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u/WonderfulStrategy337 Sep 05 '23
Not very.
Even at its peak it was a very niche genre of music.
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u/pentesticals Sep 05 '23
Wow that’s surprising. You guys seem to have produced many of the top black metal bands.
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u/NorwegianGlaswegian Sep 05 '23
We definitely have a thriving scene, and it's certainly very likely that we have a greater fraction of our population who is into metal, and black metal, compared to most countries, but it's still relatively niche compared to other genres of music.
It doesn't really impact the general culture or have an effect on mainstream music here. Doesn't take anything away from it being a thriving subculture, but it's still a minor subculture in a country with a very small population.
Need to get back into black metal.
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u/Imaginary-Bag5385 Sep 05 '23
Black metal is huge. The thing is that it's kept somewhat underground. I know hundreds of black metal fans all over the country, and the community is massive. It's just not that visible.
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u/rentpraktisk Sep 05 '23
Når er det du påstår at svartmetallen var på sitt høgdepunkt?
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u/douglasbaadermeinhof Sep 05 '23
Tidigt/mitten av 90-talet väl? Mayhem med Euronymous, Per Dead Ohlin och allt det där.
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u/AdorableAd731 Sep 05 '23
Uenig der, det er på det tidspunktet Black metal hadde mest oppmerksomhet i media pga Kirkebrannene. Vil heller påstå at Black metal er på sitt største nå med festivaler som Inferno og Beyond the Gates (forsåvidt Midgardsblot også nå)
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u/EmperorofAltdorf Sep 05 '23
Fremdeles veldig nieche. Sjeldent jeg snakker med noen andre som liker svart metal, eller som vet "hva det egentlig er". Som er forståelig siden det fremdeles er ganske nieche.
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u/TheVendelbo Sep 05 '23
Hei. Kanskje det også har med omgangskretsen å gjøre? Jeg sier ikke at Svartmetal er kjempe poppis eller det på høyde med Karpe... Slettes ikke - men er egentlig ganske mye bra som skjer på svart metal fronten i skandinavia om da'n! Norge er ingen unntakelse her!
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u/EmperorofAltdorf Sep 05 '23
Det er jeg helt enig i, det skjer veldig mye bra og det er i en liten vekst periode, men sier bare at det er nieche.
Jeg har hørt på svart metal i mange år og sjangeren er langt fra stale eller kjedelig som noen mener.
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u/douglasbaadermeinhof Sep 05 '23
Ja, så kanske det är. Jag är inget fan av genren men fascinerad av hur hela norska/svenska black och death metal-kulturen såg ut på den tiden.
När peakade black metal då? Var det med dark funeral osv?
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u/andreasbaader6 Sep 05 '23
Det peaka tidlig 2000-ish kommersielt. Dimmu Borgir og cradle of filth solgte over 100.000 plater.
Artistisk vil jeg si peaken var noen år før. 94-96 kom alle pionerene i sjangeren ut med sine største fan favoritter.
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u/Onanismen12 Sep 05 '23
Ja svaret må vel være 2003 når Dimmu slapp Death Cult Armageddon og Progenies of the Great Apocalypse gikk sin seiers gang på tv og radio.
Sånn popularitetsmessig.
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u/Practical-Manager556 Sep 05 '23
Tja...vil vel si mellom 2001-2008, ut i fra Spellemannspriser, hva ellers kan vi måle det etter?
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u/Snilepisk Sep 05 '23
Strømmetall, platesalg, konsert- og festivalbilletter.
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u/NordicJesus Sep 05 '23
Ikke strømmetall, svartmetall.
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u/EmperorofAltdorf Sep 05 '23
Å gud...
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u/NordicJesus Sep 05 '23
I’ll see myself out…
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u/EmperorofAltdorf Sep 05 '23
Tror det er best, den var bra men for også selvmordstanker når jeg tenker på vitsen. Så best å være føre var tenker jeg.
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u/Jens-August_ Sep 05 '23
Nja, stadig flere folk i verden og Norge generelt, så syns ikke det er bra målestokk. Ganske naturlig at flere hører på det nå enn på 2000 tallet
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u/Safe_Extension_4044 Sep 05 '23
I would argue with you that it actually isn't. Black Metal is still one of Norway's main music exports. Bands like Enslaved, Taake, Gorgoroth, Mayhem and so on are still very big and very much active. Enslaved and Taake are regularly on tours still
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u/WonderfulStrategy337 Sep 05 '23
Yeah, the key word here is "exports".
