The second wave

Early Norwegian black metal scene

The second wave of black metal emerged in the early 1990s and was spearheaded by the Norwegian black metal scene. During 1990–1994 a number of Norwegian artists began performing and releasing a new kind of black metal music; this included Mayhem, Thorns, Burzum, Darkthrone, Immortal, Satyricon, Enslaved, Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Gorgoroth, Ulver and Carpathian Forest. They developed the style of their 1980s forebears as a distinct genre that was separate from thrash metal. This was partly thanks to a new style of guitar playing developed by 'Blackthorn' (Snorre Ruch) of Thorns/Stigma Diabolicum and 'Euronymous' (Øystein Aarseth) of Mayhem. 'Fenriz' of Darkthrone has credited them with this innovation in a number of interviews. He described it as being "derived from Bathory" and noted that "those kinds of riffs became the new order for a lot of bands in the '90s". As seen below, some members of these Norwegian bands would be responsible for a spate of crimes and controversy, including church burnings and murder. Within this scene, an aggressive anti-Christian mindset became a must for any artists to be finalized as "black metal". 'Ihsahn' of Emperor believes that this trend may have developed simply from "an opposition to society, a confrontation to all the normal stuff". Visually, the dark themes of their music was complemented with corpsepaint, which became a way for black metal artists to distinguish themselves from other metal bands of the era.


In neighbouring countries, bands began to adopt the style of the Norwegian scene. In Sweden this included Marduk, Dissection, Lord Belial, Dark Funeral, Arckanum, Nifelheim and Abruptum. In Finland, there emerged a scene that mixed the black metal style with elements of death metal and grindcore; this included Beherit, Archgoat and Impaled Nazarene. Black metal scenes also emerged on the European mainland during the early 1990s - again inspired by the Norwegian scene. In Poland, a scene was spearheaded by Graveland and Behemoth. In France, a close-knit group of musicians known as Les Légions Noires emerged; this included artists such as Mütiilation, Vlad Tepes, Belketre and Torgeist. Bands such as Von, Judas Iscariot, Demoncy and Profanatica emerged during this time in the United States, where thrash metal and death metal were more popular among extreme metal fans.

By the mid 1990s, the style of the Norwegian scene was being adopted by bands across the world. Newer black metal bands also began raising their production quality and introducing additional instruments such as synthesizers and even full-symphony orchestras. For many, this spread and diversification marked the end of the "second wave".