Metal Subgenres

Metal.. What is metal? Metal is the heaviest and one of the best genres in music scene. Probably most passionate community ever existed. Let me name each subgenres in metal with its definition each.

Heavy metal : tempo and beat of drums does not sound fast. Use high pitch clean vocals. Mostly the band in this genre starts in 80s. 
Bands for the following for this genre : Manowar, Accept

Thrash Metal : aggresive drums, tight riffs and guitars, Energetic vocals. Sometimes shrieking nearly like BM vocals. The golden era was around in middle 80s. For themes they use can be politics, facts of life, propaganda, rants and more

Bands for the following for this subgenre : Slayer, Sodom, Testament, early Metallica and Megadeth, Havok, Lost society, Evile etc

> Death metal : sometimes uses repetitive patterns of drums but sometimes not really fast. Simple riffs and old school sounds. They use GROWL vocals technique. [remember.. GROWL and SCREAM are far different]. For themes , sometimes anything from fantasy, death, gore, even darkness and more. Bands for the following for this genre : Bolt Thrower, Immolation, Dismember etc. 

and about more of this type apart from Old School are

~ Melodic Death metal : the guitars sounds more melodious, harmonise,rhythmic. If you dont know how does it sound like, try these reccomended bands for the following : Children of Bodom, Norther, Imperanon, Insomnium, Be'lakor

~ progressive death metal : more complex musically. You can blend it with jazz elements, technical elements. Most of bands uses CLEAN vocals.
For the following bands : Opeth, Ne Obliviscaris, Haken, Gojira, Noneuclid

~ Technical death metal : technical drum kicks, intense and probably the sickest music you ever listen, some blend with jazz and progressive elements and or just brutal kind of death metal. Bands for the following :
Fleshgod Apocalypse, Nile, Obscura etc

~ Symphonic Death Metal : ochestration mixed with melodious music. Bands for the following : Wintersun

Black metal : repetitive drums [identically with repetitive drums, tremolo picking and blast beats] Uses harsh , shrieks, and fry vocals technique. for themes, mostly its Satanic [Black metal known as satanic when this subgenre first ever invented in late 80s,because its basically anti-religion music. BUT times has change and more innovative also more creative. So NOT ALL Black metal bands are satanic] , the themes they tell about are Darkness, nature, Winter, Fantasy, Ghost tales, satanic and more. 

please NOTE that corpse paint is just the appearance they use, it symbolised as darkness, they are basically spread their darkness in their own way. Since these days's bands do not really keep that tradition so It seems some of bands dont use corpse paint. 
There are many kinds of Black metal subgenres :

~ Raw black metal/ Traditional black metal/ [just] Black metal : raw, mostly in low quality sound because it sounds kvlt. Less lead guitars. Majorly it must be sounding GRIM, Cold ,and hateful. 
For the following bands for this subgenre : [early] darkthrone and mayhem, Skagganauk abyss, Warwulf, Satanic Warmaster, Sargeist, Behexen, (old stuff from) Dimmu Borgir, Immortal, Taake,Marduk, Astarte, Dark Funeral,Taake and more

(Throne Of Katarsis, norwegian black metal)

(Warwulf from Satanic Warmaster)

(Taake, Norwegian -raw- black metal)

(Astarte, greek black metal)

~ Melodic black metal : have melodic and melancholy guitar sounds. So melodic and up beat. Sometimes also have atmospheric elements.
For the following bands : Dissection, Thulcandra, Dark Fortress, Frozen Dawn, Dawn and more

(Dark Fortress, german black metal)

(Dissection, Swedish black metal)

~Symphonic black metal : black metal coated by Symphonic/orchestra elements. Horror and haunting sounds.
For the following bands : Grand Alchemist, Carach Angren, Neron Kaisar and some late stuff of Dimmu borgir and more

(Carach Angren, Dutch symphonic black metal)

(Dimmu Borgir, Norwegian black metal)

~ Progressive black metal : more complex musically. Just its black metal with the touch of clean vocals in certain parts. For all i've discovered it also have atmospheric -ish. 
For the following bands : Enslaved, Shylmagoghnar, Amiensus etc

Viking metal : actually Viking is just the theme in the music. Since any genre could fitting as it's a matter of sense of the theme. 

