Black Metal. One of the most misunderstood genres of music in the industry.Certainly it is understandable, why this genre of music would flare up so much controversy and dislike, there are plenty of scales, intervals, guitar progressions, double bass, blast beats, and it’s hard to understand the screaming most of the time. The look of the band is very dark and ominous, plenty of corpse paint, blood, black leather and as much hardware (spikes for the most part) as they could have on. This genre of music is definitely angry, but what do they have to be angry about?

On Feb. 19th was the opening night of one of the few documentaries about Black Metal culture, Until The Light Takes Us, playing at The Royal Theatre in Toronto. The movie mostly discussed the Norwegian Black metal scene, featuring interviews with the band members as well as the story of their life (and in some cases death) while in the band. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the movie as I didnt know a great deal about the black metal community and its origins, just a few bits of information from fans of the genre. As the movie played however, a sense of foreboding and sadness went through me. I could relate to these artists, understand their motives and reflect on their society.Much like their ancestors the Vikings wore face paint to prepare for battle, they also put paint on their faces, but they fought a different kind of battle.

Black metal has a story with deep philosophical and cultural roots, a story that everyone should at least be aware of, because in a roundabout way, it concerns all of us. Black Metal started out in Newcastle, England, with the band Venom , who were actually a thrash metal band who coined the term black metal, along with Bathory. Venom’s Black Metal album (1982) was part of the “first wave” of Black Metal, with elements of heavy metal and thrash. Black Metal imagery is a combination of death, violence, Satanism (event though most artists did not practice Satanism), pagan mythology, spikes, face paint, long hair and a lot of leather. Until the light takes us focuses on the origins of Norwegian Black Metal, and interviews the pioneers of that group in Norway, featuring plenty of the characteristics mentioned above. Because of its harsh, fast paced, rough sounds, the genre is the most extreme of it’s kind and it’s history– no less so. Due to the vast amount of information about this I will only cover some of the features that were also mentioned in the movie. I will add links at the end of this post if you seek more information (and it’s highly recommended that you do so).

Black Metal isn’t just a genre of music, it is an ideology that is fueled by the anger that many Norwegians feel about the lose of their old cultures and customs. When Christianity took over the Scandinavian region, the crosses took over the landscape. Many pagan churches, such as The Stave Churches, were taken over and converted into Christian places of worship, with no regard for the old culture. Norway is the 4th largest country in the world, with mostly no daylight hours in the winter and about 24 hours of daylight in the summer. While it’s mountains, frost bitten forests and insane fish dishes bring in a lot of tourism, the general feeling of the place is cold, very freaking cold. According to the Euroberometer, in 2005:

* 32% of Norwegian citizens said that “they believe there is a God”.
* 47% answered that “they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force”.
* 17% answered that “they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force”.
* 4% answered that they “do not know”.

By the sound of things, 47% of the Norwegian population is either agnostic or pagan, which comes into quite a bit of conflict with the other 32% of those that do believe. While most of that 47% don’t outworldly express it, there was a small generation of young adults that started getting very angry at the world they now saw around them. They disliked the way that the western world, and Christianity overshadowed and destroyed their pagan beliefs. Their anger is what fueled the dark tones and sounds of this underground musical genre, as well as their violent behaviour. Between 1992 and 1993, at least 4 Medieval churches were burnt down, 3 of those by either Varg Vikernes or two of Mayhem band members. Much of the situation at the time (early 90’s) is explained through the eyes of Varg “Count Grishnackh” Vikernes, former member of the bands Burzum, Mayhem, Old Funeral and Darkthrone. Varg was convicted with 4 church burnings and of the murderer of his band member Øystein Aarseth , who took credit for all the “brutality” even though he didn’t do much of it; for Øystein it was all about the image of appearing brutal, while not actually committing any crimes. While he was convicted Varg describes a different version of events, “They presented one witness in each case who claimed I had burned this or that church, and that was it. “Guilty”. Just like that. This process was repeated four times, and I was found guilty of kindling four churches, three of them having burned to the ground. There was not a single piece of physical evidence in any of these cases. I was convicted solely because of the testimony of one single person in each case.” Varg is surprisingly eloquent and calm in describing the anti-religious and commercial sentiments that he and his band members were experiencing. The very short version (it’s explained in more detail in the film) is that while the motive of the murder remains somewhat under debate, Varg committed it in self-defense, and after 15 years in prison, he was released on parole on May 24th 2009 (under probation). What isn’t debatable is the motive behind the church burnings that too place either by Varg and his band member or other individuals. They hated what Christianity did to the Viking cultures and they wanted to show just how much respect they had for it, as Varg stated “they didn’t have any respect for our customs, so why should we have respect for theirs”.