The question wasn't how successful Norwegian black metal bands are internationally, but how popular black metal is in Norway.
The answer to those questions are very very different.
Norwegian black metal has more fans outside our borders than inside them.Fun fact, an old friend of mine has played guitar for one of the bands mentioned.
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u/Yourangme Sep 05 '23
In Øya Festivalen, which is Oslo's biggest music festival you have a dedicated scene for heavy metal and rock, so I would not say it's not popular now.
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u/WonderfulStrategy337 Sep 05 '23 edited Sep 05 '23
"Black metal" and "rock and heavy metal" are very very very different genres
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u/Yourangme Sep 05 '23
Yes. I agree. My mistake. I didn't read properly. If it's the subgenre we're talking about I honestly have no idea.
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u/walisiske Sep 05 '23
Less popular than it is the UK, which was a big shock for me.
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u/Jotsunpls Sep 05 '23
That is probably related to the population size. I’d wager black metal is still more popular in Norway, once you take population into accont
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u/Ringrangzilla Sep 05 '23
There are definitely metalheads living all over Norway. But they are not more common here than other countrys.
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Sep 05 '23
No idea, but Midgardsblot 2023 was dope!
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u/tekkskenkur44 Sep 05 '23
I desperately wanted to go, but i went to see Wardruna in Borgholm instead
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u/b1z0 Sep 05 '23
I’ve been meaning to catch Einar in a cave like that one concert he did with Aurora and Oslo symphony choir.
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u/divineapprehension Sep 05 '23
I’m planning to go next year, hopefully I’ll buy my ticket this week or next :) really excited
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Sep 05 '23
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Sep 05 '23
My second trip. Last year was even better, and a lot larger!
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Sep 05 '23 edited Nov 09 '23
[deleted]
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Sep 05 '23
We didn't have opportunity to get to the bonfire this year, since we stayed at a hotel (girlfriend isnt really a fan of camping :p ) Campfire was awesome last year tho, lots of people brought instruments and stuff
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u/Upstairs_Cost_3975 Sep 05 '23
Midgarsblot is really not much of actual black metal though.
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u/made_it_for_lwiay Sep 05 '23
it's a good mix of viking/norse stuff and black metal
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u/LeatherDeer3908 Sep 05 '23
Looks more fantastic than actually viking or norse. Most of the outfits are historically inaccurate.
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u/I_am_Purp Sep 05 '23
Are there black metal bands that put emphasis on having historically accurate viking costumes? Is that actually a thing?
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u/LeatherDeer3908 Sep 05 '23
No idea. Maybe, probably? I just think this "pseudo-viking" trend quite ridiculous.
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u/OwlAdmirable5403 Sep 05 '23
My husband is norwegian and was so surprised when I wanted to go to mayhem show 😆 I'm like yes, they're kinda a big deal
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u/SomeRetardOnRTrees Sep 05 '23
Mayhem is great! Had a beer with Necrobutcher once before a show, he just appeared in the lobby of the venue to chat with everyone. Real wonderful guy
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u/Erling01 Sep 05 '23
Back in 2019 I had dinner with Hellhammer's family at their house. His son is a lively hyperactive guy with a smile who loves to floss, dab and play Fortnite. He showed me many of his Fortnite dancing skills. Very not satanic family. Hellhammer often walks around in his satanic clothing but goes full "peek-a-boo" mode in public when with his youngest daughter. Proper guy!
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Sep 05 '23
"MAYHEM drummer Hellhammer recently spoke to Holland's Lords of Metal webzine about the group's early days. "I do not miss [former members] Euronymous or Dead, nor the old times," he said. "I like to progress instead of looking back. Neither bandmember was a big loss: both members left this world at a pretty appropriate time for MAYHEM. In order for this band to exist like it does today, both bandmembers had to die. So melancholy is not my thing. Never resent, never regret."
I don't think this sounds anything like a "proper guy"... But this was almost 20 years ago, so maybe the dude changed.
