The Batlord

Never count yourself out. I couldn't stand it for the longest time. I think when you get older (sorry if I sound like a superior douchebag, you could be 70 for all I know) and or more nihilistic, the emotional quality of the music will become more and more engrossing. It's not just about the sound coming out of the speakers, it's the way it makes you feel that's important with black metal.

I just hope you never just decide to give up trying on it, or any other musical genre just because it doesn't make sense today.

__________________

jackhammer

I am the opposite. The older I get the worse a lot of Black Metal sounds not that I was a big fan in the first place. Tinny blastbeats and scrawny guitar sounds have never been my thing.

Whether it's considered 'pussy' or whatever I much prefer the folk influenced sound of the genre when a band at least tries to make it sound distinct.

Drudkh and Velvet Caccoon do interest me who play what can be described as a trad Black Metal sound but the whole early 90's Black Metal scene just washed over me and I find the background and social history far more interesting than the actual music of that time. Besides you always got drawn into 'no it's a Death Metal album not a Black Metal album' debate that bores the crap out of me.

__________________

The Batlord

Seconded. If you can't get into Bathory, then it can't be done.


That's actually how I am. I am learning to dig old school black metal, but I'm a much bigger fan of the black metal bands that dared to be different. Drudkh, Burzum, Blut Aus Nord, Bathory, etc are some of my fav metal bands. Instead of just retreading old ground they make some of the most creative metal that's ever been done.

__________________

hip hop bunny hop

It must be said:

Norwegian Black Metal is overrated in general, and Darkthrone are in particular. There is nothing this band has done that hasn't been done by others earlier and better.

__________________
Have mercy on the poor.

TockTockTock

What exactly did Drudkh do that was innovative/creative? I never quite understood the hype for these guys... Anyone care to explain?

On another note, I love the recording techniques that Varg Vikernes used in Burzum's debut album (i.e. use terrible recording equipment... on purpose). Like it or not, I found it particularly interesting.

IWP

I actually do like Bathory, but the "tr00" "kvlt" elite (aka metalhead elitist morons on metal-archives) hardly count them as black metal, because they sound too much like thrash. Haven't really listened to them in a while though.

__________________
*insert witty remark here*

Tsunami

I don't think that it's fair to call them morons, seeing that every person into music is an elitist, more or less. You won't go to the shop and buy an album you absolutely hate, and then proceed to listen to it over and over.
Besides if it sounds more like thrash than black metal, then it's fair to call it thrash metal even if it had a huge influence on black metal, I mean you don't call NWOBHM thrash metal even if it had a huge influence on it.
Of course I haven't listened to all of the albums by Bathory, but the early albums sure sound more thrash than black metal.

The Batlord

I think it's pretty stupid to say that Bathory aren't a black metal band just cause they don't sound like Darkthrone. Bathory, probably more than any other band, built the whole black metal template before any of the second wave of black metal bands ever even existed. Of course they don't sound like the second wave of black metal (the Norwegian scene) because they were too busy setting the groundwork for those bands to not just be a third rate version of the Swedish death metal scene.

__________________

Tsunami

I don't think it's that stupid. I personally don't care whether people consider the first wave of black metal black metal or thrash metal. Surely it's opinionated, very much so, but do you see people calling Slayer and Kreator death metal because they had a big influence on death metal?

Musicfanatic

I don't know. That's a pretty hard one to get into, if you ask me. It's very hard to make out what is being done, not only in the vocals, but also in the instrumentals. It's a lot easier to get into Celtic Frost, their first, that is; haven't heard much else.

The way I look at thrash metal was usually very fast paced instrumentation, and usually screeched, but very fast vocals - Metallica's Kill 'Em All. But now I am not certain with my listens to Sepultura's Beneath the Remains and Arise, and some Overkill. I just don't know what thrash is anymore. I always thought that thrash had to be sung fast, kind of like how James Hetfield did, but then I see that some is very slow and very guttural. Death metal, Cannibal Corpse in particular, isn't all that sped up, nor all that heavier, somewhat more brutal, but only in the lyrics.

It's all gotten me a bit confused, really.

If you mean Cradle of Filth... Why do so many crap on that band? I loved Midian. But what do I know; I'm finding it hard to get into Bathory...