| National Socialist black metal | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 1990s,Europe |
| Other topics | |
National Socialist black metal (also known asNSBM orNazi black metal) is a movement within theblack metal music genre that promotesneo-Nazism,neo-fascism, andwhite supremacist ideologies.[1]NSBM artists typically combine neo-Nazi imagery and ideology withethnic European paganism,Satanism, orNazi occultism, and vehemently opposeChristianity,Islam andJudaism from aracialist viewpoint. According toMattias Gardell, NSBM musicians see their ideology as "a logical extension of the political and spiritual dissidence inherent in black metal".[2] NSBM artists are a small minority within black metal.[2] While many black-metallers boycott NSBM artists, others are indifferent or say they appreciate the music without supporting the musicians.[3] LikeNazi punk, Nazi black metal is not seen as a distinct genre, being "distinguished only by ideology, not musical character".[4]
NSBM artists do not always convey their political beliefs in their music, but may express their beliefs in interviews or imagery.[5] Artists who holdfar-right beliefs but do not express them in their music are not considered NSBM by many black-metallers, but they may be considered NSBM by outsiders.[6] War and catastrophe are common themes in black metal, and some bands have made references toNazi Germany forshock value, much like somepunk rock andheavy metal bands.
The emergence of NSBM in the mid 1990s is linked with the prominentNorwegian black metal musicianVarg Vikernes. After his imprisonment for church burning and murder, he developed his anti-Christian beliefs into an increasingly white nationalist and neo-Nazi form ofHeathenry. The first black metal bands to have neo-Nazi lyrics and imagery were German bandAbsurd, and Polish bandsInfernum andGraveland. In the United States,Grand Belial's Key andJudas Iscariot became involved in NSBM (the latter has since distanced themselves from the movement). As NSBM grew internationally, it started to overlap with existingWhite power music such asRock Against Communism,hatecore, and the far-right faction ofOi!. The neo-Nazi record labelResistance Records, associated with theNational Alliance, started releasing NSBM albums and even purchased Vikernes' label Cymophane Records. In 2012, the NSBMAsgardsrei festival was established inMoscow, Russia, and then in 2014 relocated toKyiv, Ukraine.
Black metal is generally not political music and the vast majority of bands do not express political views.[7] Black metal originated in the 1980s from the work ofthrash metal bands such asVenom (whose 1982 albumBlack Metal coined the term),Mercyful Fate,Bathory,Slayer,Hellhammer,Celtic Frost, andSodom.[8][9][10][11] These bands did not form a scene of their own, nor did they have a common musical style.[12] A lyrical focus that is anti-Christian, Satanist,neopagan, or a combination thereof, is often considered a prerequisite for the genre, and originally the term "black metal" was synonymous with "Satanic metal".[9][11][13] A stricter definition still requires Satanism for a band to be classified as black metal. Non-Satanic bands from the same surroundings originally used other terms for their own music, such aspagan metal orViking metal. In the late-1980s and early-1990s, theearly Norwegian black metal scene, developed by bands such asMayhem,Thorns,Immortal,Darkthrone,Burzum,Emperor,Satyricon, andUlver, established a more specific sonic template that came to define Norwegian black metal[8][9][11] and subsequently a great part of black metal in general, although other styles of black metal, like war metal, still exist. Common traits of Norwegian black metal include afast tempo,[14]blast beats anddouble-bass drumming,[11][15] a thin,shrieking vocal style[9][11][14][15][16] heavily distortedguitars played withtremolo picking andpower chords,[9][11][14][15] eitherlo-fi or well-produced recordings,[8][9][11] an emphasis on atmosphere,[11][14] and an "unholy" aesthetic.[14] Keyboards are sometimes used, as are elements ofneoclassical,folk, andambient music.[9][15] Artists often appear incorpse paint and adopt pseudonyms. Many black metal artists prefer to beunderground, inaccessible to the mainstream, and even intentionally push away audiences and demonstrateanti-social behavior.[9][17]
