Start a Black Metal Band

Black metal is a very interesting metal sub-genre of the metal scene. It includes high-pitch shrieks, fast distorted guitars and fast blast beating. Wanna get that grim sound of your own? Then pick up your axe and read on!

Steps

  1. First off, you should consider if you want this to be a full band or a one man project. If you choose the latter, you have to make clear what the advantages and disadvantages is. The advantage is that the creative side is all up to you! The disadvantages is that it will require a lot of skill from your side to handle the instruments and vocal all by yourself. But it can be done, take for example Burzum, Nortt or Xasthur.
  2. If you choose to make this a real band, you should find your band members. There are really no limits of how few or many you can be. A good amount will be 3-4, with a drummer, at least one guitarist, a bassist and a vocalist. The vocalist can of course play guitar or bass too. Sometimes even the drummer can be the vocalist.
  3. The vocalist will have to be able of snarling (also called shrieking) and maybe growling too. The vocals in black metal are mostly mid- to high pitched. Depends on what you want to sound like.
  4. Your guitarists should tune their guitar in either classical tuning (E) or D. Remember, this is not meant to be played as deep as death metal. Heavy distortion is a must; get a distortion pedal or an amp with the ability to turn up the gain. They should know how to play in 16th notes (also called tremolo notes).
  5. The drummer should most preferably know how to blastbeat at a fast pace. He should also have a double pedal or two singles with 2 base-drums. China cymbals give you a good sound as well as bells. Blastbeats are essential in black metal, because they create the "wall of sound" effect. Remember not to blast all the time, unless you want to sound like Marduk. If you haven't got a drummer, get a drum-program and at least some basic knowledge about rhythm.
  6. Find a good bassist that has good timing. The bass and drums are the foundation of your music. In heavy metal music, it is more common for bass parts to be more rhythmical. It would be good to have a bassist who can play a variety of different styles. Don't underestimate the importance of the bassist. One final note, your bassist should have a good "music ear". It is more difficult to hear the pitch of lower notes.
  7. Some black metal bands use a keyboard to have different sounds integrated in their songs. Some use them only to create atmosphere, other almost rely on keyboards (ie. Dimmu Borgir).
  8. An important part of black metal is the lyrics. Black metal lyrics usually concentrate on topics like life, death, hate, nature and religion. Satanic lyrics are not essential, but you can write whatever you want. Just remember that black metal lyrics are very serious, and are some of the deepest and most contemplative lyrics found in music.
  9. A good name is also important, and the options here are endless. Make something up, and use it. Avoid using names like "Satanik Pervertor", those are stupid. Also, if you choose a name in another language (e.g. Latin or Norwegian), be sure you know the meaning of it. Cities or districts with significance can be used (Whitechapel, for example, where the Jack The Ripper murders took place). You can also invent a new word to use as a name. If you think this is difficult, you can try to use a random word generator, such as NameDice.com, to get some ideas. In this case you should also find out if you invented a word that already exists in another language, or if it is a company or brand name and should not be used for that reason. It could be a good idea to Google for the name you choose before you start using it.
  10. To accompany the band name, create a logo. You can do it yourself, or you can get somebody else to do it. Again, the options are endless. There are some articles here on wiki-how you can use, just get inspired and be creative.
  11. Appearance is not everything. A lot of black metal bands dress up in corpsepaint, leather, Boots, Jackets, spikes etc, but this is not necessary. Do what you want.
  12. Write a song. There's really no advice here. Make up some good riffs and lyrics, and record it.
  13. A lot of black metal recordings are of poor quality. This is the result of musicians not having enough money to record it properly, or someone who just wants to stay "true". Try to get a decent quality, but avoid the polished sound of fx Dimmu Borgir. You can record in your room, in a basement, in a forest, whatever, it doesn't matter.
  14. That's pretty much all you need to know, but if you need some more info about black metal, look around on Wikipedia and Google, then you'll find some.
  15. Don't negotiate or come to terms.
  16. Never bargain with your stuff...just release it!

Tips

  • These are the major bands of black metal, but try to find some less-known. It's not that hard, and there are some really great bands out there.

    • Bathory
    • Burzum
    • Bishop of Hexen
    • Carach Angren
    • DarkThrone
    • Drudkh
    • Emperor
    • Enochian Crescent
    • Gorgoroth
    • Immortal
    • Marduk
    • Mayhem
    • Nokturnal Mortum
    • Venom
    • Xasthur
  • If you are a one-man band, but you want to play live, find some session musicians to fill the slots.
  • Don't think you will get famous playing black metal. Black metal is mainly an underground scene, and this will never change.
  • Be good, make some good music, read the "rules for black metal" and remember that black metal has to be taken with a grain of salt sometimes.
  • To get ideas for your band listen to a lot of music, not only black metal. Check out everything from thrash metal and folk music to classical.
  • Don't mind narrow-minded people saying you're "untrue". These represent the worst parts of the black metal fan base. It's important the music doesn't stagnate.

Warnings

  • This music style has some features that will appear shocking to some, like satanic or Nazi lyrics and imagery and so on. But nobody interested in starting a black metal band will have a problem with this.
  • This style is mainly underground; you probably won't get famous playing this. Part of the reason for this is the underground imagery and production. Since it is so unlikely for black metal bands to hit the mainstream, bands involved in the scene do what they do because of love for the music and not for money. Bands that make it big in this scene are typically not really black metal anyway, but are fusions with more popular styles (COF, Dimmu, etc).

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