Black metal, in its truest form, is not about blind obedience to any ideology, nor is it a platform for promoting racial hate or authoritarianism. It is a realm of pure rebellion, of chaos, and of the dark, unapologetic rejection of all forms of societal control. It’s about the freedom to explore the most unholy, raw, and existential aspects of the human experience, unshackled by any dogma.
The essence of black metal lies in the first wave—bands like Venom, Bathory, and Hellhammer—who crafted a sound that was furious, unrelenting, and confrontational. They were not concerned with promoting any political agenda or ideological purity. Their music was about energy, chaos, and the exploration of darkness in its most primal form. There was no place for racial purity or ideological extremism in this realm; it was about challenging everything, breaking down every boundary, and questioning every convention.
Then came Burzum.
Burzum’s emergence in the second wave of black metal marked a shift—one that distorted the genre and co-opted its rebellious spirit for personal and extremist political beliefs. Burzum, under Varg Vikernes, introduced nationalist and racist ideas, moving black metal away from its anarchic, anti-authoritarian roots and into a place where racial purity and supremacist ideology took center stage. This was never part of black metal’s original vision. The genre was always about rebellion against dogma, not about replacing one oppressive force with another.
Burzum hijacked black metal, using its dark aesthetics and anti-establishment themes to spread an agenda that is not only far from black metal’s essence but diametrically opposed to its core values. Black metal was never meant to be a tool for the promotion of hate or violence based on race. It was always about freedom, questioning everything—even what we hold sacred—without bowing to anyone, no matter the ideology.
The true realm of black metal lies in its ability to reject any form of conformity, be it religious, political, or racial. It is about embracing the darkness without submitting to it. It is about pushing boundaries, not reinforcing them. Burzum and similar bands may have momentarily distorted the genre’s trajectory, but the original vision of black metal—a vision of freedom, chaos, and anti-authoritarian rebellion—remains uncorrupted.
Black metal is not the realm of hate. It is the realm of freedom. To understand that is to truly grasp what black metal was, is, and will always be.