At the beginning this movement was a small group of people that wanted to get their anger out, at the world, at commercial over- taking by corporations, assimilation of culture, and (what I felt ) an anger for other people trying to define what their identity should be; so they changed it drastically. They did it with dress style, retaliation, and by creating the most disturbing sounds that they could think of. This is their self expression, their rage, and for many their depression coming out in music, and with Black Metal you can really feel it. Most of us don’t want to face that dark side of us, most of us ignore the primal nature of humanity, and our old pagan roots before dogma took over. These people, as menacing as they seem, are also human, and they defy the mainstream by confronting those raw emotions that are bottled up inside every day, as society tells us we should. “Don’t express anger” they say, “try and be composed”. While I don’t necessarily agree with burning down 900 year old churches, another part of me also understands why they did it. The church represented what they hated, and what everything became, and just as the old pagan church was masquerading as a Christian place of prayer, so were they, having to masquerade as a “functioning member of society”, having to give up what they believe is their true selves.

There is a dark poetry about their life and music, their sadness and antagonism comes through the interviews. Ever since the first generation of Black Metal, many of the new Black Metal fans, seem to miss the point of the genre, and focus on the image that it gives, the more brutal the better. What I ask, is that you look deeper, and see these musicians as people, many dealing with depression, all of them frustrated, and among all that, also a sense of humour. There were many parts in the film that were humorous, such as the artists discussing whether they like their corn flakes crispy or soggy. These humorous parts, show us their humanity and how they are as people, and not to get too philosophical but I dare say show us the “the lighter side of darkness”. Don’t fear what you don’t understand, always seek the truth, shed some light on situations and explore the motivations behind them. Always question.

“I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all.”
~Richard Wright

Until The Light Takes Us is playing all this week until Friday at The Royal theatre, 608 College Street, Toronto

I’ll now be updating every Monday now instead of Sunday
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Further information:

*http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/A-Z-of-Black-Metal-Garry-Sharpe-Young/9781901447309-item.html?ref=Search+Books%3a+%2527black+metal%2527
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4U33U_UyzQ
*http://www.peterbeste.com/store.html

Movie: Metal A Headbangers Journey.

Magazine: Terrorizer.

Cafepress.com

While most people around the world celebrated Valentine’s Day, the more nerdy of us may say, “Jee whiz, isn’t there another day close to Valentine’s that is worthy of honourable mention?” Since you are on the edge of your seats, there certainly is–Darwin Day! I must confess this entry started out after watching Valentine’s Day (directed by Garry Marshall) yesterday evening. In the movie, Kara Monahan (Jessica Biel) really hated Valentine’s Day, and while she was attractive, successful and in the company of great friends, she just couldn’t stand the holiday. While observing Kara and the multiple blackberry product placements, it occurred to me: this week isn’t only about Valentine’s Day and people using their Blackberries as vibrators while listening to Michael Bublé as the movie portrays. Instead, today marks two days post the birthday of Charles Darwin, born on February 12th 1809. Charles Darwin gave a much bigger contribution to the world than St. Valentine, therefore I believe he deserves his own holiday and his share of Hallmark’s shelf space in celebration of Theory of Evolution. Though I suppose that wouldn’t get Hallmark as much holiday revenue; it would certainly cause a few riots in the “bible belt” of the USA and at least make this time of year a bit more interesting.

So to celebrate his achievements, let’s roll back the clock some 200 years or so and take a look at how it all began.

Charles Darwin was English, which automatically qualifies him to narrate nature shows on the Discovery Channel. He was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire and later went on to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh, but he “found lectures dull and surgery distressing” (Isn’t Wikipedia wonderful). Having realized he disliked medicine, our young and ambitious dropout student then went on to apprentice under John Edmonstone, a freed black slave from whom he learned taxidermy, the art of turning cute adorable creatures into creepy display trophies. Now to fast forward the clock a few more years to the year 1856, the year of Rock N’ Roll Biology style, Darwin was already married to his first cousin Emma, and had a few kids. While he loved them dearly he was a big workaholic. In those years he’d already traveled all over the globe hitch-hiking his way in every ship navy-style. He longed to study cultures, behaviours, bugs and other assorted creepy crawlies. It was during those years that he collected most of the data that made up his writings.

Darwin came from a nonconformist Unitarian family, which, besides being a mouthful, is a theology which teaches belief in the single personality of God, as opposed to the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy spirit. So if you ever invited the Almighty out for a pint and said you were buying, He wouldn’t be bringing his other pals along, because that would just be ungentlemanly. By the time Darwin returned from his many journeys his belief in the existance of God withered significantly, and he started to question the Bibles’ literal meaning. Darwin later writes

“In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God.— I think that generally ([and] more and more so as I grow older) but not always, that an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind.”

Which is the Victorian way of saying “I’m not freaking sure what’s out there, so please let me have my tea in peace”.