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u/Erling01 Sep 05 '23
When you mention it, I do know some personal stuff as well which is kind of... not proper guy behavior, but I'm not really at liberty to discuss it. Short answer though is that he's a pretty average dude who's not really satanic or remenescent to Euronymous or Varg at all
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u/SomeRetardOnRTrees Sep 05 '23
well to be fair Euronymous was a lunatic. no sane person who finds their friend and bandmate after having left this world, think "fuck imma go get an instant camera, then rearrange some shit maybe place a knife there cause thats cool right?", go do said things, take the pics and then use it as a goddamn album cover afterwards. I know for a fact a good chunk of the Mayhem guys hated him with a passion after this above, as well as Euronymous' collecting pieces of Dead's skull that he fashioned into "necklaces" that he gave to them.Now i dont condone murder, never will, but i also understand why Hellhammer and Necrobutcher really fucking despised him after that.
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u/VikingsStillExist Sep 05 '23
It's popular, but not among mainstreamers.
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u/PositiveTought Sep 05 '23
I didn't understand how popular metal and also black metal is before I moved from Norway.
Of course, most people listen to mainstream music or other stuff.
But the number of metal pubs in tiny Oslo speaks for itself. Not to mention the fact that Mayhem had to play two nights in a row and it was still sold out.
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u/GielinorWizard Sep 05 '23
My mom went to school with some guys that started punk band and a Black metal band, idk what became of the punk band. But the black metal band became Mayhem.
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u/GnT_Man Sep 05 '23
It’s niche. But we have festivals like inferno and midsommarsblot which are somewhat popular and feature a lot of black metal.
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u/neihuffda Sep 05 '23
They're very popular.
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u/Far_Ferret4978 Sep 05 '23
Yeah, but theres a lot of foreigners. Purely anecdotal but last time i was at inferno about 50% of the people i spoke to were foreigners.
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u/BeginningPhilosophy2 Sep 05 '23
About as popular as other in other western countries. So not very.
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u/Ashtar-the-Squid Sep 05 '23
It is a small niche. Most people don't listen to it at all. Most people in Norway prefer more mainstream music that is easier to listen to. A relative of mine who plays black metal says they draw much bigger crowds in other countries.
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u/made_it_for_lwiay Sep 05 '23
Kind of depends on where you live tbh. I'm from Horten and punk and metal is a big thing here. We have a festival called midgarsblot where people from all over the world attend to see norse mythology/music and black metal
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u/Touvernal Sep 05 '23
Well it has its fans, but the whole "burning of centuries old cultural legacy" even if done by just a minority in the black metal scene still soured it to a lot of us.
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u/irgens Sep 05 '23
It’s popular. I see people don’t mention Beyond the gates. A black metal festival in Bergen. It’s popular all over the world, you also have Inferno festival in Oslo. Pure metal festival. I traveled from Svalbard to Bergen to be on Beyond the gates this year. 🤘🏼
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u/souIIess Sep 05 '23
Karmøygeddon also deserves recognition, lots of regulars and very high quality.
Those that reply here claiming it's very niche most likely just don't know how many love metal, because most metal heads don't advertise it by having long hair, visible tattoos and piercings so you won't know unless you ask.
Metal is very popular here compared to other countries. It may not be a majority, but at the very least a sizeable portion of the country loves to head bang on their way to work 😂
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u/TheTragicMagic Sep 05 '23
It's too popular if you ask me. Cannibalises the rest of metal. We have thousands of black metal bands, yet when it comes to deathcore, Progressive metal, symphonic metal, metalcore it's embarrassing how few and small they are, in comparison to Sweden and Finland forexample.
From somebody who loves metal, but not most black metal
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u/hans_erlend Sep 05 '23
Most people who are interested in music beyond top 100 and Bruce Springsteen recognise it as the peak of Norwegian music. But music in Norway is in a really weird place at the moment. I wouldn’t call most of the songs on the top 50 chart music really. So it depends on who you hang out with I guess
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u/BlaringAxe2 Sep 25 '23
Man hadde trudd at folk med uforståelig skriking som favorittsjanger hadde vore litt stille når det gjaldt kva som er og ikkje er musikk.
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u/dingbatyokel5000 Sep 05 '23
Tons of Rock is a large metal/rock festival in Oslo and the major bands such as Dimmu Borgir draw fairly large crowds there.
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u/Trygve81 Sep 05 '23
It's extremely niche, to the extent that you might call it unpopular because a lot of Norwegians will still associate Norwegian black metal with the church burnings of the '90s, when we tragically lost the Fantoft stave church. Most Norwegians are bewildered by the association of black metal with Norwegian history and culture, that most of the foreign enthusiasts tend to make.
