Black Metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that originated in Northern Europe in the early 1980s. Bands like Venom and Bathory are credited with its inception. Venom's sound, closer to thrash metal, laid the groundwork, while Bathory established the characteristic aspects of the black metal sound.

The early period (approximately 1981-1987), known as the first wave of black metal, primarily consisted of thrash and speed metal with satanic or anti-Christian themes. The main musical distinction was lower production quality. In 1984, Bathory popularized shrieked vocals, a key element of the genre. Other notable first-wave bands include Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, and Mercyful Fate.

The late 1980s to mid/late 1990s saw the emergence of Norwegian bands that revolutionized the genre, establishing black metal as a distinct subgenre. This period, known as the second wave (approximately 1987-1997), was spearheaded by bands like Mayhem, whose 1987 album "Deathcrush" was an early example. The second wave sound is characterized by shrieked vocals, tremolo-picked guitars, and blast beats. Visuals include corpse paint, leather jackets, all-black clothing, long hair, beards (particularly goatees), black and white photography, and forest imagery. Notable second-wave bands include Mayhem, Darkthrone, Burzum, Satyricon, Emperor, and Ulver.

Atmospheric Black Metal originated from the second wave in the early 1990s. The band credited for creating atmospheric black metal is the one-man band Burzum. The subgenre is a black metal with influence from dark ambient. Aesthetically, atmospheric black metal isn't as evil or satanic as traditional black metal. And focuses more on building soundscapes and atmosphere with themes of mainly nature, mysticism, and spirituality. Visually, this aesthetic includes a lot of imagery of forests (specifically in Scandinavia) as well as animals that live in the forest.

If you are trying to get into black metal, atmospheric black metal is a great gateway into the genre because it isn't as harsh or evil as traditional black metal. I'd recommend listening to The Mantle by Agalloch or Primordial Arcana by Wolves in the Throne Room as your first black metal albums. And if you separate art from the artist, I would recommend listening to Filosofem by Burzum . (Warning: The man behind the band Burzum, Varg Vikernes, is a murderer, church arsonist, racist, and a political extremist). Other notable bands include Ulver and Mgła.

Blackgaze and Post-Black Metal were put under the same section due to the similarities between the subgenres and the very thin line between them. Blackgaze is a fusion genre that combines Black Metal with shoegaze. The genre is influenced by the atmospheric black metal of the 90s and emerged in the early to mid 2000s. Examples of blackgaze would include Alcest and Deafheaven ,

Post-Black Metal is music rooted in black metal that breaks the boundaries of the genre and often has influence from post-rock. A lot of the aggression from black metal is taken out of the genre, which makes some people skeptical if the genre can actually be considered metal. This subgenre also got the nickname "Hipster Black Metal". Bands would include Sadness , Deafheaven , An Autumn for Crippled Children , and Woods of Desolation . A lot of post-black metal bands are also depressive suicidal black metal (DSBM), which will be explained in the next section.

WARNING: This section contains subject matter relating to self harm, depression, and suicide. If you are sensitive to topics of that nature, then please skip over this section and move to the next one.

Depressive Suicidal Black Metal or DSBM is a subgenre of black metal with doom metal influence that emerged in the mid to late 90s and is audibly slow, repetitive, and dreadful with themes and lyrics about depression, suicide, self harm, and death. Most artists of the subgenre use it as a coping mechanism to deal with and express the problems that they experience. The vocals are usually made to sound like the singer is suffering and in intense pain. The genre is meant to create a feel of hopelessness and dread. Some artists of this genre would include Austere , Silencer , Xasthur , and Thy Light .

Unblack metal is a subgenre of black metal that originated during the second wave of the black metal. Audibly, this genre sounds identical to traditional black metal with the main difference being the themes. Unlike traditional black metal, Unblack metal is anti-satanic and pro-christian. Visually, this subgenre features crosses and other christian imagery. Such artists would include Antestor , Crimson Moonlight , and Horde .

main article: Dungeon Synth

While dungeon synth technically isn't black metal, or even metal, it's roots came from the black metal scene. The genre itself originated in the 1990s and the name wasn't coined until 2011. Dungeon synth is a subgenre of ambient and focuses on medieval and fantasy soundscapes. A pioneer of the genre was Mortiis, who was the bassist of the band Emperor at the time. He is considered to be one of the first artists of the genre and released albums such as "The Stargate" and "Crypt of the Wizard". Another pioneer of the genre is Varg Vikernes, or his one-man band Burzum . After he was arrested in 1993, he released a series of albums from prison (these were known as his "prison albums"). These albums were completely made with a keyboard, because that was the only instrument he was allowed to use in prison.