1. Death Metal/Black Metal Death metal emerged in the late 1980s from thrash metal, carrying hard lyrics and a disturbed view of thrash that took an extreme path. As the name suggests, death metal is primarily about death, pain, andtorment. These brutal and cold lyrics are constantly repeated and noisy, heavily influenced by the slow metal of Black Sabbath and Metallica, a typical representative. Although death metal never resonated with the mainstream, it did find a dedicated following among die-hard heavy metal fans who appreciated Metallica and Guns N' Roses—selling millions of records in the late 1980s to early 1990s—or the popular metal bands like Poison. Death/Black metal maintained a small but loyal fan base in the 1990s.2. Black Metal Black metal focuses on themes of evil, paganism, and Satanism, often featuring anti-Christian and anti-religious lyrics. In addition to traditional heavy metal instruments, black metal frequently incorporates pianos, violins, or operatic sopranos to create a surreal and chilling atmosphere. Black metal is most associated with Scandinavian heavy metal bands.3. Pioneering Black Metal In the early 1980s, the British underground metal band Venom (Poison) explicitly promoted Satanism and a desire for war, introducing the term "Black Metal" to the metal community and guiding the musical direction for future black metal bands. Swedish bands Bathory (named after the blood Countess) and Celtic Frost (named after the Frost of the Celts) emerged around the same time and basically possessed the characteristics of primitive black metal: rough, brutal, and evil! Bathory's first album is hailed as the first black metal record. It's worth mentioning Danish band Mercyful Fate (Merciful Fate), which although did not significantly influence primitive black metal, played a role model for gothic black metal, symphonic black metal, and gothic metal.4. Primitive Black Metal The birthplace of primitive black metal is Norway, with the first Norwegian primitive black metal bands being Mayhem, founded in 1983, and Burzum, founded in 1991. Mayhem's 1993 album "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" is regarded as a model for many new black metal bands and is a milestone in black metal history, ranking among the greatest black metal albums.5. Symphonic Black Metal As primitive black metal bands were active, another new type of black metal was developing—symphonic black metal, which uses extensive keyboard playing to create a dark atmosphere, and the music is majestically massive. Representative bands include Norwegian Emperor, Old Man's Child, and Dimmu Borgir; other European bands are Austrian Summoning, Italian Stormlord, and Ukrainian Nokturnal Mortum.6. Gothic Black Metal Gothic black metal incorporates gothic keyboards, gothic female vocals, and emphasizes visual effects into primitive black metal music. Representative bands include Norwegian Dismal Euphony, Italian Graveworm, and British Cradle Of Filth.7. Viking Metal Viking metal is a folk-style black metal based on Nordic Viking culture. Representative bands include Norwegian Ulver, Enslaved, Einherjer, Borknagar, and Swedish Bathory's later works.8. Melodic Black Metal Melodic black metal is a new style of black metal that makes extreme music melodic and listenable, similar to melodic death metal. Representative bands are Swedish Vintersorg and Witchered Beauty.9. Dark Metal Dark metal is a branch of black metal that expresses emotions using black metal playing techniques and singing style, generally without demonic worship. Representative bands include Norwegian Aeternus and Finnish Thy Serpent; German Crematory; and Swiss Samael.Representative Bands Emperor, Mayhem, Enslaved, Dark Funeral
