Editing Black metal (section)

== Ideology ==
[[File:Taake Hellfest 2009 8 NB.jpg|thumb|left|175px|The [[Cross of St. Peter|inverted Christian cross]] is a common symbol associated with black metal imagery, usually used to signify opposition to Christianity.]]

Unlike other metal genres, black metal is associated with a worldview and ethos. It is fiercely [[anti-Christian sentiment|opposed to Christianity]]<ref name=sam/> and the other main [[Organized religion|institutional religions]], [[Criticism of Islam|Islam]] and [[Criticism of Judaism|Judaism]]. Many black metal bands are [[Satanism|Satanists]] and see Satanism as a key part of black metal. Others advocate ethnic Paganism, "often coupled with nationalism",{{sfn|Moynihan|Søderlind|2003|p=359}} although the early Pagan bands did not call themselves 'black metal'.<ref name=halupczok/><ref name=enslavedfrost/><ref name=nordicmetal/>

Black metal tends to be [[Misanthropy|misanthropic]] and hostile to modern society.<ref name=murdermusic/> It is "a reaction against the mundanity, insincerity and emotional emptiness that participants feel is intrinsic to modern secular culture".{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=37}} The black metal scene tends to oppose [[political correctness]], [[humanitarianism]], [[consumerism]], [[globalization]] and homogeneity.<ref>{{cite book |last=Murphy |first=David |editor=Ullrich Kockel |title=A Companion to the Anthropology of Europe |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |date=2012 |pages=437 |chapter=Chapter 25: Extreme Neo-nationalist Music Scenes at the Heart of Europe}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Manea |first=Irina-Maria |date=16 April 2015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HzcnCAAAQBAJ |title=Primal Roots: Ancestry and Race in Extreme Music Discourses |journal=Proceedings of IAC-SSaH 2015: International Academic Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities in Prague 2015 |publisher=Czech Institute of Academic Education |pages=186–187, 190 |isbn=9788090579125 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Noys |first=Benjamin |editor=Nicola Masciandaro |title=Hideous Gnosis: Black Metal Theory Symposium |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_GCM2MFeJwfMC |publisher=Glossator |date=2010 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_GCM2MFeJwfMC/page/n116 106]–108 |chapter='Remain True to the Earth!': Remarks on the Politics of Black Metal}}</ref> Aaron Weaver from [[Wolves in the Throne Room]] said: "I think that black metal is an artistic movement that is critiquing modernity on a fundamental level, saying that the modern world view is missing something".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2009/05/an_interview_w_13.html |title=An Interview w/ Wolves in the Throne Room's Aaron Weaver |date=22 May 2009 |work=brooklynvegan.com |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121175804/http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2009/05/an_interview_w_13.html |archive-date=21 January 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As part of this, some parts of the scene glorify nature and have a fascination with the distant past.{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=2}}<ref name=chonicles>{{cite web |url=http://www.chroniclesofchaos.com/articles/rants/6-668_black_metal_a_brief_guide.aspx |title=CoC : Rant : Black Metal: A Brief Guide |last=Kalis |first=Quentin |date=31 August 2004 |work=[[Chronicles of Chaos (webzine)|Chronicles of Chaos]] |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831140019/http://www.chroniclesofchaos.com/articles/rants/6-668_black_metal_a_brief_guide.aspx |archive-date=31 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Black metal has been likened to [[Romanticism]] and there is an undercurrent of [[romantic nationalism]] in the genre.<ref>Van Young, Adrian. [http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/black-metal-is-sublime/ Black Metal is Sublime]. [[The New Inquiry]]. 4 March 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lesourd |first=Elodie |editor=Amelia Ishmael |title=Helvete: a Journal of Black Metal Theory |publisher=Punctum Books|date=2013 |pages=36 |chapter=Baptism or Death: Black Metal in Contemporary Art}}</ref> [[Sam Dunn]] noted that "unlike any other heavy metal scene, the culture and the place is incorporated into the music and imagery".<ref name=sam/> [[Individualism]] is also an important part of black metal,<ref name="sam" /> with [[Fenriz]] of Darkthrone describing black metal as "individualism above all".<ref>{{cite video |title=Norsk Black Metal |year=2003 |publisher=[[Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref> Unlike other kinds of metal, black metal has numerous one-man bands. However, it is argued that followers of Euronymous were anti-individualistic,{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=27f}} and that "Black Metal is characterized by a conflict between radical individualism and group identity and by an attempt to accept both polarities simultaneously".{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=2}}

