full power in the hands of the people, the momentum of culture cannot be stopped. We don't seem to realize, but with the internet, the power of the ordinary citizen has been raised a tremendous amount. The more power each individual has in the public, the faster the natural progression of novelty goes. Once everyone has access to the internet and this instantaneous new virtual world, each person will have near limitless power and we will enter a new age.
Eden. I believe that the Bible's predictions were correct, and whether it was a self-fulfilling prophecy, a prophecy that resounded with the people simply because of its inherent truth, or just a lucky guess, we will return to Eden. This virtual world will be able to replace this ecologically destructive lifestyle and provide not only all the experiences we expect out of the "real world" but an infinite number of experiences that we can only vaguely dream of. Some might oppose this and say that it is unnatural, but it really isn't. This wasn't our choice. We never had a choice. Nobody is in control of this thing. Culture and technology have taken on a life of their own and this is the direction that they've been heading in since Sumer. Once we have a virtual Eden, we will no longer have to destroy the earth with greedy materialism; in fact materialism will have died since all materials will easily be simulated for no cost. Because of the internet's only barriers between groups being language, we might finally be able to unite as a planet and be able to recognize and take on our responsibility as the new gardeners of earth and we can finally spread the seed of our planet to others.
Our purpose is to become the mind of the earth. As individuals we are just a bunch of loose neurons to the organism that is our planet, but the internet is the singular mind. It is still forming right now, but once it finishes it should be able to be truly conscious of itself and its surroundings, and at that time we can begin to reproduce as a planet. It is our destiny then to ensure not only our survival, but the survival of the entire natural kingdom that has raised us as its intelligence. Once our mind is fully formed we can maybe then communicate with other planets, at which point our goals and purposes become entirely different.
There are still obstacles in our way. The most obvious being our destruction of the planet. By the time we reach the point of the new Eden, it might be too late. It is definitely a strange predicament, one where we are on a race against our own consumption. Hopefully the situation is not as dire as it's made out to be, and just maybe we'll be able to enter this new virtual world before society collapses.
We are on the verge of something unbelievable. It will not be long before the Matrix actually exists. When this happens, when we can fully enter a simulated world, the entire game will change completely. The future probably lies in some sort of "online simulation," but instead of pointless grinding in a childish looking interpretation of Lord of the Rings, the simulation we will enter will allow for any user to create and contribute to the world. Due to the creativity of individuals and the public at large, this thing will take off in a way similar to YouTube, or file-sharing, or the internet in general. We have seen that throughout history, when we put full power in the hands of the people, the momentum of culture cannot be stopped. We don't seem to realize, but with the internet, the power of the ordinary citizen has been raised a tremendous amount. The more power each individual has in the public, the faster the natural progression of novelty goes. Once everyone has access to the internet and this instantaneous new virtual world, each person will have near limitless power and we will enter a new age.
Eden. I believe that the Bible's predictions were correct, and whether it was a self-fulfilling prophecy, a prophecy that resounded with the people simply because of its inherent truth, or just a lucky guess, we will return to Eden. This virtual world will be able to replace this ecologically destructive lifestyle and provide not only all the experiences we expect out of the "real world" but an infinite number of experiences that we can only vaguely dream of. Some might oppose this and say that it is unnatural, but it really isn't. This wasn't our choice. We never had a choice. Nobody is in control of this thing. Culture and technology have taken on a life of their own and this is the direction that they've been heading in since Sumer. Once we have a virtual Eden, we will no longer have to destroy the earth with greedy materialism; in fact materialism will have died since all materials will easily be simulated for no cost. Because of the internet's only barriers between groups being language, we might finally be able to unite as a planet and be able to recognize and take on our responsibility as the new gardeners of earth and we can finally spread the seed of our planet to others.