(Ensiferum , Finnish viking/folk (death) metal)

Atmospheric black metal : harmonisation plus a little bit of symphonic. Mostly slowand enjoyable. But it must be have repetitive drums in certain part in its music.
For the following bands : Caladan Brood, Summoning, Kråke, Veldes, Raventale etc

(Caladan Brood, atmospheric/epic black metal from States)

Folk/celtic Metal : metal with elements of traditional instruments. Mostly related with Ancient stories , viking and pagan. Can be sounded in melodic death metal music kinds and even black metal also power metal. 
For the following bands : Eluveitie, Skilltron [Folk power metal], Equilibrium, Korpiklaani, Northland, Stribog, Krampus etc

More subgenres to come

Doom metal.. Doom metal is a subgenre that have slow beat, simple and plain riffs. Themes they use are such as sadness, pain etc. whether melodic or not its still be called just doom metal. 
For the following bands : Akelei, Draconian, My Dying Bride etc

-Post -Metal / rock : its subgenre that a half metal or rock. Especially for post metal.. Mostly you will hear touch of guitar ambience. There are very few kinds but im just going to tell you 3 subgenres [that i usually listen, which i  actually more understand]

> Shoegaze : lots of guitar ambience, softer music. Soft kind of metal.
Bands for the following : New stuff of Alcest, Les Discrets, Ameseours etc

> Post Black Metal : one of unique subgenres.. The music itself sounds a half black metal and half metal. So the music is also slow but still have blast beats and repetitive drums in certain parts. But slower music and relaxing. Sometimes classic guitars also included as their instrument.. So its more like classic relaxing kind of music

Bands for the following : old stuff from Alcest, Agalloch, Oak Pantheon etc

(Agalloch)


Oriental metal : this term usually used for bands that have middle eastern music influence. For all i've discovered bands like Orphaned Land and Myrath are definitely in this category. 
As for black metal, Melechesh, Darkestrah etc

Blackened death metal : faster and heavier sound from the drums. With black metal influence too. They use growl and shrieks vocal techniques. 
For the following bands like : Behemoth, Hate etc

Avant-Garde metal : experimental metal. In its music it probably wont hear any typical metal you use to listen. Thats why its called avant-garde. Bands for the following is, band like Thy Catafalque are categorized as this. 
There are alot of avant-garde black metal but so far they are recommended to try Diabolical Masquerade also for the example

Symphonic metal : sometimes sounds like gothic metal, power metal and also can be sounds like opera. Vocals tech uses clean vocals. Mostly female as the vocalist. But basically.Its a matter of vocal they use actually. For the following bands : Nightwish, Epica, Leaves' eye. 

 (Nightwish, finnish symphonic metal)

( Epica, dutch symphonic metal)

Source : summary sendiri / made by me

Second Wave of Black Metal scene outside Norway

The second wave outside Norway

Black metal scenes also emerged on the European mainland during the early 1990s, inspired by the Norwegian scene or the older bands, or both. In Poland, a scene was spearheaded by Graveland and Behemoth. In France, a close-knit group of musicians known as Les Légions Noires emerged; this included artists such as Mütiilation, Vlad Tepes, Belketre and Torgeist. In Belgium, there were acts such as Ancient Rites and Enthroned. Bands such as Black Funeral, Grand Belial's Key and Judas Iscariot emerged during this time in the United States.

A notable black metal group in England at the time was Cradle of Filth, who released three demos in a black/death metal style with symphonic flourishes, followed by a studio album, which featured a then-unusual hybrid style of black and gothic metal. The band then abandoned black metal for gothic metal, becoming one of the most successful extreme metal bands to date. 

The controversy surrounding Absurd drew attention to the German black metal scene. In 1993, the members murdered a boy from their school, Sandro Beyer. A photo of Beyer's gravestone is on the cover of one of their demos, Thuringian Pagan Madness, along with pro-Nazi statements. It was recorded in prison and released in Poland by Graveland drummer Capricornus. The band's early music, however, was more influenced by Oi! and Rock Against Communism (RAC) than by black metal, and described as being "more akin to '60s garage punk than some of the […] Black Metal of their contemporaries". Alexander von Meilenwald from German band Nagelfarconsiders Ungod's 1993 debut Circle of the Seven Infernal Pacts, Desaster's 1994 demo Lost in the Ages, Tha-Norr's 1995 album Wolfenzeitalter, Lunar Aurora's 1996 debut Weltengänger and Katharsis's 2000 debut 666 to be the most important recordings for the German scene. He said they were "not necessarily the best German releases, but they all kicked off something".