In the early 1990s, theearly Norwegian black metal scene developed black metal into a distinct genre.[8] The scene members were fiercelyanti-Christian — most generally presented themselves asmisanthropicdevil-worshipers who wanted to spread hatred, sorrow and evil, though some wrote about pre-ChristianScandinavia and itsmythology. Among some members of the scene, the antagonism toward Christianity turned violent, and arson and attempted arson was perpetrated against a number of churches from 1992 through 1995. Among the perpetrators wereVarg Vikernes ofBurzum andMayhem,[18][12]Euronymous of Mayhem,[19]Samoth ofThou Shalt Suffer andEmperor,[20]Faust ofThorns[21] andJørn Inge Tunsberg ofOld Funeral,Immortal, andHades Almighty,[22] some of whom are among the most prominent musicians in the scene. In January 1993, Vikernes spoke with a journalist fromBergens Tidende. The loft where the interview was conducted was filled with Satanist andNazi paraphernalia, along with weapons, and Vikernes declared he was at war with Christianity, had already burned eight churches, and would continue histerrorism.[12]
The violence and misanthropy in the scene also included murder. In August 1992, Faust killed a gay man — Magne Andreassen — who had propositioned him inLillehammer.[12][23][24][25] Faust was not caught for a year, despite his actions being an open secret known to many in the scene.[12] Many have attributed the murder tohomophobia;[26][27] however,Gaahl, a vocalist from the bandGorgoroth, is now an openly gay man who was voted Gay Person of the Year in 2010 in Bergen,[28] and believes that the killing of Andreassen by Faust had nothing to do with Andreassen's sexuality.[26] Likewise, Faust himself, along with bandmateIhsahn, have claimed that Andreassen's sexuality was irrelevant, and Faust simply had a murderous impulse.[29] In August 1993, Vikernes, withSnorre Ruch from Thorns and Mayhem as an accomplice, killed his bandmate Euronymous and was arrested shortly after.[30] Vikernes was convicted in the spring of 1994 for arson, murder, and illegal possession of weapons.[12] Vikernes insists that he killed Euronymous in self-defense,[31] although while in prison claimed that it was also because Euronymous was gay andcommunist.[25] Euronymous was interested in communism,[32] even professing to be aStalinist in 1992,[33] and in the 1980s had participated in theMarxist–Leninist youth groupRød Ungdom, which he later disavowed,[34] but there is no evidence that he was a gay man.[25] Despite Vikernes' later claims, the killing is not believed to have been politically motivated, which even Vikernes claimed at first, and is generally thought to have been because of a personal dispute.[32]
There is an undercurrent ofRomantic orethnic nationalism in black metal,[2][35] and racism is not uncommon in the scene even though most black metal and other extreme metal musicians disavow neo-Nazism and racist ideology.[36][37] Within the Scandinavian scene, several musicians made racist statements and utilized Nazi language and paraphernalia — yet, black metal is also highly performative, intentionally contradictory, and artistically transgressive, and some musicians cultivate an evil, ultra-right-wing imageas an aesthetic.[25][38] Many of the artists who flirted with fascism, totalitarianism, and violence in their artistic themes did not find a political connection with that imagery.[37] Still, a minority in the scene, in their opposition to Christianity and reverence for a pre-Christian past, stepped into fascist and racist ideas, particularlyNazi occultism.[36] Euronymous in a personal letter in the early 1990s made the sweeping claim that "Almost ALL Norwegian bands are more less nazis [sic]. Burzum, Mayhem, Emperor,Arcturus,Enslaved, you name them."[24] Similarly, scholar Kirsten Dyck has described the Norwegian scene's "Black Circle" as neo-Nazi. According to her, the Black Circle melded Nazi occultism, anti-Semitism and theconspiracy theory of aJewish plot for world domination, homophobia, andxenophobia withNietzschean philosophy, Satanism, and Scandinavian neopaganism, which then contributed to the violence perpetrated by some of the musicians.[27][39]
In 1994,Hellhammer, the drummer for the Norwegian bandMayhem, said of the genre's links with racism: "I'll put it this way, we don't like black people here. Black Metal is for white people".[40] When Mayhem re-formed after Euronymous's death, they began releasing merchandise bearing World War II-eraNazi symbols.[41] However, in a later interview, Hellhammer said "I don't give a crap if the fans are white, black, green, yellow, or blue. For me music and politics don't go hand in hand".[42] In 1995, Gaahl described "niggers" and "mulattoes" as "subhuman" and stated his admiration for Vikernes and Adolf Hitler. However, he too has since distanced himself from these statements.[43] Vikernes also wrote some lyrics for the albumTransilvanian Hunger byDarkthrone, another key band in the Norwegian scene. It was released in 1994 withNorsk Arisk Black Metal ('Norwegian Aryan Black Metal') printed on the back cover, and issued a press release stating "If any man should attempt to criticize this LP, he should be thoroughly patronized for his obviously Jewish behavior."