In his master's thesis, Benjamin Hedge Olson wrote that some artists can be seen as [[Transcendentalism|transcendentalists]]. Dissatisfied with a "world that they feel is devoid of spiritual and cultural significance",{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=129}} they try to leave or "transcend" their "mundane physical forms" and become one with the divine.{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=4}} This is done through their concerts, which he describes as "musical rituals" that involve self-mortification and taking on an alternative, "spiritual persona" (for example, by the wearing of costume and face paint).{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=50}}

Generally, black metal strives to remain an [[Underground music|underground]] phenomenon.{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=30, 42}}

=== Satanism ===
[[File:Pentagram4.svg|thumb|150px|right|The inverted [[pentagram]] is commonly used by bands in the genre]]

Black metal was originally a term for extreme metal bands with Satanic lyrics and imagery.<ref>{{cite book |last=McIver |first=Joel |author-link=Joel McIver |title=Justice for All – The Truth About Metallica |edition=updated |publisher=Omnibus Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780857120090 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SvW-uN-qEbIC&q=%22black+metal%22&pg=PT98 |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref>
However, most of the 'first wave' bands (including Venom, who coined the term 'black metal') were not Satanists; rather, they used Satanic themes to provoke controversy or gain attention. One of the few exceptions was [[Mercyful Fate]] singer and [[Church of Satan]] member [[King Diamond]], whom [[Michael Moynihan (journalist)|Michael Moynihan]] calls "one of the only performers of the '80s Satanic metal who was more than just a [[poseur]] using a devilish image for [[shock value]]".{{sfn|Moynihan|Søderlind|2003|p=16}}

[[File:Gorgoroth by Christian Misje.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Video shoot for "Carving a Giant" by Gorgoroth, which features mock crucifixions]]