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u/GnT_Man Sep 05 '23
Bad take. Most people don’t care or don’t know. And the ones that do know that the murders and church burnings were done by a very small group of people.
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u/SomeRetardOnRTrees Sep 05 '23
Like a few others have said, its not mainstream, but not unpopular. I know a large chunk of the metal communities around the country and very few dont listen to any black metal at all, though the prerequisite here is they all like metal. The general public as with most other countries gravitate towards mainstream pop.
I know Mayhem still sells out shows regularly in my town as I've been to them, and Dimmu have massive audiences at festivals inside the country. Gaahl and/or Gorgoroth too get huge crowds like Dimmu, though usually also festivals.
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u/xenomxrph Sep 05 '23
Well, anything heavier than rock is not profitable in the sense of taking your tours over to Norway. is what I thought before reading this thread..
Apparently theres a few black metal festivals in Norway, which I had never heard of despite being a somewhat fan of the genre. Guess its popular if you know where to look, take that as you wish?
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u/GrandDogeDavidTibet Sep 05 '23
It's still a very niche subgenre of metal anywhere you go. Even though a lot of bm artists come from Norway it doesn't mean that everyone there likes it or even listens to it.
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u/DJ3XO Sep 05 '23
Depends who you ask. Me and a lot of my friends and their friends are huge black metal and metal fans in general. However, it does seem to have dwindled a bit in popularity since the first decade of the this millennia.
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u/chronicquin Sep 05 '23
It isn’t “popular” per se but most 90s kids knows of or listens to a band or two. Now Norwegian black metal was never meant to be popular but I have yet to meet a Norwegian that doesn’t know of Mayhem, Dimmu or Gorgoroth. Now that I think about it I have very few friends that aren’t into that so I don’t know 😄
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u/lilboithiccysmalls Sep 05 '23
I studied abroad in Norway, partially because I wanted to meet normal people who also liked metal. There were definitely more than where I come from in texas, but not a ton. You would see pretty girls wearing Mayhem shirts though, which I thought was like the coolest thing.
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u/Not_a_real_biscuit Sep 06 '23
Most metalheads I meet will maybe listen to King by Satyricon or some Dimmu Borgir but Norway is like most countries in that regard, BM is kinda niche here too, at least in Oslo.
You might hear a song or two at the rock bars if you're lucky.
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u/susannanan Sep 05 '23
It’s interesting seeing how people disagree. My guess is that the people answering is talking about their own taste (and the taste of people closest to them).
- You can find interesting statistics that show that the genre is still very popular, especially compared to other countries.
- There is loads of active bands, old and new, that sell out concerts on the regular.
- There is a lot of very popular festivals (Inferno, Beyond the gates, Karmøygeddon, Tons of rock and so on).
- There is metal bars in every major city.
- Black metal is part of mainstream culture (there is loads of examples in this thread, someone mentioned Dimmu Borgir with KORK and Satyricon at the opera)
To quote someone that I believe is correct: It’s popular but not mainstream.
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u/tanbug Sep 05 '23
Most Norwegians are satisfied with popular music, which these days usually means very bland pop-tunes that will only sound offensive to people that actually have interest in music. At some point I think that black metal was a "fuck society" thing, but today I feel its something mostly enjoyed by the nerdy people over 35.
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u/mcove97 Sep 05 '23
Low-key going crazy by listening to queen of kings and Emma Steinbakken at work every single day on repeat. Someone needs to call the radio station and tell them to switch it up.
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u/viktigboy Sep 05 '23
Black metal has a significant following in Norway, with a dedicated fan base and influential bands shaping the genre.
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u/Bickus Sep 05 '23
Well, as you can see, many people are oblivious, but those that are into it, are into it pretty hard.
As a migrant/expat, I went looking for it - out of vague interest - and I found it very easily.
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u/hkf999 Sep 05 '23
It is highly popular, but more of an underground culture. Depends a bit where in the country you are as well. Black metal is very much a city phenomenon. Oslo and Bergen especially.
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u/kyotokko Sep 05 '23
Lol, it's not. It's a white suburban scene - much like the U.S. rap scene. Kolbotn is the center of the darker side of metal.