[24][44] After the ensuing controversy, Darkthrone claimed that "Jew" is simply a Norwegian word for "stupid" and that they were "not a Nazi band nor a political band".[45][44] In a 2007 documentary, bandmemberFenriz claimed he was once arrested while participating in an anti-apartheid demonstration and later had a "phase of being really angry with ... other races" before he became "totally unengaged in [political] shit".[46] ScholarKeith Kahn-Harris argues that it is almost impossible to believe that Darkthrone did not know that a pejorative use of the word "Jew" was offensive, and the denials from Darkthrone that the members had racist or fascist sympathies was disingenuous, given the statements made.[44] But, Kahn-Harris also notes that Fenriz has made more jocular references to racism and fascism, and has interacted well with black metal enthusiasts from Israel, so Kahn-Harris believes that the actions by Darkthrone were intentionally contradictory as a form of transgressive artistic discourse and not expressions of a sincere ideology.[44] Axl Rosenberg from the website MetalSucks notes that after these offensive actions from the band in the mid-1990s, Darkthrone has not repeatedly demonstrated racist behavior. He opines that the band members are far older now and that "it’s feasible their worldviews have changed; it’s feasible they were being provocative for the sake of being provocative when they madeHunger and have since seen the error of such sophomoric behavior."[24] After his release from prison, Faust stated regarding the arson and murder he committed that "I was never a Satanist or fascist in any way, but I put behind me the hatred and negativity. Those feelings just eat you up from inside."[24][47]
Similar statements were also uttered by scene members from other countries.Michael W. Ford of the American bandBlack Funeral mentioned thatNazi occultism was very important to him,[48] called his former band Sorath his "old SS Death squad"[49] and claimed "you have to be white to play Black metal".[50] He was the American leader of Cymophane, an organisation started by Vikernes.[50] He would later disassociate himself from Nazism.[51][52] According to the authors ofLords of Chaos, in 1995, three Swedish black-metallers (including Mika "Belfagor" Hakola of the bandNefandus) went on a "niggerhunt" inLinköping. Wielding an axe and two machetes, they "terrorized" a black man.[53] Nefandus were later "considered to be Nazi sympathizers", though Belfagor explained: "This could not be further from the truth, but I guess this has to do with some of the controversial comments I made in various magazines in my youth, when I still aspired to play in the most hated band in the world. I used a lot of provocative language back then. But to sort things out: I associate with people of all creeds and colours. ... So to be labeled a Nazi or a racist is very offensive to me".[54]
Vikernes and his project Burzum are generally seen as the main catalyst in the development of the NSBM movement, although Burzum was never explicitly political.[32] Although Vikernes has claimed to not be a neo-Nazi, he has participated in neo-Nazi activities and his statements have expressed neo-Nazi views and antagonism toward Muslims and Jews.[18][55] According to an interview inBlood & Honour magazine, Vikernes contacted neo-Nazi organizationZorn 88 in 1992[56] and joinedWhite Aryan Resistance before he killed Euronymous.[57] While in prison, "Vikernes began to formulate his nationalist heathen ideology"[58] and wrote a manifesto calledVargsmål. It became available on the internet for a while in 1996,[59] and in 1997 it was printed by a Norwegian publisher.[60] Once imprisoned, Vikernes abandoned the black metal scene and started touting a neo-Nazi variety ofHeathenry.[12] According to Vikernes, he stopped playing metal music because of its origin as "Negro music", and argued that "the 'metal heads' tend to behave like a bunch of 'White Niggers', so to speak, with their sex, drugs and rock'n'roll culture."[61] Vikernes also has claimed that the scene had begun "as a nationalistic (Norwegian-centric), racist and anti-Christian revolt" but was "hijacked" by the "Jew-dominated music industry".[62] He claims the industry made it into another tool with which to destroy Europe, by promoting bands who embraced "everything sick and anti-European on this planet, from porn and promiscuity to drugs and homosexuality".[62]