In the early 1990s, many Norwegian black-metallers presented themselves as genuine Devil worshippers.{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=7f}} [[Mayhem (band)|Mayhem's]] [[Euronymous]] was the key figure behind this.{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=27f}} They attacked the Church of Satan for its "freedom and life-loving" views;<ref name=killyourself2>Esa Lahdenpera: {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120207234358/http://www.fmp666.com/moonlight/mayhem.html ''Northern Black Metal Legends'']}}. In: ''Kill Yourself'', no. 2, August 1993. Retrieved 30 January 2013.</ref> the [[theistic Satanism]] they espoused was an inversion of Christianity. Benjamin Hedge Olson wrote that they "transform[ed] Venom's quasi-Satanic stage theatrics into a form of cultural expression unique from other forms of metal or Satanism" and "abandoned the mundane identities and ambitions of other forms of metal in favor of religious and ideological fanaticism".{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=27f}} Some prominent scene members—such as Euronymous and Faust<ref name=emperor10/><ref name=killyourself/>—stated that only bands who are Satanists can be called 'black metal'. Bands with a Norwegian style, but without Satanic lyrics, tended to use other names for their music.<ref name=halupczok>{{cite journal |last=Halupczok |first=Marc |title=Waldschrate & Met-Trinker |journal=[[Metal Hammer]] |date=March 2010 |page=30}}</ref><ref name=enslavedfrost>{{cite book |title=[[Frost (album)|Frost]] |type=CD liner notes |publisher=[[Osmose Productions]] |year=1994}}</ref><ref name=nordicmetal>{{cite book |title=Nordic Metal – A Tribute to Euronymous |type=CD liner notes |publisher=[[Necropolis Records]] |year=1995}}</ref> This view is still held by many artists—such as [[Infernus]],<ref name=infernus>{{cite web |url=http://www.live-metal.net/features_interviews_infernus_gorgoroth.html |title=live-metal.net – Interviews: Gorgoroth – Infernus |last=Maki |first=Jeff |date=18 July 2006 |work=live-metal.net |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-date=12 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121212223347/http://www.live-metal.net/features_interviews_infernus_gorgoroth.html |url-status=usurped }}</ref> [[Daniel Rostén|Arioch]],<ref>Dr. Rape: ''Funeral Mist''. In: Jon Kristiansen: ''Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries''. [[Brooklyn]], New York: Bazillion Points Books 2011. pp. 420f.</ref> [[Nornagest]] and Erik Danielsson.<ref name=watain>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/flesh_ro/watain.htm |title=Interview with Watain |author=Arthur |work=geocities.com/flesh_ro |access-date=4 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019170513/http://geocities.com/flesh_ro/watain.htm |archive-date=19 October 2009 }}</ref> Some bands, like the reformed Dissection<ref name=faustleaves/><ref name=dissectioninterview2/> and Watain,<ref>terrybezer: [http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/unpublished-watain-interview-extras/ ''Unpublished Watain Interview Extras!''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817065649/http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/unpublished-watain-interview-extras/ |date=17 August 2012 }}, 27 March 2009, accessed on 21 November 2012.</ref> insist that all members must be of the same Satanic belief, whereas Michael Ford of [[Black Funeral]]<ref name="paganbelial.awardspace.com"/> and MkM of [[Antaeus (band)|Antaeus]]<ref>Ophth: {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130213163640/http://membres.multimania.fr/chaotik/7/antaeus.html ''AntaeuS'']}}, accessed on 21 November 2012.</ref> believe black metal must be Satanic but not all band members need to be Satanists. Others—such as [[Jan Axel Blomberg]],<ref name=hellhammerinterview>{{cite web |url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.metallibrary.ru%2Farticles%2Finterviews%2F96.html |title=Article: Interview |date=7 January 2007 |work=metallibrary.ru |publisher=Open Publishing |language=ru |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref> [[Sigurd Wongraven]]<ref name=murdermusic/> and Eric Horner<ref name="throneofmalediction">{{cite web |url=http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=64209 |title=Throne of Malediction Talks the Art of Black Metal |date=17 January 2011 |work=metalunderground.com |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref>—believe that black metal does not need to be Satanic. An article in Metalion's ''Slayer'' fanzine attacked musicians that "care more about their guitars than the actual essence onto which the whole concept was and is based upon", and insisted that "the music itself doesn't come as the first priority".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kristiansen |first=Jon |year=2011 |title=Worship Him! |journal=Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries |location=[[Brooklyn]], New York |publisher=Bazillion Points Books |page=467}}</ref> Bands with a similar style but with Pagan lyrics tend to be referred to as 'Pagan Metal' by many 'purist' black-metallers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mulvany |first=Aaron Patrick |date=May 2000 |title='Re-Awakening Pride Once Lost': Indigeneity and European Folk Metal |publisher=Wesleyan University |location=Middletown, Connecticut |page=IV}}</ref>

