whats the deal with people hating black metal so much?

There are a few reasons why Black Metal is widely and openly scorned by the great majority of people. Firstly, Black Metal musicians are blatantly hostile toward nearly every other genre of music. They make no bones about how they think all other types of music are garbage and that musicians that don't write songs akin to theirs are terrible. Secondly, Black Metal musicians are notoriously racist. That turns a lot of potential fans off of the music. Black Metal began in Scandinavia and that's still the home base for the major bands that are still releasing records. Thirdly, Black Metal adheres to a certain formula and a lot of the bands really do sound very much alike. Nowadays there are a lot of different labels that people try to attach to all the bands out there that would consider themselves to be Black Metal, but overall, Black Metal songs are written to a certain standard: Creepy, mostly atonal or chromatic tremolo-picked riffs, blast beats, growls and shrieks for vocal lines and eerie guitar leads. Even lyrically many of the bands that consider themselves to be Black Metal stick to a certain theme - song lyrics are nearly always related to Scandinavian history and culture or Satanism. Another big reason why Black Metal doesn't get a lot of respect is that the image the musicians themselves have comes across as silly. Leather, spikes, corpsepaint - people look at those things as corny and cliche.

The original bands that started the Black Metal movement and are largely responsible for the image that Black Metal has today are regarded as influential but they are also at fault for creating the sense of hostility that the general public has for the genre. Murder, arson, hate crimes, blatant racism and extremism were the things that people saw in those early days and it won't be forgotten.

Real Black Metal wasn't ever supposed to be mainstream or well-known. The entire point was that the music was supposed to speak to a certain target audience. Shoddy production was a big part of what made Black Metal and nowadays so many bands call themselves Black Metal, paint their faces, play loud and fast and angrily, sing about Satan or Odin and meanwhile the records are being produced in a top-of-the-line studio. It's nonsense. Black Metal isn't something that has the capability to evolve like other forms of heavy music. Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Power Metal, Doom Metal, Death Metal - they've all changed so much over the years. But Black Metal has its confines and it's not capable of evolving like other types of heavy music.

Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, Emperor, Thorns, Ulver, Borknagar, Arcturus and Satyricon are the best Black Metal bands in my opinion. Each is slightly different and has a distinct style but nearly every other Black Metal band sounds like an imitation of one of those bands. I've seen Mayhem live twice and in my opinion, Varg was right when he said that Black Metal isn't meant to be played live. Recently, Varg re-recorded some of his early tracks using new equipment and good production and the songs definitely lose something. Black Metal is meant to be listened to on record at home and it's meant to be produced shoddily - the best Black Metal records sound as though they were recorded in a basement somewhere. That's just how it is.

My favourite band has always been and will always be Mercyful Fate. Other than Bathory I can't think of a single Scandinavian band that's had more impact. I really love old Black Metal but I can see and understand why it doesn't attain the same level of respect as other types of heavy music.

You know I'm obsessed with Black Metal but I can think of a couple of reasons.

1. It has very little appeal to most people.

2. Associated with satanic lyrics and imagery.

3. Stereotyped and misunderstood by many people.

4. Annoying trve kvlt fans who keep insulting every modern band and newbie fans.

5. Some people can't get into traditional BM vocals.

6. Turned off by traditional BM sound and decided to give up the genre entirely.

7. Most people don't think BM has a lot of variety. (I don't blame them. A lot of BM is underground and the most accessible ones sound pretty much the same.)

8. They just don't like BM :D

I haven't been able to enjoy black metal since I heard the nazi/neo-nazi bands. They kind of ruined the genre for me. I also hear about the church burnings and plots to kill the singers of my favorite melodeath bands and that rubs me the wrong way.

I still enjoy some bands though: Immortal, Celtic Frost... A symphonic BM band that I can't remember the name of right now. Pagan ones are cool too.

I like thrash/black as Absu, Usurper, Sarcófago, Vulcano, Desaster and sweedish school as Dissection, Marduk, Dark Funeral, Witchery, Lord Belial and Satanic Slaughter.

The shrieked vocals and low-fi production are probably a turn off to some people, not for me though. It's one of my favorite sub-genre's of metal!

black metal is my 2nd favorite genre i metal.. ad people who hate black metal just have their own taste in music.. who are we to judge?

have you ever considered listening to black metal that has folk elements? like celtic/pagan black metal?

here are some bands that id recommend:

Moonsorrow (Pagan/Folk Black Metal)

Kroda (same)

Windir (Pagan Black Metal)

October Falls (Epic Black Metal)

Drudkh (Pagan)

Melechesh (efbbwogi Black Metal !! highly recommended)

Anaal Nathrakh (Extreme Black Metal)

Nargaroth

Mayhem

Burzum

Emperor

Behemoth

Enslaved

Mistur

Catamenia

Septicflesh

those are my favorites... i think you might know some of them, but i hope you like the rest...

Carach Angren FTW

People don't listen to the music. They instead hear about Varg Vikernes, what he's done that doesn't relate to his music, and then hate on the entire genre.

I like death metal more, but black metal is great too.

I am not hating on Black Metal... but i don't like it either!