Our purpose is to become the mind of the earth. As individuals we are just a bunch of loose neurons to the organism that is our planet, but the internet is the singular mind. It is still forming right now, but once it finishes it should be able to be truly conscious of itself and its surroundings, and at that time we can begin to reproduce as a planet. It is our destiny then to ensure not only our survival, but the survival of the entire natural kingdom that has raised us as its intelligence. Once our mind is fully formed we can maybe then communicate with other planets, at which point our goals and purposes become entirely different.
There are still obstacles in our way. The most obvious being our destruction of the planet. By the time we reach the point of the new Eden, it might be too late. It is definitely a strange predicament, one where we are on a race against our own consumption. Hopefully the situation is not as dire as it's made out to be, and just maybe we'll be able to enter this new virtual world before society collapses.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Varg's Insecurity, Death of Burzum
Anyone with a discerning ear can tell you that Burzum's new album "Belus," comes nowhere close to the previous Burzum albums. Every time an extreme metal musician makes something profound and gets notoriety for it, they always seem to go directly downhill afterward. Why is this? Why does this seem to plague underground metal more than any other genre? One reason is that the fans tend to always gravitate towards the artists' earlier work, but this is not the primary reason. The primary reason is insecurity.
Metal is about power. The reasons why people become interested in extreme metal vary, but many love it because they do not experience power enough in their own lives. Metal fans are nerds, introverts, and loners. When listening to or playing music they can escape to a romantic fantasy where they are powerful and in control. The music is not solely about power though, because to be truly great the artists need to direct this power to explore themes and ideas that are difficult to confront without the boost of strength that metal provides. Of course, for these loner types to channel this power within their music, they cannot bring any of their many insecurities of life into it. This is one way that extreme metal differs completely from many other forms of music. To make real metal one has to completely suppress the individual ego, which is relatively easy for those who are more introverted and less involved with actually "living" life.
Pressure from the public destroys the power. If one achieves fame with their black metal, such as Varg has, they now have pressure from the public to create something as great as before.
This quote reveals the insecurity beneath Varg statements. He knows that his fans both want something new, and want more of what he's already done. He is trying to justify his music so that the fans won't be disappointed if it does not live up to their expectations. Varg is no longer making music for himself. He now feels a responsibility to his fans, and because of this he brings both his ego and his insecurities into the music, two things which are sure to kill the black metal spirit. Of course he acknowledges that he can't consciously try and make his old stuff, the mere fact that he feels the need to justify his new creations shows that the worry is there.
Fame will destroy an introvert's ability to suppress the ego. As I already said, being able suppress one's ego is crucial to exploring the themes of black metal. Through suppressing the ego one is able to attain the power that black metal conveys and reach a vantage point from which the artists can see the profound ideas that are inherently outside of ourselves. The ego does not allow one to meditate on subjects such as death, violence, darkness, and the cruelty of nature without feeling fear, sadness, and other such emotions that cloud real understanding.
Varg is so paranoid of being misrepresented by the media that he feels the need to constantly defend himself and what he does. He is projecting too much of himself onto his art. Keeping up the persona of one who has somehow transcended life is important for the black metal image, and when talks about how he googles himself to make sure no-one is misrepresenting him and slandering his name, he comes off as extraordinarily insecure. This perceived insecurity shatters the illusion that he might have some special insight into life. He shows us that he is just as insecure and vulnerable as the rest of us, so it becomes much harder to believe his art could be at another level, and without this suspension of disbelief, one could never hope to see past the cheesiness and ugliness of the genre.
Insecurity will always destroy metal. These bands get popular seemingly by accident (since they made this music for themselves). This newfound fame is unexpected and challenges their creative vision. Different bands confront this in different ways. Graveland simply kept making the same old thing, experimenting with very minor variations to test the waters and see how the fans responded. Satyricon and Emperor changed their sound completely, to something more catchy and accessible to the general public. Some might call this selling out, though I do not think this is inherently bad, it will get more attention to their really valued works and will earn them a living in the process. Darkthrone avoided experimentation and simply returned to the roots of the genre. Fenriz apparently makes music for fun and did not want to approach anything difficult or challenging, for him or the listeners.