Others shun Satanism, seeing it as Christian or "Judeo-Christian" in origin,<ref>Varg Vikernes: [http://www.burzum.org/eng/library/a_burzum_story03.shtml "A Burzum Story: Part III – The Lie-Propaganda"]. Burzum.org.</ref><ref name=bathory-lyrics>[http://bathory.nu/08/08_writing_the_deeds_of_darkness_and_evil.htm "Writing the deeds of Darkness and Evil"]. Official [[Bathory (band)|Bathory]] website. Retrieved 29 October 2012.</ref> and regard Satanists as perpetuating the "Judeo-Christian" worldview.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Cosmo |date=September 21, 2011 |title=Mayhem vs. Burzum: Opposing views of black metal |url=https://www.invisibleoranges.com/mayhem-vs-burzum-opposing-views-of-black-metal/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925024020/http://www.invisibleoranges.com/2011/09/mayhem-vs-burzum-opposing-views-of-black-metal/ |archive-date=September 25, 2011 |access-date=February 8, 2023 |website=[[Invisible Oranges]] |language=en}}</ref> [[Quorthon]] of Bathory said he used 'Satan' to provoke and attack Christianity. However, with his third and fourth albums, ''[[Under the Sign of the Black Mark]]'' and ''[[Blood Fire Death]]'', he began "attacking Christianity from a different angle", realizing that Satanism is a "Christian product".<ref name=bathory-lyrics/> Nevertheless, some artists use Satan as a symbol or metaphor for their beliefs, such as [[LaVeyan Satanism|LaVeyan Satanists]] (who are atheist). Vocalist [[Gaahl]], who considers himself a [[Old Norse religion|Norse]] [[Shamanism|Shaman]],<ref>Tatiana Godarska: {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080514024208/http://www.imhotep.fi/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2151&Itemid=135&lang=en ''GORGOROTH'S GAAHL – INFINITE DIMENSIONS'']}}, 19 June 2006, accessed on 28 October 2012.</ref> said: "We use the word 'Satanist' because it is Christian world and we have to speak their language ... When I use the word 'Satan', it means the natural order, the will of a man, the will to grow, the will to become the superman".<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214650/http://www.tartareandesire.com/interviews/gorgoroth.html Interview with Gaahl of Gorgoroth, 7 October 2004]}}. Tartarean Desire Webzine.</ref> Varg Vikernes called himself a Satanist in early interviews but "now downplays his former interest in Satanism", saying he was using Satan as a symbol for [[Odin]] as the 'adversary' of the [[God in Christianity|Christian God]].<ref name=detsomengangvarg>''{{'}}Det Som Engang Varg{{'}}<!-- This is no spelling error. -->''. In: Jon Kristiansen: ''Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries'', p. 292.</ref> He saw Satanism as "an introduction to more indigenous heathen beliefs".{{sfn|Moynihan|Søderlind|2003|p=191}} Some bands such as [[Carach Angren]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heavymetaltribune.com/2012/06/interview-with-carach-angren/|title=heavymetaltribune.com|website=www.heavymetaltribune.com|access-date=25 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129041923/http://www.heavymetaltribune.com/2012/06/interview-with-carach-angren/|archive-date=29 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Enslaved (band)|Enslaved]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/arts/music/08ensl.html?_r=0|title=Enslaved – Music|first=Kelefa|last=Sanneh|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=8 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.revolvermag.com/news/director-sam-dunn-picks-the-five-most-important-extreme-metal-bands.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140927194349/http://www.revolvermag.com/news/director-sam-dunn-picks-the-five-most-important-extreme-metal-bands.html|url-status=dead|title=Director Sam Dunn Picks the Five Most Important Extreme-Metal Bands – Revolver Magazine (13 August 2013)|archivedate=27 September 2014}}</ref> do not have Satanic lyrics.<!-- These should not be lumped together. Pagan metal like Enslaved and In the Woods... on the one hand and Immortal singing about Blashyrkh on the other, none of whom use the black metal term for their music, are two completely different things.-->

=== Christianity ===
{{main|Unblack metal}}
[[File:Lars Stokstad & Thor Georg Buer EoR2011.jpg|thumb|130px|right|The Norwegian unblack metal band [[Antestor]].]]

'Unblack metal' (or 'Christian black metal') promotes Christianity through its lyrics and imagery.<ref name=kapelovitz>{{cite journal |last=Kapelovitz |first=Dan |date=February 2001 |title=Heavy Metal Jesus Freaks – Headbanging for Christ |journal=Mean Magazine |url=http://www.kapelovitz.com/christianmetal.htm |access-date=6 September 2007 |quote=And where secular black metal thrived, so did its Christian counterpart, unblack metal, with names like [[Satanicide]], Neversatan, and Satan's Doom. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070805040049/http://www.kapelovitz.com/christianmetal.htm |archive-date=5 August 2007}}</ref> The first unblack metal record, ''[[Hellig Usvart]]'' (1994) by Australian artist [[Horde (band)|Horde]], was a provocative parody of Norwegian black metal. It sparked controversy, and death threats were issued against Horde. Norwegian Christian metal band Crush Evil adopted a black metal style in the late 1990s and were renamed [[Antestor]].

