--- title: "Melodic Black Metal" type: "MusicGenre" url: "https://themetalnet.com/genre/melodic-black" parent: "Black Metal" bands: 216 era: "mid 1990s" --- # Melodic Black Metal **Melodic Black Metal** is a metal sub-genre, formative in the mid 1990s. TheMetalNet maps 216 bands and 505 albums under it. Melodic black metal keeps black metal’s shrieked vocals, blast beats, and tremolo picking but foregrounds soaring, often mournful guitar melodies and more structured songwriting. Sweden’s Dissection set the standard in the mid-1990s, weaving death-metal muscle and heavy-metal melody into icy, majestic songs. Clean guitar passages, harmonized leads, and occasional solos are common, and the mood is grand and melancholic rather than purely raw. It bridges black metal’s atmosphere with genuine hooks. ## Facts | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Genre | Melodic Black Metal | | Level | Sub-genre | | Parent genre | Black Metal | | Formative era | mid 1990s | | Bands | 216 | | Albums | 505 | | Formation span | 1969 to 2023 | ## Notable bands (top 60 by prominence) - [Graveworm](https://themetalnet.com/band/graveworm) (Italy, 1992) - [Keep of Kalessin](https://themetalnet.com/band/keep-of-kalessin) (1994) - [Catamenia](https://themetalnet.com/band/catamenia) (Finland, 1995) - [Dark Fortress](https://themetalnet.com/band/dark-fortress) (Germany, 1994) - [Old Man’s Child](https://themetalnet.com/band/old-man-s-child) (Norway, 1989) - [Forefather](https://themetalnet.com/band/forefather) (United Kingdom, 1997) - [Hecate Enthroned](https://themetalnet.com/band/hecate-enthroned) (United Kingdom, 1993) - [Mystic Circle](https://themetalnet.com/band/mystic-circle) (Germany, 1992) - [Dissection](https://themetalnet.com/band/dissection) (Sweden, 1989) - [Shade Empire](https://themetalnet.com/band/shade-empire) (Finland, 1999) - [Unanimated](https://themetalnet.com/band/unanimated) (Sweden, 1986) - [Enslavement of Beauty](https://themetalnet.com/band/enslavement-of-beauty) (Norway, 1995) - [Cryptic Wintermoon](https://themetalnet.com/band/cryptic-wintermoon) (Germany, 1993) - [Mustan Kuun Lapset](https://themetalnet.com/band/mustan-kuun-lapset) (Finland, 1993) - [Noctiferia](https://themetalnet.com/band/noctiferia) (Slovenia, 1992) - [Siebenbürgen](https://themetalnet.com/band/siebenburgen) (Sweden, 1994) - [Vampiria](https://themetalnet.com/band/vampiria) (Argentina, 1997) - [Netherbird](https://themetalnet.com/band/netherbird) (Sweden, 2004) - [Daniel Lioneye](https://themetalnet.com/band/daniel-lioneye) (Finland, 2001) - [Evemaster](https://themetalnet.com/band/evemaster) (Finland, 1996) - [ICS Vortex](https://themetalnet.com/band/ics-vortex) (Norway, 1974) - [Radigost](https://themetalnet.com/band/radigost) (Russia, 1995) - [Thirdmoon](https://themetalnet.com/band/thirdmoon) (Austria, 1994) - [Dawn of Relic](https://themetalnet.com/band/dawn-of-relic) (Finland, 1993) - [Mirzadeh](https://themetalnet.com/band/mirzadeh) (Finland, 2000) - [Diabolical Masquerade](https://themetalnet.com/band/diabolical-masquerade) (Sweden, 1993) - [Illnath](https://themetalnet.com/band/illnath) (Denmark, 2000) - [Istapp](https://themetalnet.com/band/istapp) (Sweden, 2000) - [Oathean](https://themetalnet.com/band/oathean) (South Korea, 1993) - [Sworn](https://themetalnet.com/band/sworn-657dc40f) (Norway, 2004) - [Cor Scorpii](https://themetalnet.com/band/cor-scorpii) (Norway, 2004) - [Crionics](https://themetalnet.com/band/crionics) (Poland, 1997) - [Vinterland](https://themetalnet.com/band/vinterland) (Sweden, 1992) - [Blinded by Faith](https://themetalnet.com/band/blinded-by-faith) (Canada, 1996) - [Lyfthrasyr](https://themetalnet.com/band/lyfthrasyr) (Germany, 2002) - [Odious](https://themetalnet.com/band/odious) (Egypt, 1998) - [Axamenta](https://themetalnet.com/band/axamenta) (Belgium, 1993) - [Born of Thorns](https://themetalnet.com/band/born-of-thorns) (Finland, 1997) - [Faerghail](https://themetalnet.com/band/faerghail) (Finland, 1995) - [Sycronomica](https://themetalnet.com/band/sycronomica) (Germany, 1996) - [ArthemesiA](https://themetalnet.com/band/arthemesia) (Finland, 1994) - [Naumachia](https://themetalnet.com/band/naumachia) (Poland, 1999) - [Saxorior](https://themetalnet.com/band/saxorior) (Germany, 1994) - [Eucharist](https://themetalnet.com/band/eucharist) (Sweden, 1989) - [Onheil](https://themetalnet.com/band/onheil) (1999) - [Thrawsunblat](https://themetalnet.com/band/thrawsunblat) (Canada, 2009) - [Ibaraki](https://themetalnet.com/band/ibaraki) (United States, 1986) - [In Tormentata Quiete](https://themetalnet.com/band/in-tormentata-quiete) (Italy, 1998) - [Mörker](https://themetalnet.com/band/morker) (Sweden, 2003) - [Sykdom](https://themetalnet.com/band/sykdom-15c9af65) (Norway, 2003) - [Bane](https://themetalnet.com/band/bane) (2006) - [Bifröst](https://themetalnet.com/band/bifrost-388483f8) (Austria, 2005) - [Demons of Guillotine](https://themetalnet.com/band/demons-of-guillotine) (Russia, 1997) - [Twilight Ophera](https://themetalnet.com/band/twilight-ophera) (Finland, 1996) - [Aisling](https://themetalnet.com/band/aisling) (Italy, 1998) - [Dreamscapes of the Perverse](https://themetalnet.com/band/dreamscapes-of-the-perverse) (2001) - [Karkadan](https://themetalnet.com/band/karkadan) (Germany, 1997) - [The Wicked](https://themetalnet.com/band/the-wicked) (Finland, 1999) - [Beyond the Dream](https://themetalnet.com/band/beyond-the-dream) (Finland, 2005) - [Gramary](https://themetalnet.com/band/gramary) (Finland, 1997) ## Where it is played - [Finland](https://themetalnet.com/country/fi): 51 bands - [Sweden](https://themetalnet.com/country/se): 21 bands - [Germany](https://themetalnet.com/country/de): 14 bands - [United States](https://themetalnet.com/country/us): 11 bands - [Poland](https://themetalnet.com/country/pl): 9 bands - [Norway](https://themetalnet.com/country/no): 9 bands - [Italy](https://themetalnet.com/country/it): 9 bands - [Russia](https://themetalnet.com/country/ru): 8 bands ## Bands formed by decade | Decade | Bands formed | | --- | --- | | 1960s | 1 | | 1970s | 1 | | 1980s | 5 | | 1990s | 76 | | 2000s | 57 | | 2010s | 48 | | 2020s | 12 | --- Source: [TheMetalNet https://themetalnet.com/genre/melodic-black](https://themetalnet.com/genre/melodic-black). Catalog data from MusicBrainz and Metal Archives. Full site index: https://themetalnet.com/llms.txt