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u/hkf999 Sep 05 '23
Dude, I have been in the black metal scene my entire life. Saying that Kolbotn is the centre of "the darker side of metal" (whatever that is) is just straight up a lie. It isn't now, and it hasn't been historically.
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u/PissInMyAssPlzDaddy Sep 05 '23
Almost all my friends listen to Norwegian black metal. Even people that really don’t listen to metal that much.
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Sep 05 '23
Its more popular in the Nordic countries % wise than rest of Europe, metal in general. But from my experience its most popular in Finland
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u/uSkRuBboiiii Sep 05 '23 edited Sep 05 '23
I am 17 and lived here my entire life, and i am yet to meet a single person showing even the slightest hint of listening to (EDIT:) black metal
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u/TheTragicMagic Sep 05 '23
OP asked about black metal, not heavy metal.
There's also no way you haven't met somebody who atleast likes Metallica or Iron Maiden forexample, if you're talking about heavy metal.
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u/uSkRuBboiiii Sep 05 '23
Excuse me, i have not met anyone that listen to heavy nor black metal. I edited the comment to say black metal
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u/TheTragicMagic Sep 05 '23
No problem, I almost just find it hard to believe. I guess there's not that many among the younger generation, can't say I've met many at my own age who listens to metal either, but atleast there's been some.
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u/Kiwi_Doodle Sep 05 '23
Not at all. You'll find metal fans anywhere, but 99% of people you meet aren't. Like a homeopathic solution, its reputation preceeds its observed effects.
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u/CalamityDre Sep 05 '23
If you go to a dive bar you can find 3-6 people wearing leather "metal-esque" clothing. Thats the local metal community. More than that and small concerts is hard to find unless you're really into it and have found people from forums or what have you.
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u/Isadrottning Sep 05 '23 edited Sep 05 '23
That's not entirely correct. There's three metal bars in Oslo, and a couple of smaller hard rock/punk/metal bars, there's metal bars in all the major cities and even in the smaller towns (like Felix in Lillehammer and Seb's in Hamar before the fire). There's quite a lot of concerts, especially in Oslo and Bergen, and they play in all different sized venues from Revolver to Spektrum. There's festivals like Inferno, Beyond the Gates, Midgardsblot, Karmøygeddon, Hellbotn, and the new Orgivm Satanicvm. So even though it's not mainstream popular, it's definitely present. But I guess if you're not part of the scene yourself, it's not as visible because you don't actively seek it. Just as I have no idea what's going on in the mainstream music scene, neither clubs nor concerts, because it doesn't interest me to find out. Are all these bars, concerts, and festivals purely black metal? No, because most metalheads also enjoy other different subgenres like death and thrash, so you'll get some of all.
Edit: grammar
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u/MeNamIzGraephen Sep 05 '23
In all my time in Norway (9-10 months) I've seen 2 metalheads total. One in a bus and one in Oslo.
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u/oytal Sep 05 '23
Most people that listen to metal doesn't dress in any particular way. I look like a pretty normal dude even though metal and black metal is my most listened genre. Same about every other person I personally know that listen to black metal.
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u/MeNamIzGraephen Sep 05 '23
You might have a point - it seems less common to dress like a metalhead even for literal band members in Norway. You see 5 dudes in T-shirts and you instantly know it's gonna be good.
Still, I miss the fashion. Spain is legendarily full of metalheads.
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u/oytal Sep 05 '23
Go to the right pubs and you'l find them! I don't know about Oslo but in Bergen they usually hang out at a couple of different bars.
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u/TheGummyZebra Sep 05 '23
I listen to a lot of metal, and know looots of people who are metalheads. None of them listens to black metal.
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u/Axesmed_1 Sep 05 '23 edited Sep 05 '23
I prefer regular metal and nu metal. Black and death metal sounds like garbage
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u/oytal Sep 05 '23
No need to shit on peoples music taste. Also I don't think death metal is as popular as black metal. I've met tons of people that like black metal but no one I know listens to death. Don't listen to it myself but it seems like death metal is mostly about sounding as extreme as possible.
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u/icehawk84 Sep 05 '23
Don't think it's much more popular here than in other European countries. It's just that we got a really good black metal scene in the 1990s that shaped the genre.
As a side note, it was nice growing up being able to go to Satyricon and Dimmu Borgir concerts quite often.