Many black-metallers see "Christian black metal" as an oxymoron<ref name=ultimatemetal/> and believe black metal cannot be Christian.<ref name=murdermusic/> In fact, the early unblack metal groups Horde and Antestor refused to call their music "black metal" because they did not share its ethos. Horde called its music "holy unblack metal"<ref name=Erasmus>{{cite web |url=http://unblack.d135-1r43.de/hordeint/hordeinterview.html |title=Horde Interview |access-date=9 December 2007 |author=Erasmus |year=2006 |publisher=Unblack.de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023175915/http://unblack.d135-1r43.de/hordeint/hordeinterview.html |archive-date=23 October 2007}}</ref> and Antestor called theirs "sorrow metal".<ref name=Morrow>{{cite web |author=Morrow, Matt |title=Antestor – The Return of the Black Death |publisher=Open Publishing |year=2001 |work=The Whipping Post |url=http://thewhippingpost.tripod.com/antestorthereturnoftheblackdeath/ |access-date=6 October 2012}}</ref> Horde's [[Jayson Sherlock]] later said "I will never understand why Christians think they can play Black Metal. I really don't think they understand what true Black Metal is".<ref>{{cite web |last=Sherlock|first=Jayson|title=For the life of me,... |url=https://www.facebook.com/jayson.sherlock/posts/10200535943462750 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/1283162632/10200535943462750 |archive-date=2022-02-25 |url-access=limited|publisher=[[Facebook]]|access-date=8 February 2013|date=5 February 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> However, current unblack metal bands such as [[Crimson Moonlight]] feel that black metal has changed from an ideological movement to a purely musical genre, and thus call their music 'black metal'.<ref name=ultimatemetal>{{cite web |url=http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/interviews/195667-crimson-moonlight-their-most-brutal.html |title=Crimson Moonlight – At Their Most Brutal – Ultimate Metal Forum |last=Jordan |first=Jason |date=24 May 2005 |work=ultimatemetal.com |access-date=4 September 2012 |archive-date=25 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125194719/http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/interviews/195667-crimson-moonlight-their-most-brutal.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Environmentalism ===
Black metal has a long tradition of [[environmentalism]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Skylar|first=Blake|date=2012-10-12|title=Environ-Metal: Where green is the new black|url=https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/environ-metal-where-green-is-the-new-black/|access-date=2022-02-20|website=People's World|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Groups such as [[Botanist (band)|Botanist]] and [[Wolves in the Throne Room]] have been described as exemplifying [[radical environmentalism]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lucas|first=Olivia R.|date=October 2019|title='Shrieking soldiers … wiping clean the earth': hearing apocalyptic environmentalism in the music of Botanist|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/popular-music/article/abs/shrieking-soldiers-wiping-clean-the-earth-hearing-apocalyptic-environmentalism-in-the-music-of-botanist/8C9F6AD2044A8F240E24160FCBCF06F0|journal=Popular Music|language=en|volume=38|issue=3|pages=481–497|doi=10.1017/S0261143019000308|s2cid=211654173 |issn=0261-1430}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Davis|first=Erik|date=2007-11-13|title=Heavy metal environmentalists.|url=https://slate.com/culture/2007/11/heavy-metal-environmentalists.html|access-date=2022-02-20|website=Slate |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gotrich|first=Lars|date=2011-09-02|title=Botanist: One-Man, Hammered-Dulcimer Black Metal (No, Really) |language=en|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2011/09/02/140122676/botanist-one-man-hammered-dulcimer-black-metal-no-really|access-date=2022-02-20}}</ref>

=== Politics ===
{{further|National Socialist black metal}}

A wide range of political views are found in the black metal scene. Black metal is generally not political music and the vast majority of bands do not express political views.{{sfn|Moynihan|Søderlind|2003|p=349-355}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Trafford |first1=Simon |last2=Pluskowski |first2=Aleks |editor-last=Marshall |editor-first=David W. |year=2007 |title=Antichrist Superstars: The Vikings in Hard Rock and Heavy Metal |url=https://www.academia.edu/521897 |journal=Mass Market Medieval: Essays on the Middle Ages in Popular Culture |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |pages=64 |isbn=978-0-7864-2922-6 }}</ref><ref name=gardell307>[[Mattias Gardell|Gardell, Mattias]]. ''[[Gods of the Blood]]: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism''. Duke University Press, 2003. p.307</ref>  The genre is seen more as "fantastical escapism". Artists usually see themselves as merely depicting the "macabre nature of the world" as opposed to what they see as the "preachiness" of genres like hardcore punk.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Liam Dee |editor1-last=Bayer |editor1-first=Gerd |title=Heavy Metal Music in Britain |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |page=59 |chapter=The Brutal Truth: Grindcore as the extreme realism of heavy metal}}</ref> [[Ihsahn]] of Emperor explained: "I see it much more as an atmospheric and emotional thing rather than a political one. Hardcore bands can deal with political things; black metal is something else".{{sfn|Moynihan|Søderlind|2003|p=354}}

