'Black Metal: European Roots and Musical Extremities' (bok)

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For de av dere som har en spesiell interesse for black metal, kan vel ikke denne nye boken som snart kommer ut annet enn anbefales:

As we enter the 20 year anniversary of the peak of black metal's raging upon the world, people are attempting more thoughtful analysis of this genre. Back in 1992, it was ignored; around 1998, people started talking, but it was mostly gossip and drama.

These attempts have taken different form depending on who authored them. The documentary Until the Light Takes Us was made by filmmakers who enjoy postmodern theory, and thus reflected that in its topic. Other books have been more specific to the interests of those who wrote them.

Anarchist, nationalist activists and traditionalist writer Troy Southgate now enters the fray with a volume of essays written by journalists, musicians and label owners from the black metal scene. Consistent with his interests, these analyze black metal from a European culturalist view.

The press release notes that "the genre itself can often take on a decidedly political and cultural form and many of its exponents have controversial views and opinions that are frequently overlooked by the commentators of the underground music industry."

http://www.examiner....-troy-southgate

Interview with Troy Southgate, editor of "Black Metal: European Roots"

At this column, a history of appreciation for books, articles and movies about black metal shows up in many of the articles. It has covered Until The Light Takes Us, the black metal theory conference, and several other sources.

One of the more recent forays into explaining black metal is Black Metal: European Roots & Musical Extremities, a book edited by writer, publisher and musician Troy Southgate. We are fortunate to have him present today with a few words about the book and its writers' background in metal.

How did you become involved in black metal? Did you have previous involvement with metal, or music in general?

I've been into Metal for many years, first with Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath and then with Black Metal from the mid-90s onwards. Maiden have always been my favourite Metal band, but as far as Black Metal is concerned I would certainly include Venom (who, in my opinion, also combine aspects of Punk and Metal), Bathory, Mayhem, Emperor, Immortal, Enslaved, Graveland, Jotunspor, Ethereal Woods, Drudkh and Svyatogor.

In fact I don’t mind admitting that I would even include Cradle of Filth in that list, because whilst they often receive a great deal of criticism from certain quarters I think some people take it all a bit too seriously. I can't fault them in terms of their lyrical and musical quality, but they are certainly less serious when it comes to matters pertaining to politics and culture.

I also enjoy some of the English Black Punk Metal bands like The Meads of Asphodel, Wolves of Avalon and Old Corpse Road.

What inspired you to put together this book?

The main reason was a genuine love for the music, as well as the respect that Black Metal has for European identity and spirituality. I also believe that it is important for some of the more controversial bands to have a platform for their views and opinions, as they are often excluded by the mainstream. Black Metal was never mainstream, of course, but even the underground media - much of which is either controlled or self-policing – deliberately conspire to deny them a voice.

In your view, what was the essence of black metal as an artistic movement? Did it share a mood, feeling, ideal or ideology?

I think it expressed a number of things. In the early days, of course, particularly in Norway, there was a knee-jerk reaction to Christianity and this resulted in some pretty futile and nihilistic acts of destruction. But I also believe that Black Metal has the ability to release the latent power of our primal European identity and, if properly applied and directed, can help to wake up the youth of this beleaguered continent of ours.

You've got some big names writing for this book in addition to yourself. Can you tell us more about them?

Yes, we have Tony ‘Demolition Man’ Dolan and Jeff ‘Mantas’ Dunn from Venom, a band that I have enormous respect for. Given that Venom coined the term 'Black Metal' itself and had such a powerful influence on some of the bands that came after them, I think it's extremely important for them to appear in the book.

And then we have Hendrik Möbus (Absurd), Alex Kurtagic (Supernal Records) and Jarl von Hagall (Der Stürmer), each of whom have very strong views on the history and future direction of Black Metal. Elsewhere, there is Alexander Wieser (Uruk-Hai) and William Vithólf (Fanisk), as well as a great English contribution from Gareth Giles (Hrafnblóð) and Matt Kay (Wodfreca Records). Vijay Prozak (Dark Legions Archive/Death Metal Underground) has been writing about Metal since the late 1980s, whilst Smierc Polarstern and Elena Semenyaka both know a great deal about the scene in Ukraine. Finally, I have also asked some Black Metal fans like Erik Proft, Neil Hiatt, Nils Wegner and Chris G. Hicks to make a contribution.