After the second wave

In the beginning of the second wave, the different scenes developed their own styles; as Alan 'A. A. Nemtheanga' Averill says, "you had the Greek sound and the Finnish sound, and the Norwegian sound, and there was German bands and Swiss bands and that kind of thing". By the mid-1990s, the style of the Norwegian scene was being adopted by bands worldwide, and in 1998, Kerrang! Journalist Malcolm Dome said that "black metal as we know it in 1998 owes more to Norway and to Scandinavia than any other particular country". Newer black metal bands also began raising their production quality and introducing additional instruments such as synthesisers and even full-symphony orchestras, more kinds of black metal seemed to be more various. 

By the late 1990s, the underground deemed many of the Norwegian pioneers, like Emperor, Immortal, Dimmu Borgir, Ancient, Covenant/The Kovenant, and Satyricon,to have commercialized or sold out to the mainstream media and "big bastard labels".

After Euronymous's death, "some bands went more towards the Viking metal and epic style, while some bands went deeper into the abyss". Since 1993, the Swedish scene had carried out church burnings, grave desecrations and other violent acts. In 1995, Jon Nödtveidt of Dissectionjoined the Misanthropic Luciferian Order(MLO).bIn 1997, he and another MLO member were arrested and charged with shooting dead a 37-year-old man. It was said he was killed "out of anger" because he had "harassed" the two men. Nödtveidt received a 10-year sentence. As the victim was a homosexual immigrant, Dissection was accused of being a Nazi band, but Nödtveidt denied this and dismissed racism and nationalism. The Swedish band Shining, founded in 1996, began writing music almost exclusively about depression and suicide, musically inspired by Strid and by Burzum's albums Hvis lyset tar oss & Filosofem. Vocalist Niklas Kvarforth wanted to "force feed" his listeners "with self-destructive and suicidal imagery and lyrics". In the beginning he used the term "suicidal black metal" for his music. However, he stopped using the term in 2001 because it had begun to be used by a slew of other bands, whom he felt had misinterpreted his vision and were using the music as a kind of therapy rather than a weapon against the listener as Kvarforth intended. He said that he "wouldn't call Shining a black metal band" and called the "suicidal black metal" term a "foolish idea".

(Pictures of bands that mentioned and relates)

(Shagrath of Dimmu Borgir)

(Katharsis, German Black Metal)

(old Dark Fortress, German Black Metal)

(Morean of Dark Fortress)

Source : Wikipedia, Youtube Per Yngve Dead Ohlin documentary, 

Transition Of The Next Waves in Black Metal scene (in its golden era)

End of the first wave

In 1987, in the fifth issue of his Slayer fanzine, Metalion wrote that "the latest fad of Black/Satanic bands seems to be over",the tradition being continued by a few bands like Incubus and Morbid Angel  (from the United States), Sabbat (from Great Britain), Tormentor (from Hungary), Sarcófago (from Brazil), Grotesque  and Treblinca / early Tiamat (from Sweden).

Other early black metal bands include Sabbat (formed 1983 in Japan), Parabellum (formed 1983 in Colombia), Salem (formed 1985 in Israel) and Mortuary Drape (formed 1986 in Italy).^[44] Japanese band Sigh formed in 1990 and was in regular contact with key members of the Norwegian scene. Their debut album,Scorn Defeat, became "a cult classic in the black metal world".

In the years before the Norwegian black metal scene arose, important recordings were released by Root and Master's Hammer (from Czechoslovakia), Von (from the United States), Rotting Christ (from Greece), Samael (from Switzerland) and Blasphemy (from Canada), whose debut album Fallen Angel of Doom (1990) is considered one of the most influential records for the war metal style^[ (also known as war black metal or bestial black metal). Fenriz of the Norwegian band Darkthrone called Master's Hammer's debut album Ritual "the first Norwegian black metal album, even though they are from Czechoslovakia".