However, some black metal artists promote political ideologies. National Socialist black metal (NSBM) promotes [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] or [[far-right politics]] through its lyrics and imagery. Like [[Nazi punk]], it is "distinguished only by ideology, not musical character".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Musical Style, Ideology, and Mythology in Norwegian Black Metal (Book chapter in: Metal Rules the Globe: Heavy Metal Music Around the World)|last=Hagen|first=Ross|publisher=Duke University Press|year=2011|pages=175}}</ref> Artists typically meld neo-Nazism with ethnic European paganism; however, a few meld these beliefs with Satanism or occultism. Some commentators see it as a natural development of the "black metal worldview". Members of the early Norwegian scene flirted with Nazi imagery, but this was largely for shock value and to provoke.{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=101}} Varg Vikernes—who now refers to his ideology as '[[Heathenry (new religious movement)|Odalism]]'<ref name=burzum.org>{{cite web |url=http://www.burzum.org/eng/library/a_burzum_story07.shtml |title=A Burzum Story: Part VII – The Nazi Ghost |last=Vikernes |first=Varg |author-link=Varg Vikernes |date=July 2005 |work=burzum.org |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref>—is credited with popularizing such views within the scene.{{sfn|Moynihan|Søderlind|2003|p=303}}{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=103}} Some bands blend Nazism and Satanism by voicing support for fascist satanist groups like the [[Order of Nine Angles]]. Bands that have featured ONA ideology and symbolism in their albums include Hvile I Kaos, Altar of Perversion, Aosoth and Spear of Longinus.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 2, 2018 |title=Orchestral, Occult-Driven Hvile I Kaos Reinvent Black Metal |url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/orchestral-occult-driven-hvile-i-kaos-reinvent-black-metal-9417957 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517084958/http://www.laweekly.com/music/orchestral-occult-driven-hvile-i-kaos-reinvent-black-metal-9417957 |archive-date=May 17, 2018 |access-date=May 16, 2018 |publisher=LA Weekly}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Dylan |title=Black Sky Thinking, Beyond the Iron Gates: How Nazi-Satanists Infiltrated the UK Underground |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/25716-ona-fascism-nazis-folk-horror-underground-occult |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116150543/https://thequietus.com/articles/25716-ona-fascism-nazis-folk-horror-underground-occult |archive-date=16 November 2023 |access-date=12 July 2023 |website=The Quietus|date=27 November 2018 }}</ref><ref>"[https://thequietus.com/articles/25716-ona-fascism-nazis-folk-horror-underground-occult Beyond the Iron Gates: How Nazi-Satanists Infiltrated the UK Underground] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116150543/https://thequietus.com/articles/25716-ona-fascism-nazis-folk-horror-underground-occult |date=2023-11-16 }}", The Quietus, November 27, 2018</ref><ref>Tonight It’s a World We Bury: Black Metal, Red Politics, (2023) Bill Peel, Watkins Media {{ISBN|1914420365}}</ref> As of 2018, Hvile I Kaos had distanced themselves from the ONA.<ref>https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/black-sky-thinking/ona-fascism-nazis-folk-horror-underground-occult</ref>

NSBM artists are a small minority within the genre.<ref name=gardell307/>{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=123f}} While some black metal fans boycott Neo-Nazi artists, others are indifferent or appreciate the music without supporting the musicians.{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=99}} NSBM has been criticized by some prominent and influential black metal artists—including [[Jon Nödtveidt]],<ref name=dissection/> [[Gorgoroth]],<ref name=tormentor>Metal Heart 2/00</ref><ref name="kingovhell">{{cite web |last=Škot |first=Mladen |title=Interview with Jotunspor |url=http://www.maelstrom.nu/ezine/interview_iss50_224.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927131014/http://www.maelstrom.nu/ezine/interview_iss50_224.php |archive-date=27 September 2011 |access-date=4 September 2012 |work=Maelstrom}}</ref><ref name="infernus1">{{cite web |date=15 March 2008 |title=Gorgoroth Guitarist Infernus: 'I Personally Am Against Racism in Both Thought and Practice' |url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=93004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422024415/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=93004 |archive-date=22 April 2009 |access-date=4 September 2012 |work=[[Blabbermouth.net]]}}</ref> [[Dark Funeral]],<ref name=billzebub/><ref name=caligulayoutube>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp_hTvOVSHQ | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211123/Sp_hTvOVSHQ| archive-date=2021-11-23 | url-status=live|title=YouTube – Dark Funeral- Interview (Episode 276) |work=[[YouTube]] |date=5 April 2009 |access-date=4 September 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Richard Lederer (musician)|Richard Lederer]],<ref name=protector>{{cite web |url=http://www.summoning.info/Stuff/PoliticalStatements.html |title=Political Statements from Protector (Summoning) |work=summoning.info |access-date=4 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630125512/http://www.summoning.info/Stuff/PoliticalStatements.html |archive-date=30 June 2012}}</ref> Michael Ford,<ref name=michaelford>{{cite web |url=http://www.fmp666.com/moonlight/blackfun2.html |title=Interview with Michael Ford |work=fmp666.com |access-date=4 September 2012}}</ref> and [[Arkhon Infaustus]].<ref name=billzebub/> Some liken Nazism to Christianity by arguing that both are [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]], [[Collectivism and individualism|collectivist]], and a "[[herd mentality]]".<ref name=dissection/><ref name=tormentor/> Olson writes that the shunning of Nazism by some black-metallers "has nothing to do with notions of a 'universal humanity' or a rejection of hate" but that Nazism is shunned "because its hatred is too specific and exclusive".{{sfn|Olson|2008|p=123}}