One of the first explicitly NSBM releases was the 1995 demoThuringian Pagan Madness by German bandAbsurd. It was recorded while the members were imprisoned for murdering a boy from their school. On the demo cover is a photograph of his gravestone and the inlay contained pro-Nazi statements.[63] Bandmember Hendrik Möbus stated that NSBM was the "logical conclusion" of the Norwegian black metal movement and interpreted the church burnings as a "culturalatavism".[64] Other bands deemed to be part of the early NSBM scene includeGraveland andInfernum, fromPoland.[65] Rob Darken of Graveland in particular was a very central figure in the development of NSBM in Poland.[65] The burgeoning black metal scene in Poland was far more pronouncedly racist, and The Temple of Fullmoon, of which several Polish bands were members, turned into a far-right organization.[66] Similar to what happened in Norway, the scene became increasingly violent, and three of the four members of the NSBM band Thunderbolt were imprisoned for arson and murder.[67][68] According to Gunnar Sauermann, in the 1990s, some of the earliest American black metal bands—likeGrand Belial's Key andJudas Iscariot—joined an international NSBM organization called the Pagan Front, although Judas Iscariot's sole member Akhenaten left the organization.[69] Thelemnar, the drummer of German bandSecrets of the Moon, said he got to know him "only as an intelligent person and never as a Nazi".[69] The United States project I Shalt Become was another pioneer in the nascent NSBM scene.[70] NSBM came to dominate the black metal scenes in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia.[3]
In 2012, Alexey Levkin, frontman of the bandM8l8th [es], along with others, started the NSBM music festivalAsgardsrei inMoscow.[71][72] The event is named after the 1999 album of the same name by Absurd.[73] The festival was relocated toKyiv in 2014 when Levkin and the other organizers relocated toUkraine to join theAzov Battalion (a brigade now).[72]Steelfest is a Finnish annual black metal festival that has been held since 2012. Steelfest is notorious for hosting a venue for National socialist black metal bands, and bands and audience have done mass nazi salutes.[74]
NSBM typically melds Neo-Nazi beliefs (such asfascism,white supremacy,white separatism,white nationalism,right-wing extremism,antisemitism,xenophobia, andethnic separatism, with someNational-anarchist tendencies and admiration ofAdolf Hitler) with hostility to "foreign" religions. Bands often promote ethnicEuropeanpaganism,occultism, orSatanism. Hendrik Möbus of Absurd described Nazism as the "most perfect (and only realistic!) synthesis of Satanic/Luciferianwill to power, elitistSocial Darwinism, connected to AryanGermanic paganism".[75] Members of the band Der Stürmer (named after theantisemitic newspaper edited byJulius Streicher) subscribe toEsoteric Nazism, leaning on the works ofSavitri Devi andJulius Evola.[76] Famine ofPeste Noire stated in an interview that he prefersItalian Fascism instead ofNazism as an ideology.[77]
Typically NSBM musicians regard Christianity as a product of an allegedJewish conspiracy to undermine theAryan race by eliminating theirArtglauben and their "original" culture.[78] These musicians usually reject the legitimacy ofChristian antisemitism as well as theGerman Christians movement, which celebrated and promoted Nazi ideology in the context of an unorthodoxChristian theological framework. Hjarulv Henker of the band Der Stürmer said:
I don't think that a dogma like Christianity has a place in Aryandom. There is no way to make Christianity fit into the Weltanschauung of the AryanOverman. Christianity teaches humbleness, the loss of National and Racial identity, and equality, things alien to our cosmotheory. You cannot combine Jesus with characters who represent Aryan ethics. ... Christianity is Christianity and it is Jewish by its very birth and conception, a vehicle in the Jewish world domination and designed as such.[76]
NSBM musicians such as Varg Vikernes of Burzum and Famine of Peste Noire have expressed a white supremacist concern about "race mixing" and preserving the purity of thewhite race and the traditional cultures of white European nations.[61][79][80] Somewhat perplexingly, NSBM has been popular in Poland and other Slavic countries, despite the fact that, historically, German Nazis viewedSlavic people as subhuman racial inferiors and intended to eliminate them.[81] This contradiction is either masked, relativized or excused as a historical mistake. A conspiracy theory says the Jews would have prevented an alliance between Nazi Germany and other Eastern European countries.[82]Knjaz Varggoth, singer and guitarist of the Ukrainian bandNokturnal Mortum, gives the following explanation for the contradiction: "Goruth of the Russian band Temnozor sees the Slavs and Germans as a part of aHyperborean Aryan race and nowadays differing due to its degeneration."
