The Norwegian black metal scene is often prone to drama. While the "originals" - the members of the Inner Circle, aka Burzum, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Neraines, Immortal, Emperor, Taake, Satyricon - all share the same core beliefs, many of them have "gone their own way" and thus share different views on the "current state" of the black metal genre.
Most prominently, the tensions between the old guard of Burzum, Mayhem and Darkthrone, and the "newcomers" (relatively speaking) in Immortal and Emperor, the latter who were often seen as derivative of the former.
Worst, many were often ex-death metallers, something Euronymous himself didn't like very much. Notoriously, he prohibited Immortal from calling themselves "black metal", and they had to call their music "Holocaust metal" instead.
Immortal Wants to Play Disco Metal
In one famous interview with Metalious, Varg Vikernes spelled out plainly what caused the animosity between the kvlt bands and the newcomers. He doesn't mince his words.
Ihsahn wouldn't know what black metal was supposed to be. He was one of those death metal musicians who all of a sudden wanted to play black metal instead in 1992, long after Darkthrone and Burzum had released their first so-called black metal albums. So his death metal band 'Thou Shall Suffer' changed name to 'Emperor' and all of a sudden claimed to be black metal band instead. […] The whole point with black metal was that each and every band should be different from all other bands – in contrast to the ultra-trendy death metal bands who by that time all sounded the same. If a band didn't have its own style, its own originality and a special approach, then it wasn't black metal. When the rats in Emperor and Enslaved very quickly dropped their death metal dreams and all of a sudden started to copy Darkthrone and Burzum we – Euronymous and myself – were bloody pissed at them. They didn’t understand anything! Ihsahn is perhaps right when he says that the bands who play so-called black metal today are not really black metal bands, but neither was ever Emperor or Enslaved, and I guess he still fails to see that.
Following that interview, Abbath of Immortal was himself interviewed by Voice Metal, and the questions inevitably turned to the subject of what is "true" black metal in today's day and age.
Abbath had a funny answer for the occasion.
What made you decide to go in the direction of black metal instead of a more death metal sound which was definitely more popular in the underground at that time?No I never, I never follow what's popular you know. I just do what I like you know. If I wanna do a fucking pop album I'll do a fucking pop album. That's simple as that.
If I want to do a disco album I'll do a fucking disco Immortal album, it's as simple as that. I don't care what's popular or not out there. I just follow my gut feeling and heart feeling and just make the music I feel like making. That's what it is you know. Music to me is freedom. It's the freedom of expression. It's just me, you know. Maybe I don't write the lyrics myself but I'm part of it. The music is mine. I make the music and I find the right people to write the lyrics with me. It's simple as that. It's just rock and roll isn't it? Really?
Abbath concluded by praising the influence of Lemmy Kilmister - "a father to us, in many ways" -, of Motörhead, and Ronnie James Dio, of Dio, seeing himself and his music as a continuation of these figures and what they embody artistically.
What a fucking gentleman he was, yeah. Him [Lemmy Kilmister] and Ronnie Dio, coolest guys I've ever met. I love my father but fuckin' hell those were my fathers too ya know. [...] Lemmy... he was the best. He was the coolest. He was everything. So where do we go from here you know, yeah. Carry on. Carry fucking on. Rock and roll. Yeah.
If you want access to the full interview, as well as the entire history of the black metal genre from Venom to Euronymous to modern day greats, check out the book "Real Satanic Black Metal".
You can also read this interview of Fenriz (Darkthrone) where he tears apart the "nu wave of black metal".
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