Partly in reaction to NSBM, a small number of artists began promoting [[left-wing politics]] such as [[anarchism]] or [[Marxism]],<ref name="StuBru">{{Cite web |title=De Zwaarste Metalgids: 66 metalgenres in één zin uitgelegd |url=https://stubru.be/dezwaarstelijst/dezwaarstemetalgids66metalgenresineenzinuitgelegd |access-date=20 February 2021 |website=[[Studio Brussel]] |language=nl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Gevorgyan|first=Elen|url=https://baec.aua.am/files/2020/09/Elen-Gevorgyan_Music-Ideology-and-How-They-Interact.-From-Sacred-Music-to-Black-Metal-1.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://baec.aua.am/files/2020/09/Elen-Gevorgyan_Music-Ideology-and-How-They-Interact.-From-Sacred-Music-to-Black-Metal-1.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Music, Ideology and How They Interact: A Journey from Sacred Music to Black Metal|website=[[American University of Armenia]]|access-date=20 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference |url=https://www.academia.edu/38849811 |title=Black Metal Theory Symposium Program |last=Nonjon |first=Adrien |date=2019 |publisher=[[University of Ljubljana]] |access-date=20 February 2021}}</ref><ref name="panopticon">{{Cite web|url=http://www.popmatters.com/column/161118-if-it-aint-got-no-blastbeat-its-not-my-revolution-panopticon/|title=If It Ain't Got No Blastbeat, It's Not My Revolution: Panopticon|website=PopMatters|date=19 July 2012|access-date=10 May 2016}}</ref> creating a movement known as "Red and anarchist black metal" (RABM).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=73109|title=Unearthing The Metal Underground: The Red and Anarchist Black Metal Underground |date=24 October 2011 |publisher=Metal Underground |access-date=2021-09-02}}</ref><ref name="stormofsedition">{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/storm-of-sedition-decivilize/|title=Canadian Crust Punks Storm of Sedition Go Off the Grid on Their Furious New 'Decivilize' LP|website=Vice Noisey|last=Kelly|first=Kim|date=2016-04-01|access-date=10 May 2016|quote=Storm of Sedition is part of the same Victoria, BC anarchist black metal/crust faction that claims Iskra, Not A Cost, and Black Kronstadt.}}</ref><ref name="skagos">{{Cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17741-skagos-anarchic/|title=Skagos: Anarchic Album Review|work=[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]]|last=Kelly|first=Kim|date=2013-04-17|access-date=10 May 2016|quote=The anarchist black metal movement forms a small but fascinating pocket in the extreme metal scene.}}</ref> Many artists have a background in anarchist [[crust punk]].<ref name="panopticon"/> Artists labelled RABM include Iskra, [[Panopticon (band)|Panopticon]], Skagos,<ref name="panopticon"/><ref name=skagos/> Storm of Sedition,<ref name="stormofsedition"/> Not A Cost,<ref name="stormofsedition"/> and Black Kronstadt.<ref name="stormofsedition"/> Some others with similar outlook, such as Wolves in the Throne Room, are not overtly political and do not endorse the label.<ref name="panopticon"/>