--- title: "Black Metal" type: "MusicGenre" url: "https://themetalnet.com/genre/black-metal" parent: "Black Metal" bands: 7459 era: "early 1990s" --- # Black Metal **Black Metal** is a metal sub-genre, formative in the early 1990s. TheMetalNet maps 7,459 bands and 16,263 albums under it. Black metal is extreme metal’s coldest, rawest strain — fast tremolo-picked guitar, blast beats, shrieked vocals, and deliberately lo-fi production built for atmosphere over clarity. A first wave (Venom, who named it, plus Bathory and Hellhammer) laid the groundwork in the 1980s, and Norway’s early-90s second wave — Mayhem, Darkthrone, Emperor, Burzum — defined the genre and its notorious scene. The mood is icy, misanthropic, and occult, with themes of Satanism, nature, and darkness. Melody hides inside the harshness. ## Facts | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Genre | Black Metal | | Level | Sub-genre | | Parent genre | Black Metal | | Formative era | early 1990s | | Bands | 7,459 | | Albums | 16,263 | | Formation span | 1966 to 2026 | ## Notable bands (top 60 by prominence) - [Cradle of Filth](https://themetalnet.com/band/cradle-of-filth) (United Kingdom, 1991) - [Dimmu Borgir](https://themetalnet.com/band/dimmu-borgir) (Norway, 1993) - [Ulver](https://themetalnet.com/band/ulver) (Norway, 1992) - [Burzum](https://themetalnet.com/band/burzum) (Norway, 1991) - [Agalloch](https://themetalnet.com/band/agalloch) (United States, 1995) - [Darkthrone](https://themetalnet.com/band/darkthrone) (Norway, 1986) - [Immortal](https://themetalnet.com/band/immortal) (Norway, 1991) - [Satyricon](https://themetalnet.com/band/satyricon) (Norway, 1990) - [Venom](https://themetalnet.com/band/venom) (United Kingdom, 1979) - [Enslaved](https://themetalnet.com/band/enslaved) (Norway, 1991) - [Mayhem](https://themetalnet.com/band/mayhem) (Norway, 1984) - [Marduk](https://themetalnet.com/band/marduk) (Sweden, 1990) - [Borknagar](https://themetalnet.com/band/borknagar) (Norway, 1995) - [Graveworm](https://themetalnet.com/band/graveworm) (Italy, 1992) - [Rotting Christ](https://themetalnet.com/band/rotting-christ) (Greece, 1987) - [1349](https://themetalnet.com/band/1349) (Norway, 1997) - [Emperor](https://themetalnet.com/band/emperor) (Norway, 1991) - [Anaal Nathrakh](https://themetalnet.com/band/anaal-nathrakh) (United Kingdom, 1999) - [Bathory](https://themetalnet.com/band/bathory) (Sweden, 1983) - [Blut aus Nord](https://themetalnet.com/band/blut-aus-nord) (France, 1994) - [Gorgoroth](https://themetalnet.com/band/gorgoroth) (Norway, 1992) - [Ihsahn](https://themetalnet.com/band/ihsahn) (Norway, 1975) - [Impaled Nazarene](https://themetalnet.com/band/impaled-nazarene) (Finland, 1990) - [Shining](https://themetalnet.com/band/shining-02e28741) (Sweden, 1996) - [Summoning](https://themetalnet.com/band/summoning) (Austria, 1993) - [Absu](https://themetalnet.com/band/absu) (United States, 1991) - [Dark Funeral](https://themetalnet.com/band/dark-funeral) (Sweden, 1993) - [Deathspell Omega](https://themetalnet.com/band/deathspell-omega) (France, 1998) - [Sigh](https://themetalnet.com/band/sigh) (Japan, 1990) - [Taake](https://themetalnet.com/band/taake) (Norway, 1993) - [Watain](https://themetalnet.com/band/watain) (Sweden, 1998) - [Xasthur](https://themetalnet.com/band/xasthur) (United States, 1995) - [Beherit](https://themetalnet.com/band/beherit) (Finland, 1989) - [Deströyer 666](https://themetalnet.com/band/destroyer-666) (Australia, 1994) - [Nargaroth](https://themetalnet.com/band/nargaroth) (Germany, 1996) - [Nokturnal Mortum](https://themetalnet.com/band/nokturnal-mortum) (Ukraine, 1994) - [Today Is the Day](https://themetalnet.com/band/today-is-the-day) (1992) - [Drudkh](https://themetalnet.com/band/drudkh) (Ukraine, 2002) - [Eisregen](https://themetalnet.com/band/eisregen) (Germany, 1995) - [Kampfar](https://themetalnet.com/band/kampfar) (Norway, 1994) - [Nachtmystium](https://themetalnet.com/band/nachtmystium) (United States, 2000) - [Wolves in the Throne Room](https://themetalnet.com/band/wolves-in-the-throne-room) (United States, 2002) - [Abigor](https://themetalnet.com/band/abigor) (Austria, 1993) - [Arckanum](https://themetalnet.com/band/arckanum) (Sweden, 1993) - [Bethlehem](https://themetalnet.com/band/bethlehem) (Germany, 1991) - [Enthroned](https://themetalnet.com/band/enthroned) (Belgium, 1993) - [Horna](https://themetalnet.com/band/horna) (Finland, 1994) - [Inquisition](https://themetalnet.com/band/inquisition) (United States, 1988) - [Leviathan](https://themetalnet.com/band/leviathan-4ab7ef36) (United States, 1969) - [Lord Belial](https://themetalnet.com/band/lord-belial) (Sweden, 1992) - [Melechesh](https://themetalnet.com/band/melechesh) (Israel, 1993) - [Naglfar](https://themetalnet.com/band/naglfar) (Sweden, 1992) - [Satanic Warmaster](https://themetalnet.com/band/satanic-warmaster) (Finland, 1998) - [Carpathian Forest](https://themetalnet.com/band/carpathian-forest) (Norway, 1992) - [Desaster](https://themetalnet.com/band/desaster) (Germany, 1988) - [Hate Forest](https://themetalnet.com/band/hate-forest) (Ukraine, 1995) - [Liturgy](https://themetalnet.com/band/liturgy) (United States, 2004) - [Negură Bunget](https://themetalnet.com/band/negura-bunget) (Romania, 1995) - [Opera IX](https://themetalnet.com/band/opera-ix) (Italy, 1988) - [Absurd](https://themetalnet.com/band/absurd) (1992) ## Where it is played - [United States](https://themetalnet.com/country/us): 873 bands - [Finland](https://themetalnet.com/country/fi): 662 bands - [Germany](https://themetalnet.com/country/de): 613 bands - [France](https://themetalnet.com/country/fr): 327 bands - [Sweden](https://themetalnet.com/country/se): 288 bands - [Norway](https://themetalnet.com/country/no): 258 bands - [Italy](https://themetalnet.com/country/it): 253 bands - [Russia](https://themetalnet.com/country/ru): 214 bands ## Bands formed by decade | Decade | Bands formed | | --- | --- | | 1960s | 5 | | 1970s | 20 | | 1980s | 123 | | 1990s | 1212 | | 2000s | 2201 | | 2010s | 1980 | | 2020s | 501 | --- Source: [TheMetalNet https://themetalnet.com/genre/black-metal](https://themetalnet.com/genre/black-metal). Catalog data from MusicBrainz and Metal Archives. Full site index: https://themetalnet.com/llms.txt