I think many of us were hoping that Varg would continue down the trve path of black metal, that he was somehow crazy enough that he could continue to suppress his ego and explore this fantasy of power and darkness. Unfortunately, "Belus" seems to have the same insecurity that he reveals to us in his writings. He wants to make more of the old, to appease his fans, but to continue on his old work he would have to approach the music without a trace of fear or insecurity at what the public will think of it. His old music was inherently brave and novel, which means that it cannot possibly be recreated and have the same spirit that made it great.
Metal is about power. The reasons why people become interested in extreme metal vary, but many love it because they do not experience power enough in their own lives. Metal fans are nerds, introverts, and loners. When listening to or playing music they can escape to a romantic fantasy where they are powerful and in control. The music is not solely about power though, because to be truly great the artists need to direct this power to explore themes and ideas that are difficult to confront without the boost of strength that metal provides. Of course, for these loner types to channel this power within their music, they cannot bring any of their many insecurities of life into it. This is one way that extreme metal differs completely from many other forms of music. To make real metal one has to completely suppress the individual ego, which is relatively easy for those who are more introverted and less involved with actually "living" life.
Pressure from the public destroys the power. If one achieves fame with their black metal, such as Varg has, they now have pressure from the public to create something as great as before.
"...I am older now, in fact twice as old as I was when I recorded the début album, and I am therefore different. The new album might differ from the old albums more than some might appreciate, but I hope not. Even if some of You might appreciate the old Burzum, I must be allowed to evolve, just like everybody else. Maybe You will like the new Burzum too. I will not do my best to copy and reproduce my old music, just to please somebody. I never did and I never will. If it sounds similar it is because it is made by the same person. If it sounds different it is because it is not the same music and because I have evolved."
This quote reveals the insecurity beneath Varg statements. He knows that his fans both want something new, and want more of what he's already done. He is trying to justify his music so that the fans won't be disappointed if it does not live up to their expectations. Varg is no longer making music for himself. He now feels a responsibility to his fans, and because of this he brings both his ego and his insecurities into the music, two things which are sure to kill the black metal spirit. Of course he acknowledges that he can't consciously try and make his old stuff, the mere fact that he feels the need to justify his new creations shows that the worry is there.
Fame will destroy an introvert's ability to suppress the ego. As I already said, being able suppress one's ego is crucial to exploring the themes of black metal. Through suppressing the ego one is able to attain the power that black metal conveys and reach a vantage point from which the artists can see the profound ideas that are inherently outside of ourselves. The ego does not allow one to meditate on subjects such as death, violence, darkness, and the cruelty of nature without feeling fear, sadness, and other such emotions that cloud real understanding.
"Some e-mails from honest individuals and a few "Google" searches made me realise that there are many impersonators out there claiming to be me or claiming to run official Burzum websites of some sort."
Varg is so paranoid of being misrepresented by the media that he feels the need to constantly defend himself and what he does. He is projecting too much of himself onto his art. Keeping up the persona of one who has somehow transcended life is important for the black metal image, and when talks about how he googles himself to make sure no-one is misrepresenting him and slandering his name, he comes off as extraordinarily insecure. This perceived insecurity shatters the illusion that he might have some special insight into life. He shows us that he is just as insecure and vulnerable as the rest of us, so it becomes much harder to believe his art could be at another level, and without this suspension of disbelief, one could never hope to see past the cheesiness and ugliness of the genre.
Insecurity will always destroy metal. These bands get popular seemingly by accident (since they made this music for themselves). This newfound fame is unexpected and challenges their creative vision. Different bands confront this in different ways. Graveland simply kept making the same old thing, experimenting with very minor variations to test the waters and see how the fans responded. Satyricon and Emperor changed their sound completely, to something more catchy and accessible to the general public. Some might call this selling out, though I do not think this is inherently bad, it will get more attention to their really valued works and will earn them a living in the process. Darkthrone avoided experimentation and simply returned to the roots of the genre. Fenriz apparently makes music for fun and did not want to approach anything difficult or challenging, for him or the listeners.
