Rock :: essays research papers

Rock Later styles of heavy rock music in the 1990s, such as grunge (the typical example being Seattle's Nirvana), show influences of heavy metal but are typically not labelled sub-genres of heavy metal, as opposed to thrash metal and hair metal. The general absence of virtuosic guitar solos is perhaps one reason grunge bands haven't been considered heavy metal bands. Another key artist during this time was Megadeth, which combined the relentless, speedy thrash metal riffs with the fancy guitar soloing of speed metal ala Judas Priest. Norwegian Black Metal Since the late '80s, the Norwegian scene has been characterized by paganism, violence, and some of the best heavy metal ever recorded. The scene was largely influenced by a trio of non-Norwegian bands in the 80s - Venom, Celtic Frost, and Bathory. England's Venom is widely considered to be the first black metal band, and their campy satanic posturing was a huge influence on Europe's extreme metal scenes. Their second album, "Black Metal", gave the new genre its name. the band that had the most direct influence on Norway's extreme metal scene was a one-man studio project from Sweden called Bathory. Bathory's album "Under the Sign: The Sign of the Black Mark" pretty much defines the typical black metal sound - loud, fast, and poorly recorded. However, the Viking Trilogy, consisting of the albums "Blood, Fire, Death", "Hammerheart", and "The Twilight of the Gods", is what really kicked off the explosion of Scandinavian metal. The early 90s saw the Norwegian metal scene rise in prominence on the world stage as bands constantly tried to "out-evil" one another. Three main bands emerged - Mayhem, Burzum, and Emperor. (Especially Emperor, IMHO) Mayhem became the musical leader of the scene, while Varg Vikernes of Burzum became the centerpoint of the Black Metal "movement", for lack of a better word. Emperor, meanwhile, garnered the most critical acclaim. Varg (aka "Count Grishnakh") was responsible for starting a wave of church-burnings and grave desecrations and eventually murdered Mayhem guitarist Euronymous. Emperor has probably had the most lasting influence on the scene, as the sound that they created has been the blueprint for many bands such as Norwegian metal superstars Dimmu Borgir, as well as a large number of non-Norwegian bands. DIMMU BORGIR Dimmu Borgir is a melodic black metal band hailing from Norway. Shagrath, Silenoz and Tjodalv initiated the band in 1993. Shortly after, Brynjard Tristan joined to play bass, and Stian Aarstad joined for keyboard duties. Dimmu Borgir was born. They are a band which success is measured with such bands as Emperor, Kreator and Cradle of Filth.