In 1990 and 1991, Northern European metallers began to release music influenced by these bands or the older ones from the first wave. In Sweden this included Marduk, Dissection, Nifelheim and Abruptum. In Finland, there emerged a scene that mixed first wave black metal influences with elements of death metal and grindcore; this included Beherit, Archgoat and Impaled Nazarene, whose debut album Tol Cormpt Norz Norz Norz Rock Hardjournalist Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann considers a part of war metal's roots. Bands such as Demoncy and Profanatica emerged during this time in the United States, when death metal was more popular among extreme metal fans. The Norwegian band Mayhem's concert in Leipzig with Eminenz and Manos in 1990, later released as Live in Leipzig, was said to have had a strong influence on the East German scene and is even called the unofficial beginning of German black metal.

Second Wave 

The second wave of black metal began in the early 1990s and was spearheaded by the Norwegian black metal scene. During 1990–1993 a number of Norwegian artists began performing and releasing a new kind of black metal music; this included Mayhem, Thorns, Burzum, Darkthrone,Immortal, Satyricon, Emperor, Enslaved,Carpathian Forest and Gorgoroth. They developed the style of their 1980s forebears into a distinct genre. This was partly thanks to a new kind of guitar playing developed by Snorre 'Blackthorn' Ruch of Stigma Diabolicum/Thorns and Øystein 'Euronymous' Aarseth of Mayhem.  of Darkthrone has credited them with this innovation in a number of interviews. He described it as being "derived from Bathory" and noted that "those kinds of riffs became the new order for a lot of bands in the '90s". Some members of these Norwegian bands would be responsible for a spate of crimes and controversy, including church burnings and murder. The scene was bitterly opposed to Christianity and organized religion as a whole. In interviews during the early 1990s, members of the scene presented themselves as misanthropic Devil worshippers who wanted to spread hatred, sorrow and evil. When asked why such statements were made to the press, Ihsahn of Emperor said that this "was very much to create fear among people"^[ and "to be in opposition to society". More detail about the scene's ideologies can be found in the ideology section. Visually, the dark themes of their music was complemented with corpsepaint, which became a way for many black metal artists to distinguish themselves from other metal bands of the era.

Helvete and Deathlike Silence

The basement of Helvete, showing graffiti from the early 1990s

During May–June 1991,Euronymous of Mayhem opened an independent record shop named Helvete (Norwegianfor 'hell') in Oslo. It quickly became the focal point of Norway's emerging black metal scene and a meeting place for many of its musicians; especially the members of Mayhem, Burzum, Emperor and Thorns. Jon 'Metalion' Kristiansen, writer of the fanzine Slayer, said that the opening of Helvete was "the creation of the whole Norwegian Black Metal scene". In its basement, Euronymous founded an independent record label named Deathlike Silence Productions. With the rising popularity of his band and others like it, the underground success of Euronymous's label is often credited for encouraging other record labels, who had previously shunned black metal acts, to then reconsider and release their material.

Dead's suicide

On 8 April 1991, Mayhem vocalist Per Yngve Ohlin (who called himself 'Dead') committed suicide while alone in a house shared by the band. Fellow musicians described Dead as odd, introverted and depressed. Before going onstage he went to great lengths to make himself look like a corpse and would cut his arms while singing. Mayhem's drummer, Hellhammer, said that Dead was the first to wear the distinctive 'corpse paint' that became widespread in the scene.

He was found with slit wrists and a shotgun wound to the head. The weapon belonged to Mayhem's guitarist, Euronymous, which lead to rumours that the shotgun was left there to be used by Dead. Dead's suicide note apologized for firing the weapon indoors and ended: "Excuse all the blood". Before calling the police, Euronymous went to a nearby shop and bought a disposable camera with which he photographed the body, after re-arranging some items. One of these photographs was later used as the cover of a bootleg live album: Dawn of the Black Hearts. 

In time, rumors spread that Euronymous had made a stew with bits of Dead's brain and had made necklaces with bits of his skull. Euronymous allegedly gave some of these necklaces to musicians he deemed worthy.bHe used Dead's suicide to foster Mayhem's 'evil' image and claimed Dead had killed himself because extreme metal had become 'trendy' and commercialized.  Mayhem bassistJørn 'Necrobutcher' Stubberud noted that "people became more aware of the [black metal] scene after Dead had shot himself, I think it was Dead's suicide that really changed the scene".