I think many of us were hoping that Varg would continue down the trve path of black metal, that he was somehow crazy enough that he could continue to suppress his ego and explore this fantasy of power and darkness. Unfortunately, "Belus" seems to have the same insecurity that he reveals to us in his writings. He wants to make more of the old, to appease his fans, but to continue on his old work he would have to approach the music without a trace of fear or insecurity at what the public will think of it. His old music was inherently brave and novel, which means that it cannot possibly be recreated and have the same spirit that made it great.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The Purpose of Black Metal, Modern Shamanism
If you don't immediately know who Varg Vikernes, Euronymous, and Dead are then you aren't familiar with black metal, you should go here before reading this.
All true art is modern shamanism. This is entirely true in black metal. In tribal societies, there were often people of great unknown power and knowledge. These were the shamans, or wizards, or sorcerers, and of course the most loathed, feared, and respected among them were the ones that understood the nature of darkness and death and did not fear them. It is through these individuals that the people in society gained insight into the other side and were able to give death a proper perspective. In our society, the darkest and blackest of the shamanism comes from Northern Europe, which is not surprising since such a harsh environment would've likely required even more meditation upon the horrors and hardships of life, and often times the best way to handle fear is to face it, and thus the shamans of death and darkness enter the scene. Of course I'm not suggesting that there were many shamans in Norway that were quite as focused on the blackness, but in our modern society we evolve to become specialized in all of our pursuits.
The black metal musicians might be much closer to the shamans of the old tribes because of their simplicity. Very few of the musicians were well educated in music, none were seeking approval of mainstream society, none were told what music they could and could not make, most came from at least middle class families so money and success was not a tremendous issue for them, many of them were loners, and almost all of them were outsiders. I think this disconnection from modern culture and art allowed for these musicians to tap into something deeper, something instinctual. I think it is for this reason that the art is so hostile to the modern world and so praising of the ancient past and nature, the environment we evolved in and the environment we were biologically meant to live in. I also think that this connection to the traditional shamanic thinking, from a perspective of one living in modern society, is the reason why it has the sound of decay. The music almost sounds like a disease within art. If music could have a disgusting tumor, black metal (and death metal) would be it. This music is made and loved because this is what many of us are feeling. We are living in an environment that is alien to our species and we express these feelings in a way that is strange and disgusting. If you're like me, hearing that black metal is "strange and disgusting" immediately makes you think "this guy doesn't fucking get it," but try and think of the music outside the perspective of one within the scene. The guitars are reedy and of shitty quality, the instrument playing is usually sloppy, the recording quality is terrible, more than half of the riffs rely on ugly dissonance, and there's a guy making a phlegmy throat growls in the forefront. This is disgusting stuff, and any classical listener except for maybe a few from this generation, would not even consider it to be music. So, the question then is, why do we love it so much? I think that is an extraordinarily interesting question because most of us don't listen to it to seem tough, many of us are loners so are not interested in the social element of the scene, and many of us are out of high school so we know it's not just a rebellion thing. We feel emotionally moved by this disgusting, hateful music. Why?
The shamanism is of course quite apparent in black metal in almost every major theme that it holds. If we are to analyze all art as a form of modern shamanism, black metal is the best place to start for many reasons.
The themes of occultism in black metal are another strong argument towards it being a kind of instinctual shamanism. Magical rituals are the source of the ancient shaman's power and serve many purposes, one of which is to get society to respect and fear these individuals, which is exactly what it accomplishes today. Of course it alienates them as well from most of society apart from those select few who also feel the "Call of the Wintermoon," (:P) the alienation serves the purpose of throwing the individual within a dark place of loneliness where they are meant to contemplate death and the meaning of life through that perspective. Just as these individuals commonly would've been loathed or just not got along with society in the past, they leave the tribe either physically or mentally, and journey into the darkness, and if they come back with an understanding that they can bring to their people, then they are truly shamans.