TheVietnamese-American band Vothana[83] is unusual in that its members are not ethnically European, however the band’s lyrics (which are performed inVietnamese) still express racialist and fascist viewpoints and the band has performed at festivals alongside NSBM bands.[84]
As part of their anti-Christianity, anti-Semitism, and the idea that White Europeans should return to their native ways, most NSBM bands promote ethnic European paganism. Benjamin Hedge Olson argues that NSBM is "indelibly linked withAsá Trŭ and opposed to Satanism, which gives it a 'blood and soil' attraction to many young Neo-Nazis looking for identity in their distant, ancestral past."[3] Hendrik Möbus interpreted the church burnings in Norway as:
[A] cultural atavism, a sudden and inexplicable plunge back into pre-Christian, medieval conditions in all but outward reality. Like the Swiss psychologist,Carl Gustav Jung, would have said: Ancient archetypes resurfaced from our collective unconscious and repossessed receptive minds – which were, as a rule, still developing and thus especially impressible. The thus affected teenagers found themselves with an archaic state of mind and like in a mass-hysteria, they induced their condition unto others. It goes without saying that a, say, 18 year old adolescent who suddenly felt out of tune with his environment lacked the insight for a self-analysis.[64]
He argues that later on they would have realized the meaning of these emotions, begun to identify with paganism and taken "an active interest in Nationalist politics designed to preserve and to cultivate this very heritage".[64] The booklet of the Absurd EPAsgardsrei depicts theKnights Templar, theTeutonic Order and theWaffen-SS as warriors of the "Asgardsrei", which the bands define as a term for an alleged godly and Germanic group of warriors.
Besides pagan beliefs, part of the NSBM scene embraces an interpretation ofSatanism. Satanism is a common theme even in apolitical black metal, but in NSBMSatan is depicted as an ancient Aryan counterpart toYHWH, the god of the Jews and Christians. This view is often called "völkisch Satanism"[85] or "Aryan Satanism". Chraesvelgoron of The True Frost sees Nazism as the political appearance of Satanism and the collective deification of man as a social animal, as godliness instead of humaneness.[86] His bandmate Sadorass calls the same ideology a development ofblood and soil ideology, diverse occult teachings, and the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche in connection toDarwinism.[87] Greek black metal musicianMagus Wampyr Daoloth (ofNecromantia andThou Art Lord) said in an interview forLords of Chaos: "If you consider that fascism and Satanism have a lot of similarities as they both advocate power, spiritual and physical excellence, responsibility, survival of the fittest, elitism, etc., it's logical that some bands advocate both".[88] However, many pagan andfar-right bands see Satanism as a part of Christianity or Judaism.[89]
Many white nationalists have warmly received NSBM for its lyrical content and ideals. However, some have not, due to the music style as well as the genre's perceived association with the rock & roll lifestyle.[90] However,Lords of Chaos notes that alcohol and illegal drugs never played a big part in the Norwegian black metal scene.[91]Bård G. Eithun, on the other hand, stated that many in the early scene "were almost alcoholics".[12] Some also reject black metal musicians and fans since many of them have long hair, which they associate withhippies and left-wingers.Dayal Patterson writes that "NSBM has become a movement in its own right," one which has reachedWestern Europe and the Americas and overlapped with fans of more traditional far-right music genres such asOi! andRock Against Communism.[92]
The record labelResistance Records, a Canadian record label promoting white nationalism and white separatism, purchased Vikernes' Cymophane Records and began releasing black metal recordings, many through a sub-label, Unholy Records.[92]William Luther Pierce, founder of the white nationalistNational Alliance, sought to promote NSBM as well as other forms of white nationalist music through Resistance, believing that music would "make the National Alliance rich and spread its message most effectively".[93] To this end, he accommodated Absurd frontman Hendrik Möbus while the latter had fled to the United States to evade German authorities. Although Pierce appreciated the ideological mindset of NSBM and Resistance Records, as well as the financial gains, the music did not personally appeal to him, and he attacked the "sex, drugs & rock'n'roll" and what he called "negroid" influences.[94]