Two other members of the early Norwegian scene would later commit suicide: Erik 'Grim' Brødreskift (of Immortal, Borknagar, Gorgoroth) in 1999, and Espen 'Storm' Andersen (of Strid) in 2001.

Black Metal History

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Probably the darkest and heaviest of all subgenres. Common traits include fasr tempos, shrieked and growl vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw (lo-fi) recording and unconventional song structure

During the 1980s, several thrash metal and death metal bands formed a prototype for black metal. This so-called the "first wave" of black metal included bands such as Venom, Merciful Fate, Bathory,Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. "second wave" arose in the early 1990s, spearheaded by Norwegian bands such as Mayhem, Burzum, Dark throne,Immortal and Emperor. The early Norwegian Black Metal scene developed the style of their forebears into a distinct genre. Norwegian-inspired black metal scenes emerged throughout Europe and North America, although some other scenes developed their own styles independently.

Initially a synonym for "Satanic metal" black metal is often met with hostility from mainstream culture. As basically Black metal is known as Anti-religion music. Many artists express extreme anti-Christian and misanthropic views, and several of the genre's "second wave" pioneers have been convicted for church burnings and murder. There is also a small neo-Nazimovement within black metal, although it has been shunned by most prominent artists but that was from the culture side, the actual history of early black metal scene yet there were many so many cases involved about in early 1990s. Since Mayhem's Per Yngve Ohlin Dead suicided and Euronymous murdered by former member of Mayhem black metal became known all around the world. 

(Euronymous, Necrobutcher and Per Yngve "Dead" Ohlin in 90s)

(Emperor, one of phenomenal bands in their golden years)

(Gorgoroth, Norwegian black metal band)

This is the song ever recorded with Dead on vocals

http://youtu.be/7IJovmgDJPY 

First wave

The first wave of black metal refers to those bands during the 1980s who influenced the black metal sound and formed a prototype for the genre. They were often speed metal or thrash metal bands. 

The term "black metal" was invented by the English band Venom with their second album Black Metal (1982). Although deemed thrash metal rather than black metal by today's standards, the album's lyrics and imagery focused more on anti-Christian and Satanic themes than any before it. They were focused on "satanic" theme on the album. Their music was fast, unpolished in production and with raspy or grunted vocals. Venom's members also adopted pseudonyms, a practice that would become widespread among black metal musicians. 

Another major influence on black metal was the band from Sweden, Bathory, led by Thomas Forsberg (aka 'Quorthon'), created "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal". Not only was Bathory's music dark, fast, heavily distorted, lo-fi and with anti-Christian themes, Quorthon was also the first to use the "shrieked" vocals that came to define black metal.^[16] The band played in this style on their first four albums: Bathory (1984), The Return of the Darkness and Evil (1985), Under the Sign of the Black Mark (1987) and Blood Fire Death (1988). With Blood Fire Death, and the two following albums, Bathory pioneered the style that would become known as Viking Metal.

Hellhammer from Switzerland "made truly raw and brutal music" with Satanic lyrics, and became an important influence on later black metal, Their simple yet effective riffs and fast guitar sound were groundbreaking, anticipating the later trademark sound of early Swedish death metal". In 1984, members of Hellhammer formed Celtic Frost, whose music "explored more orchestral and experimental territories. The lyrics also became more personal, with topics about inner feelings and majestic stories. But for a couple of years, Celtic Frost was one of the world's most extreme and original metal bands, with a huge impact on the mid-90's black metal scene". Tom G. Warrior of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost credited English hardcore punk band Discharge as "a revolution, much like Venom", saying, "When I heard the first two Discharge records, I was blown away. I was just starting to play an instrument and I had no idea you could go so far."

The Danish band Mercyful Fate influenced the Norwegian scene with their imagery and lyrics. Frontman King Diamond, who wore ghoulish black-and-white facepaint on stage, inspired what became known as "Corpse Paint".

Other artists usually considered part of this movement include Kreator, Sodom, and Destruction (from Germany), Bulldozer and Death SS (from Italy),whose vocalist Steve Sylvester was a member of the Ordo Templi Orientis. 

Source : www.Wikipedia.com. For pictures, google and Tumblr.com