Black Metal

[Emplate]

Am I the only one who's not getting at all into this Icelandic BM scene? I mean, Misþyrming, Skáphe, what have you. All too blasty and noisy for my tastes.

I probs sound like a pop music fan or something, hah.

Yeah, well, I myself grew tired quite quickly with the whole atmospheric/post-black metal scene, which was in fashion some time ago, and to some extent I guess still is. There's of course always exceptions, but those bands often sound like a bunch of fairies and elves trying to play black metal. To me, this is music that shouldn't sound gentle, soft or "nice". Even though I'm not a huge fan of "what is black metal and what is not" sort of discussion, I can't help thinking it could be debated whether bands possessing those kind of traits are black metal at all. Of course, what I think about it doesn't really matter in the long run. I can live with them being called "black metal", and they don't need my or anyone else's approval.

I like my black metal dark and almost claustrophobic in nature, but spiced with occasional melodies. Many of the Icelandic bands, Misþyrming, Zhrine, Naðra and even Svartidauði for instance, offer just that. It's funny how there's suddenly a shitload of bands which fit to my liking almost perfectly. They have contrast, yet they in some mystic way maintain the genre's innermost ethos. I guess a lot of people feel skeptic about these bands because of the hype around them, but I really feel they do their thing with honesty and even fury. I'm also pretty sure, when talking about metal crowd, there's always this cool guy attitude involved which makes people despise anything even least popular. (Of course not meaning you in this case, Winterburner. Your comment just raised these thoughts :) )

I actually thought about this whole scene and hype thing just recently, since I just saw many of these bands live. I have at some point found myself questioning myself for liking the Icelandic scene. I know this might sound silly, but it's just how a mind works sometimes. Had I just been influenced by the hype? In some way, of course. There has been this buzz around the Icelandic bands for a few years now, and that's how I guess I spotted some of them. Although I remember hearing Misþyrming for the first time and digging it even without realizing its country of origin. But then I thought to myself that even though hype is often thought of as a negative phenomenon, it usually finds its way around things that are genuine. Right now there's this small collective of bands in a small town which create great music, but this is how scenes born and work. They spawn from a small circle of like-minded people, who have a fire burning inside them. Often this fire spreads. I think this is how, for example, Norwegian bands started out, and like Norwegian black metal and any other scene, the Icelandic scene will too regress at some point. But until then I'm going to warm myself in their fire, since right now it's burning very strong.

Edit: Oh yes, ordered the Draugsól vinyl.