There are many reasons why black metal is opposed to Christianity. For one, it is simply another way to explore the concept of evil, and in our society that happens to be through Satanism and anti-Christianity. They explored these themes in different ways though, embracing them fully, and they made it clear that there's an argument to be made. As to whether we should follow the teachings of these bands and burn down every church, I'm afraid I'd have to disagree, but I definitely accept that they make a damn good point that is certainly worth debating. Another reason that I believe these bands are so violently anti-religion is because religion limits what we can explore spiritually. Black metal has always been ironic in this way, not only is it profoundly against religions and beliefs, it is also one of the most spiritual music styles you can find these days. The music is almost never about the happenings of day to day life, and is VERY OFTEN about ancient myths, otherworldly entities, nature, occultism, death, the afterlife, etc. This is spiritual music, although not in a way that we understand spirituality today. Black metal and its followers feel confined and limited by our religions of today that lack mystery, subtlety, abstraction, and a connection with our education level and understanding of the world around us. In old shamanic based cultures, art and spirituality walked hand in hand, now art has become secularized by the closed-minded religions and has suffered for it. Many artists still have pursued spirituality with their work, but black metal is the first that had the balls to say to religion, "It's your fault that we are repressed, confused, and our artwork is misunderstood." Artists can pursue spirituality in their work as much as they want, but if they don't jive with the church or have their own breed of open-minded followers, nobody is going to understand what they are saying. Black metal has led people away from this kind of thinking, and in many ways opened their minds to just what art is capable of.
Another interesting connection of black metal to shamanism is the use of sacrifice. Dead and Euronymous were both clearly sacrifices for various purposes. Dead's suicide brought in a strange new mindset, one of seriousness about a style of music that was nothing short of ridiculous to outside viewers, it gave those within the scene the confidence to pursue it with real seriousness and dedication. Euronymous's murder served as a very powerful sacrifice to the art. Varg's murdering of him seems nonsensical, even when the man explained it clearly and at length in a long writing. I think that Varg was the one who was most possessed of this strange spirit of the time. Of course, by possessed I don't mean physically possessed by some sort of supernatural entity, though I do think that the truth might be pretty close to this, in the sense that he tapped into the spirit of whatever it was that allowed for this music was something outside the mind (as I think all art might be, but don't read too much into this, this idea is going to be a long ass post for another day, but in short Varg tapped into the black metal spirit the most strongly). The man sacrificed Euronymous and his sacrifice meant that many now outside of black metal would look at the art as something serious. Many people, inside and outside of the "scene", trivialize the actions of these people. They tend to think that they were either "pushing it too far" or that it was just very good exposure and myth for the genre. If this music is about shamanism then myth is a crucial element to understanding. These sacrifices were essential to this music, both in how it grew and how we listen to it today. People want something that's real, which of course is the same reason that "Gangsta Rap" is so popular these days, although I really don't have enough experience with that genre to give it a fair analysis (it would be unfair for someone to judge black metal based on only hearing bits of the stories and a few songs, if we are to agree with this then we should extend the same privilege to other genres).
Black metal exists for those of us in society who are brave and curious, those of us who want to explore the darkest places of the imagination, places where evil is power and death is just as beautiful as life. This can be for a number of different reasons. Perhaps we are taking the shamanic-artist path ourselves, maybe we have some fetish for the dark and mysterious, or maybe we are fearful and seek to confront and face our fears fully. Our reasons for coming to it vary, but what we achieve seems to be more or less universal, and that is an understanding, acceptance, and appreciation for the things in life that are feared and repressed.
