What are the characteristics of the black metal music genre?

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that developed during the underground scenes of the 1980s. Alongside other styles like death metal and thrash metal, it remains a distinct subcultural phenomenon within the broader metal landscape. Heavy metal itself originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United Kingdom and United States.

What we know

• Black metal emerged as an extreme subgenre from underground scenes during the 1980s. [2]
• Black metal remains a subcultural phenomenon today alongside other extreme subgenres like death metal. [2]
• Heavy metal music, the broader category encompassing black metal, is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. [1, 2]

Where to go next

• compared withHow did doom metal develop as an extreme subgenre?
• what caused itWhat role did Black Sabbath play in heavy metal?
• the bigger pictureWhat is heavy metal music?
• a case in pointHow does symphonic metal incorporate orchestral elements?
• whenHow did thrash metal break into the mainstream?
• an unexpected connectionHow are classical orchestration and heavy metal connected?Subgenres of heavy metal like symphonic metal integrate full orchestras and classical elements, showing unexpected roots in traditional orchestral structures.

Sources

• [1]heavy metal music (Wikidata Q38848) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Heavy metal music · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Symphonic metal · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Doom metal · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Heavy metal genres · CC BY-SA 4.0