On the 24th of November 1859, “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.” was published, resulting in mass criticism from the religious community, the likes of which Marilyn Manson could only wish for. So far Darwin dropped out of school, was cutting up dead animals, and angered the catholic church: If he lived today, he would have dropped everything, started a death metal band and called it “Atheist’, oh wait–that’s’ been done. Maybe, Darwin and the Taxidermies would work better here for an indie twist, or does Darwin and the Evolutionists have a better ring? But I digress.

Charles Darwin as a Young Man: a portrait of what could have been. If only.

So remember this day next February 12th, remember Charles Darwin who reminds us that this day isn’t only about showing someone you love them with foods high in sugar and artistic prowess in making Valentine’s Cards and flower arrangements, it is also a reminder that Darwin realized long ago love wasn’t the only factor controlling who and why we pick someone to cuddle next to a fire with.

And if you feel adventurous you can always combine both days in one and dress up like Tarzan for your sweetheart. Remember to do the mating dance.

I’d like to begin by saying that by reading these entries to come you might be a little twisted! But alas, do not worry–it’s not so bad. In the vast space of the internet–home to 4chan and Rule 36–you may have already stumbled upon an oddity that made you go “Where on earth did this come from?” or “What was that person thinking!?”– That is what I am here to talk about. The sub-cultures and counter-cultures we see around us on the streets or that we ourselves are part of. I am a video gamer, an aspiring fashion designer, an all around general nerd and I’m part of the metal music community. This makes my combined array of interests rather odd for most people.

Ever since I could remember I’ve loved things that looked antique and old. One could say that I was simply attracted to their fragile state, and their meaning for the person who used to own them. I always wondered though about those objects that never really existed. When I discovered the genre of Steampunk as a little girl, I felt a passion for it that only grew stronger. In my teenage years I moved on to more popular cultural icons, such as the Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls < insert sigh and also cringe of nostalgia >. I soon came to find that I could never really stay within that music, art style ,or fashion genre. I grew up listening to metal and rock music, and that was at the core of who I started to become. Like many people I found myself more and more interested in subcultures as the mainstream didn’t appeal to me a whole lot. Subcultures in the metal scene, cosplay, science fiction and science fiction sub-genres; you name it, if it was avant-garde, I was into it. For all those who like the strange and the bizarre, for those that discuss science fiction plots like they were yesterday’s headlines, or for those that are interested in anything you don’t hear about in mainstream media–this blog is for you.

And now onto today’s topic: Steampunk!

Steampunk cat is not amused

Steampunk (my favorite sub-genre) used to be a niche genre in the 1980’s and 1990’s, but more recently a lot of it has been welcomed into the mainstream. Dressing like a mechanized 19th century lady or gentleman is not as bizarre to some as it used to be. Much like the indie/hipster scene, knowledge of this fascinating world is becoming more readily available. I never knew what Steampunk was until half a decade ago, but what I did know was that the merging of science fiction and history was what I craved to see–and I wasn’t alone. By now some of you might be already jumping for joy at thought of gears, brass, goggles and well pretty much anything that could run on steam power. As for the rest of the confused lot, here’s a review of what Steampunk  is.

Alternate History is great!

Steampunk a speculative sub genre that melts a 19th Century aesthetic with mostly-fictional steam-run technology. Almost anything today can be made to look like Steampunk: clothing, computers,jewellery,cars, fictional characters, you name it–that’s what makes this genre so versatile! Now, you might not have heard of it as much because of its previous obscurity, but you’ve most likely come across it in movies or books without knowing it. Two of my favourite literature gems that feature Steampunk are Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne and The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling of which I highly recommended. Similarly the genre also appeared in quite a few movies. The Golden Compass is a more fresh and recent example but there’s also Howl’s Moving Castle, Castle in the Sky, and Steamboy to name a few to whet your Steampunk appetite.

Now that I have opened a few doors for those not previously aware, I encourage you to look into it. There are many other genres that are similiar to the steampunk genre that you might now be interested in as well–Cyberpunk and Dieselpunk (which I shall talk about in another post, as the information is far too vast), Atomicpunk, Neo-Victoriana, Girl Genius or Gaslamp Fantasy, Airship or sky captains all feature an alternate view of technology, history and near future. As with any sub-culture, they are born and disappear just as quickly. But for many of us they are part of who we are–what we live and breathe. What is a fad for others, is cherished for a lifetime for people like me.

For this reason I dedicate this blog to those nerds, geeks and science fiction junkies who crave the alternate side of culture like I do. I will be updating this section every Sunday afternoon for your weekly dose of oddities, innovations, and sub cultural banter. I encourage any comments on my posts and would love to hear them so don’t be shy. I hope you enjoyed this first brief overview about  my favorite sub-genre, and that you suddenly feel the urge to go to a shed somewhere and put together a flying contraption machine, so you can terrorize the skies in a proper Steampunk fashion. One could only hope–and don’t forget to pick me up on your way through the clouds!