Asgardsrei festival, which has established itself as the major festival for NSBM, has been noted by analysts and journalists to function as a meetup point and pan-European and transnational networking hub for neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other far-right extremists.[72][95][96] In addition to the concert organizers' connections to theUkrainian nationalist Azov Assault Brigade, Ukrainian far-right political partyNational Corps, and Russian-Ukrainian neo-Nazi movement Wotanjugend,[72][96][97] members of the German neo-Nazi partyThe III. Path, the United States-basedneo-Nazi terrorist organizationAtomwaffen Division, the Italianneo-fascist movement and former political partyCasaPound, and the Greek neo-Nazi partyGolden Dawn have all participated in the festival.[72][95][96] Members of neo-Nazi forums and chats such asIron March,Stormfront, and neo-Nazi chat servers onDiscord have attended and praised Asgardsrei,[95] and the American white nationalistGreg Johnson posted a review of the 2019 festival on hisalt-right publication Counter Currents.[72]
NSBM artists are a small minority within black metal.[2][98] They have also been rejected or strongly criticized by many prominent black metal musicians – includingJon Nödtveidt,[99]Tormentor,[100]King ov Hell,[101]Infernus,[102]Lord Ahriman,[46]Emperor Magus Caligula,[46][103]Protector,[104] Erik Danielsson ofWatain,[105][106][107] and the members ofArkhon Infaustus.[46] Some black-metallers liken Nazism to Christianity in that it isauthoritarian,collectivist, and involves a "herd mentality".[99][100] It also conflicts with themisanthropic views of many artists; Benjamin Hedge Olson writes that the shunning of Nazism within the scene "has nothing to do with notions of a 'universal humanity' or a rejection of hate" but that Nazism is shunned "because its hatred is too specific and exclusive".[98] Joakim ofCraft said, "I don't think national socialism mix[es] with the ideology of real Black Metal in a way, but that doesn't go further than labels. I only think NS Black Metal is an inappropriate label for the music".[108] While some black-metallers boycott NSBM bands and labels, others draw a line between the music and the musicians, as they only care for the music. Some have criticized this as passive support for NSBM. The bigger print metal magazines tend to ignore records by NSBM bands.[78] Christian Dornbusch and Hans-Peter Killguss's 2005 bookUnheilige Allianzen caused a short debate, leadingLegacy magazine to stop printing ads for NSBM labels. Another debate happened in the "letters" section ofRock Hard magazine following the articleDer rechte Rand im Black Metal (Black Metal's Far-right Border).[109] According toUnheilige Allianzen, völkischpagan metal and neo-Nazism were the current trends in black metal and in turn, were affecting the broader metal scene.[110] Stewart Voegtlin likewise wrote forStylus in 2006 that "with a 'nationalistic' wave of violence and hatred spreading from Scandinavia and infiltrating France and Germany, the unfortunate exploits of a few will likely continue to supersede the music itself."[8]
Some bands have denied being labeled NSBM, and assert that they are either pagan or instead prefer the label "nationalist black metal." Official statements against this label have been made by bands such as Graveland.[111] Akitsa, a group sometimes rumoured to be NSBM, made strong statements against the Nazi ideology and the whole NSBM genre.[112] Ukrainian bandNokturnal Mortum has made efforts to distance themselves from the movement, but still continue to occasionally partake in some NSBM practices such as playing at festivals held for the genre.[113][114]
While some bands made statements which the scene and critics has taken as genuine statements condemning Nazism, other bands' statements has, by many critics, been viewed merely as a tactic to be able to play live gigs or not have their music banned, such is the case with Graveland, among others, who has continued to openly support white supremacist organizers after making statements about being "unpolitical".[32]
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