You're involved with a musical project, H.E.R.R. Does this share values with black metal?

Ha! Not at all. I have been involved in several bands over the years, especially in the Oi!, Ska, Industrial and Neo-Classical genres, but unfortunately I have yet to be part of a Metal project. Perhaps in the future…

How do you think the topic of this book fits in with other projects from Black Front Press?

I think it fits in perfectly. Black Front Press is, after all, concerned with subjects that we consider important for the survival of our historical, artistic, philosophical and cultural heritage. So in that respect I think Black Metal sits very nicely alongside people such as Ezra Pound, Julius Evola, Corneliu Codreanu, Otto Strasser, Friedrich Nietzsche and Oswald Spengler, as well as topics like National-Anarchism, Conservative Revolution and the New Right.

That's a lot of information and should give our readers a feeling of where the book is going and what it's going to cover. Thank you for your time, Troy, and we're looking forward to reading Black Metal: European Roots & Musical Extremities!

http://www.examiner....-european-roots

From the snow-covered environs of Norway and secluded graveyards of England to the dark forests of Germany and remote woodlands of Poland and Ukraine, an unstoppable Black Metal beast has dominated the extreme end of the musical scale for more than two decades.

Black Metal is an aesthetic, an emotion, an attitude and, for many, a way of life. Exposing the inner workings of your delicate eardrums to unbridled screams of primeval fury, an unending torrent of galloping rhythms and indomitable wall of buzzing guitars is like being thrown head-first into the whirling eye of a chthonic vortex. Black Metal can be disturbing, invigorating, provoking and empowering. One persistent and enduring image that is often associated with Black Metal is that of semi-comedic corpse-paint, futile church-burnings and Satanic ritual; but the genre itself can often take on a decidedly political and cultural form and many of its exponents have controversial views and opinions that are frequently overlooked by the commentators of the underground music industry.

We aim to examine some of those tendencies in Black Metal: European Roots & Musical Extremities. Ever since Varg Vikernes was courting media headlines for all the wrong reasons, Black Metal – like a fine wine, perhaps - has matured a great deal. The steady process of counter-cultural ripening has led to the formation of various sub-genres, among them Viking Metal, Progressive Black Metal, Blackened Death Metal, Symphonic Black Metal and National Socialist Black Metal.

So whether you like your Black Metal traditional and ground-breaking like Venom, Bathory and Hellhammer; raw and brutal like Mayhem, Emperor and Immortal; slick and polished like Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir and Old Man's Child; or politically controversial like Graveland, Drudkh and Absurd; this book is for you.

Contributors include:

Troy Southgate

Tony 'The Demolition Man' Dolan (Venom/Atomkraft/M-Pire of Evil)

Jeff 'Mantas' Dunn (Venom/Mantas/M-Pire of Evil)

Hendrik Möbus (Absurd)

Alex Kurtagic (Supernal Records)

Jarl von Hagall (Der Stürmer)

Alexander Wieser (Uruk-Hai)

William Vithólf (Fanisk)

Gareth Giles (Hrafnblóð)

Matt Kay (Wodfreca Records)

Vijay Prozak/DeathMetal.org

Elena Semenyaka

Erik Proft

Smierc Polarstern

Neil Hiatt

Nils Wegner

Chris G. Hicks

Signed copies of Black Metal: European Roots & Musical Extremities are now available to pre-order. The book will be around 200 pages in length and costs just £15 with free postage to anywhere in the world. The Paypal address is:

blackfrontpress@yahoo.co.uk

http://penetrate.blo...ts-musical.html

Endret Juli 16, 2012 av Sortulv

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