Some words on...
~Satanism and evilness in Black Metal~
Alf Svensson, the leader of KDS (Christ-Demokratic Party, of Sweden), showing off with the evil the lurks inside all of us.
ANYONE FOR METAL?
As with all music scenes, the one of Black Metal contains some rather peculiar characteristics. As usual, also, the fact that some of these artists seem to take themselves seriously is the most fundamental source of sarcastic fun.
We are looking at an anti-Christian movement. Religion, average ethics and values or all attacked and dismembered. This would be adequate, done in a conclusive manner.
For exampel the satanism, so vividly used as a tool against the common enemy, is indeed a striking contradiction. Same thing goes for the attacking of values, since these attacks has become a concept of values in itself, and thus the evil maniacs of the Black Metal scene are no better than their humble enemies.
Religion cannot be destroyed with religion. Values cannot be removed with values. Therefor the main part of the Black Metal bands existing today are simply mocking themselves in their ignorance.
It is popular in this scene to depict one-self as beyond the other monkeys, or rather, as more enlightened about the hypicrisy that is imposed on us by for example society. However, these statements are often ridiculous as for example God is attacked as though he was the living being depicted in the bible, and not the subjective concept revealed by Kant (among others). The latter a fact in which the intellectual part of humanity has adhered to ever since. Then, the evil maniacs are just as ignorant and poorly educated about the facts of psychology and social science, as the primates so atrociously attacked.
Merely calling one-self "evil" awakes the question of seriousness. For how can religion and values be attacked for their falsehood, using a concept derived from religion and values (i.e. good & evil)? Naturally, it can be claimed that this "war" is not about truth, but rather about two different sets of values attacking eachother. Exactly like any religious conflict, no different from muslims attacking christians, or vice versa. If this argument is accepted however, we have reduced the anti-religious movement of most metal music (or indeed, most sorts) to merely new additions to the historically vast line of stupid fights among equally idiotic religious people. Surely, this is not what the Black Metal maniacs like to think of themselves.
It can also be claimed that no-one actually takes all this crap about Satan seriously, in which case we have suddenly reduced the mockery of the scene from a religious war to a mere stand-up comedy. If this is the tragical truth, then another striking contradiction can be validated in the scene. For everyone who has any contact with the scenes of metal, will know that it is very common, and respected, for everyone to attack and insult all other musical scenes. This is done because people adhering to metal hate "trendy", superficial, unserious, meaningless and profitable forms of music. All this is true, bands like Hanson and artists like Madonna, really have nothing new or valuable to say. They are shows without any serious thought behind them, excpet the making of money. But is the Black Metal scene any better?
Not to speak about theso-called Viking (Black?) Metal. What is that all about? We see some 20 year olds standing on a stage playing some sort of music, singing about how swell it is to go around in long-ships and cut down cattle. It is rather funny, for example, that Christianity is to be attacked with concepts from an even more ancient and primitive culture. A culture, by the way, that was beating into oblivion by the word of Christ. Now, does these Viking inspired people take themselves seriously? The answer is that most of them probably do. The would not if they thought things over, but reality has not granted them the gift of conclusive thoughts, apparently, and thus we have to put up with them.
The scene of Black Metal can only be examined for what it really is: art. It is as meaningless, and full of bullshit, as any other form of art (with some exceptions). After all, it is the music we are interested in, and the music is great for some people, the fact that Black Metal people are generally just people (hence, as stupid as the rest of the primates) does not really bother anyone as long as the music they create appeal to the audience. If the music was not good according to at least some people, then the scene would be extinct no-matter how evil it might be.
Art and prejudice goes hand in hand. Therefor we cannot really complain about the Black Metal artists, but what we can always do with great pleasure is to laugh at them.
Let them be evil if that is what they desire, at least they are more fun than the good guys. Then again, the "good guys" of the world are pretty fucking funny as well.
There are few thing quite as scorn-inducing as listening to for example the singer of Dimmu Borgir stand on stage screaming out evils in the Black Metal voice of his. Now, the voices are fine with music, without music it all sounds rather pathetic. Dimmu Borgir, by the way, is a region on Iceland (with some strange vulcanic rock-formations), in other words, a great place to borrow as label for an evil band. We would like to see how fucking satanic those rocks or.
With silly, tribe-like, paint in their faces, weilding some ancient sorts of weaponry, playing around with blood and silly speeches with no attachment to reality what-so-ever, some people in this scene manage to keep a straight face (and even show it in public). Which is admired here at Total Scorn, since that is something which the creator and his associates would probably not cope with.
The only slightly positive point about the scene is that most of its people at least refrain from being complete whores. Something which is universally common in any other scene.
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