The question of why we do what we do artistically can never be fully answered because there are so many factors at play. I find that usually the strangest art is that which is the least understood. Of course I wasn't able to summarize exactly why it exists, but I really do enjoy thinking about the possibilities. When people look at past cultures, their civilizations, religions, and art, they always apply a sort of evolutionary perspective to what these societies were doing. I don't understand why we aren't taking the same approach to try and understand what we are doing today, because what we are doing today is far more strange than what we were doing 1500 years ago. A style of music with serious themes revolving around hate, darkness, evil, nature, and ancient mythology exists today in a culture of social tolerance and intellectual progress. This is incredibly weird and I think this same self-reflective lens should be applied to all art, especially the more serious and the more extreme.
All true art is modern shamanism. This is entirely true in black metal. In tribal societies, there were often people of great unknown power and knowledge. These were the shamans, or wizards, or sorcerers, and of course the most loathed, feared, and respected among them were the ones that understood the nature of darkness and death and did not fear them. It is through these individuals that the people in society gained insight into the other side and were able to give death a proper perspective. In our society, the darkest and blackest of the shamanism comes from Northern Europe, which is not surprising since such a harsh environment would've likely required even more meditation upon the horrors and hardships of life, and often times the best way to handle fear is to face it, and thus the shamans of death and darkness enter the scene. Of course I'm not suggesting that there were many shamans in Norway that were quite as focused on the blackness, but in our modern society we evolve to become specialized in all of our pursuits.
The black metal musicians might be much closer to the shamans of the old tribes because of their simplicity. Very few of the musicians were well educated in music, none were seeking approval of mainstream society, none were told what music they could and could not make, most came from at least middle class families so money and success was not a tremendous issue for them, many of them were loners, and almost all of them were outsiders. I think this disconnection from modern culture and art allowed for these musicians to tap into something deeper, something instinctual. I think it is for this reason that the art is so hostile to the modern world and so praising of the ancient past and nature, the environment we evolved in and the environment we were biologically meant to live in. I also think that this connection to the traditional shamanic thinking, from a perspective of one living in modern society, is the reason why it has the sound of decay. The music almost sounds like a disease within art. If music could have a disgusting tumor, black metal (and death metal) would be it. This music is made and loved because this is what many of us are feeling. We are living in an environment that is alien to our species and we express these feelings in a way that is strange and disgusting. If you're like me, hearing that black metal is "strange and disgusting" immediately makes you think "this guy doesn't fucking get it," but try and think of the music outside the perspective of one within the scene. The guitars are reedy and of shitty quality, the instrument playing is usually sloppy, the recording quality is terrible, more than half of the riffs rely on ugly dissonance, and there's a guy making a phlegmy throat growls in the forefront. This is disgusting stuff, and any classical listener except for maybe a few from this generation, would not even consider it to be music. So, the question then is, why do we love it so much? I think that is an extraordinarily interesting question because most of us don't listen to it to seem tough, many of us are loners so are not interested in the social element of the scene, and many of us are out of high school so we know it's not just a rebellion thing. We feel emotionally moved by this disgusting, hateful music. Why?
The shamanism is of course quite apparent in black metal in almost every major theme that it holds. If we are to analyze all art as a form of modern shamanism, black metal is the best place to start for many reasons.
The themes of occultism in black metal are another strong argument towards it being a kind of instinctual shamanism. Magical rituals are the source of the ancient shaman's power and serve many purposes, one of which is to get society to respect and fear these individuals, which is exactly what it accomplishes today. Of course it alienates them as well from most of society apart from those select few who also feel the "Call of the Wintermoon," (:P) the alienation serves the purpose of throwing the individual within a dark place of loneliness where they are meant to contemplate death and the meaning of life through that perspective. Just as these individuals commonly would've been loathed or just not got along with society in the past, they leave the tribe either physically or mentally, and journey into the darkness, and if they come back with an understanding that they can bring to their people, then they are truly shamans.