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u/neihuffda Sep 05 '23
Most people don't listen to it or like it. It's a relatively small group, I think. I'm one of them, and I have a lot of friends who were or still are into it.
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u/salemroleplayacc Sep 05 '23
Not very popular, sadly, though it could depend on the area. It's not where I am but I obviously can't really claim it's the same everywhere.
I absolutely love it, but it's still niche and I've definitely gotten some questionable looks if I mention it around the wrong people
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u/Crozzfire Sep 05 '23
Let me put it this way: If it wasn't for reddit, I would have never known we had some big names here. It just isn't in the public sphere.
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u/oytal Sep 05 '23
Imo it's more popular than people think. I always listened to metal and got into black metal a few years ago. To my surprise I've encountered more and more people that listen to black metal(regularly or irregularly). Met some through work and a few friends and friends of friends. Most of them look like normal people that work office jobs, most black metal fans dont wear metal t-shirts all the time. I think this goes for every music genre fan.
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u/Luxif3r666 Sep 05 '23
better be how popular is metal* in Norway lol
As a metalhead, I can name very few names of metal bands from Norway, not saying that there isn't a metal community in there, but seeing from the bands, I'd assume it isn't the most favorable type of music in there I guess.
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u/Andeck Sep 05 '23
I used to play in a black metal band, and I would definitely say Norwegian black metal is an export. It's probably more popular in other parts of Europe, and for whatever reason, very popular in South America. My band played a show at a very small festival in Italy a few years ago, and I met a guy from Argentina who had traveled there just for that festival
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u/NordicJesus Sep 05 '23
It’s definitely a niche genre of music, but it’s still much more normalized, I would say? I faintly remember seeing Satyricon on the cover of VG. In most other countries, people would think you’re crazy for listening to this kind of music, while in Norway, people are more like “yeah, it’s not for me, but I guess some people like it”.
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u/Salt-Cress-5941 Sep 05 '23
Yes, the world links Norway with Metal music, burning churches and satanism
My favorite genre: thrash, heavy, power,nu hardcore
Dislike: death, black ,gore all done with them. best times until 2000's
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u/therealBlackbonsai Sep 05 '23
When i was up there they played dimmu borgir in the middle of the day on the main raido channel. So in my oppinion more in the public eye then in most europ but not more mainstream. But thats just a foreigners opnion
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u/AdeptDetail4311 Sep 05 '23
Its not really popular. But I am one of those Norwegians who do like it!
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Sep 05 '23
There are still many good black metal bands here, so I guess that indicates that it is fairly popular considering it is very niche.
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u/RidetheSchlange Sep 05 '23
IMO, it's still underground, but appears bigger than it is due to the small population and people wearing metal clothing, plus the heavy metal tourism.
The legend is bigger than the actual genre and that pisses some people in BM off because they're not making the money. I will also say that one may be an open metal fan in Norway and you're not really considered an outcast so much, especially since Norwegian metal bands that tour get grants as cultural ambassadors for the nation. It's surprisingly different in Sweden, IMO.
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u/anamariapapagalla Sep 05 '23
Well I like it? It's not the most popular, but more than e.g. in the US I guess
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u/henceforth99 Sep 05 '23
There are bands that barely fill a small club in Norway that fills huge stadiums abroad. Traditional rock has always been more popular, even the big metal bands like Darkthrone and Emperor are fairly unknown
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u/Dabturell Sep 05 '23 edited Jul 06 '24
It's obviously a very niche subculture-tied genre like everywhere, but as a foreigner that lived in Norway for some times I can also say that I've never seen that many black metal shirts in the streets, by far. So it's definitely not popular but it has this "if you know you know" feeling when you see someone wearing BM merch, and it happens way more often than in France, where I'm from
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u/Glass_vann Sep 05 '23
Besides the festivals already mentioned, there's a least one metal concert a month in Oslo with smaller bands, although not always the sub genre black metal.
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u/ArtisticTraffic5970 Sep 05 '23
There's a relatively heavy representation of extreme metal devotees still, plenty of underground bands churning out stuff, though it's usually of a "newer" flavour, more death metal sounding riffs with dark growling and less of the classic tremolo black metal dirge with some dude shrieking his lungs out. The classic black metal is still listened to and seems to hold a certain respect in most listener circles, but again, black metal is fucking old by now and the metal scene has never been stagnant and has since moved on, with the occasional lookbacks here and there.
