Black Metal and Otherness

One of the most immediately perceivable aspects of black metal’s imagery and aesthetic is its focus on the negative – elements such as darkness (absence of light), cold (absence of heat) and mystery (absence of certainty) permeate the genre. These references point towards the Other, that is, that which is beyond our default categories and modes of understanding, which negates them in order to impose its own ineffable and mysterious rules. It is perhaps for this reason that many listeners often feel transported to distinctively otherworldly realms that certain albums are capable of summoning.

I still remember, though ages ago it seems
The first time I entered the gates
The revelation of ritual death
By which I became divine

Death, especially in a ritual or supernatural context, is one of black metal’s lyrical obsessions, associated with the concept of passage, access to the underworld, possession of dark powers, etc. In this sense, what dies is only an unessential part that has to be left behind in order to give way to a new, deeper experience of the Self, like the snake that sheds its obsolete skin. Thus, death in black metal is not always about total obliteration and the worshipping of the void, but can also hold the meaning of sacrifice and initiation. Of course, this being black metal, a craft obsessed with darkness and the Left-Hand Path, such procedures must happen at a level beyond “good” and “evil”, or rather, beyond constructive and destructive forces, since both are to be harnessed in the pursuit of transfiguration (1). Let us remind that in some tribal societies, as in Indian Tantra, demons are actively employed in rites and initiatory practices, often performing the role of “masters of initiation” (2) (for only the destructive devilish power can tear apart the ego).

My soul will leave this mortal coil of flesh and earthly life
To fly into the mist of night, into the nightside eclipse
And experience existence on the other side

Our thesis is that a significant part of black metal’s allure is this Otherness – whatever lies outside the waking consciousness, but is simultaneously felt deeply within. The unfathomable unconscious, the dark forest, the whisper of ancient gods and undead superstitions, the immense abyss. However it manifests itself, this power always speaks the language of the terrifying, for a part of us wants to cling to our old selves and is terribly afraid of the trial by shadows. It’s up to each of us to discover whether we can make it to the other side of the nightside eclipse, coming out transformed and holding a tremendous power beyond the grasp of mortals.

(1) The article “Mystical and Anti-Christian Symbolism in Hellhammer’s Apocalyptic Raids”, by José Felipe Rodriguez de Sá and Ermelinda Ganem Fernandes, applies this perspective common to the pagan religions to Hellhammer’s release, albeit from a Jungian psychological perspective; unfortunately, the full article is only available in portuguese.

(2) Mircea Eliade, “Myths, Dreams and Mysteries: The Encounter Between Contemporary Faiths and Archaic Realities”