There are many reasons why black metal is opposed to Christianity. For one, it is simply another way to explore the concept of evil, and in our society that happens to be through Satanism and anti-Christianity. They explored these themes in different ways though, embracing them fully, and they made it clear that there's an argument to be made. As to whether we should follow the teachings of these bands and burn down every church, I'm afraid I'd have to disagree, but I definitely accept that they make a damn good point that is certainly worth debating. Another reason that I believe these bands are so violently anti-religion is because religion limits what we can explore spiritually. Black metal has always been ironic in this way, not only is it profoundly against religions and beliefs, it is also one of the most spiritual music styles you can find these days. The music is almost never about the happenings of day to day life, and is VERY OFTEN about ancient myths, otherworldly entities, nature, occultism, death, the afterlife, etc. This is spiritual music, although not in a way that we understand spirituality today. Black metal and its followers feel confined and limited by our religions of today that lack mystery, subtlety, abstraction, and a connection with our education level and understanding of the world around us. In old shamanic based cultures, art and spirituality walked hand in hand, now art has become secularized by the closed-minded religions and has suffered for it. Many artists still have pursued spirituality with their work, but black metal is the first that had the balls to say to religion, "It's your fault that we are repressed, confused, and our artwork is misunderstood." Artists can pursue spirituality in their work as much as they want, but if they don't jive with the church or have their own breed of open-minded followers, nobody is going to understand what they are saying. Black metal has led people away from this kind of thinking, and in many ways opened their minds to just what art is capable of.
Another interesting connection of black metal to shamanism is the use of sacrifice. Dead and Euronymous were both clearly sacrifices for various purposes. Dead's suicide brought in a strange new mindset, one of seriousness about a style of music that was nothing short of ridiculous to outside viewers, it gave those within the scene the confidence to pursue it with real seriousness and dedication. Euronymous's murder served as a very powerful sacrifice to the art. Varg's murdering of him seems nonsensical, even when the man explained it clearly and at length in a long writing. I think that Varg was the one who was most possessed of this strange spirit of the time. Of course, by possessed I don't mean physically possessed by some sort of supernatural entity, though I do think that the truth might be pretty close to this, in the sense that he tapped into the spirit of whatever it was that allowed for this music was something outside the mind (as I think all art might be, but don't read too much into this, this idea is going to be a long ass post for another day, but in short Varg tapped into the black metal spirit the most strongly). The man sacrificed Euronymous and his sacrifice meant that many now outside of black metal would look at the art as something serious. Many people, inside and outside of the "scene", trivialize the actions of these people. They tend to think that they were either "pushing it too far" or that it was just very good exposure and myth for the genre. If this music is about shamanism then myth is a crucial element to understanding. These sacrifices were essential to this music, both in how it grew and how we listen to it today. People want something that's real, which of course is the same reason that "Gangsta Rap" is so popular these days, although I really don't have enough experience with that genre to give it a fair analysis (it would be unfair for someone to judge black metal based on only hearing bits of the stories and a few songs, if we are to agree with this then we should extend the same privilege to other genres).
Black metal exists for those of us in society who are brave and curious, those of us who want to explore the darkest places of the imagination, places where evil is power and death is just as beautiful as life. This can be for a number of different reasons. Perhaps we are taking the shamanic-artist path ourselves, maybe we have some fetish for the dark and mysterious, or maybe we are fearful and seek to confront and face our fears fully. Our reasons for coming to it vary, but what we achieve seems to be more or less universal, and that is an understanding, acceptance, and appreciation for the things in life that are feared and repressed.
The question of why we do what we do artistically can never be fully answered because there are so many factors at play. I find that usually the strangest art is that which is the least understood. Of course I wasn't able to summarize exactly why it exists, but I really do enjoy thinking about the possibilities. When people look at past cultures, their civilizations, religions, and art, they always apply a sort of evolutionary perspective to what these societies were doing. I don't understand why we aren't taking the same approach to try and understand what we are doing today, because what we are doing today is far more strange than what we were doing 1500 years ago. A style of music with serious themes revolving around hate, darkness, evil, nature, and ancient mythology exists today in a culture of social tolerance and intellectual progress. This is incredibly weird and I think this same self-reflective lens should be applied to all art, especially the more serious and the more extreme.
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