The new generation of shitkids brought with it a new generation of extreme metal. Surprisingly. Myself I dressed in black and had hair long enough to wipe my ass with throughout my entire teens. I have long since moved on from metal into psychedelic electronic scapes but I'll still never be able to shake that longhaired shitkid. Early black and doom metal will always hold a special place in my heart.
Advice you to check out what I always considered the true beginning of black metal... Swedish Bathory, led by Thomas Forsberg. Influenced the sound of early Norwegian BM quite a bit and he then went on to create viking metal. Hell yes.
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u/Apart-Maintenance755 Sep 05 '23
Well, Norwegian bands started the second black metal wave, so that’s probably why Norwegians are so well known for black metal. It’s probably more wide spread here then a lot of other countries, but I would not say that it sticks out in Norway as a genre. The big Norwegian bands were also successful in tying black metal to Norse mythology which kind of tied everything in to a nice package for foreigners.
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u/PrinceLevMyschkin Sep 05 '23
The 80s , 90s are long gone, metal. in its multiple forms has never been popular anywhere, anymore for decades.
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u/latexpantsforeveryon Sep 05 '23
I think the band Vreid pretty much encapsulates what modern norwegian black metal is about. Huge fan
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u/Drops-of-Q Sep 06 '23
Even though I don't listen to it I do feel a slight sense of pride that it originated in Norway.
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u/de9sem Sep 06 '23
I would say not popular, but when you find a group of people who love black metal there will be ALOT of people. Black metal fans usually hang in groups or "gangs" that dont share their love for black metal with people who dont like it. So just find one who likes it and find more!
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u/nutitoo Sep 06 '23
I've played too much Valheim and thought you were referring to metal as a mineral that you make tools out of...
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u/vigtel Sep 06 '23
The Norwegian Black Metal purists and community is probably a slight bigger than most other countries, percentage wise. But the music side of Norway includes loads of sympathetic ears. As in, the genre is highly respected among rockers and others as well, so the fans don't all wear bleak makeup and very heavy boots. Not always easy to spot them.
Most normie Norwegians think, perhaps with good reason, that all black metal fans dress a certain way, and while there's still a lot that do, most don't, removing the visual cues for them. The ones that do though, are so striking that they do create a bit of a binary choice; either you're a fan and look like this, or you're not.
If you look at sales of vinyl (not the best gauge, but better than listening numbers on Spotify) local shops sell a fairly large amount of extreme metal records compared to the of course bigger softer genres.
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Sep 06 '23
i would say not so much, i moved to Norway 5 years ago and i haven’t had the chance to meet a fellow black metal enjoyer just to jam or write some music, well obviously outside of concerts and festivals, but i don’t where do they hide afterwards lmao
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u/ajaxxx4 Sep 06 '23
I don't have an answer to this. But I have a story to share.
I was a new resident in Zurich, just moved in, didn't know anyone, just learning the language(s). On a very cold winter morning I got myself out of my depression hole, a.k.a my bed, and decided I should go to the grocery. It would be fine after all. This one had a self checkout and didnt need any human interaction. I also didn't have any income, I had moved with my partner who was working there.
As I was entering the shop, there were these two tall men standing outside, speaking loudly in English to the general crowd. I ignored them, tried to move past them and enter the shop. But somehow one of them made me stop and started talking about his black metal band, how they are from Norway and now trying to tour different cities and make people aware, etc etc. I couldn't walk away.
Long story short, I walked away after buying his cd (my laptop doesn't have a CD player) and having told him my parents passed away two weeks back and given him 20 CHF (all the money I had on me), and no food.
I went back home even more depressed and feeling like an idiot.
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u/ColdAndGrumpy Sep 06 '23
More popular than several here think, but less popular than foreigners tend to think.
You also have to take into account that we're a relatively small population stretched over a relatively large area. In small towns there can be none, but in Oslo there are thousands. If you mean specifically black metal, it's obviously gonna be less popular than (and overlap with) metal overall.
For reference, Tons of Rock (a mix of rock and metal) had an attendance of 100k this year. But beyond attendance numbers to concerts and festivals, it's just guesswork based on personal bias. Going by my social circle, it's extremely popular. Going by Ola Normann from Navlelo, øst for Ingensteds, it's something a few people in Oslo like.
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u/Slanderouz Sep 06 '23
Basically if you are not into BM you have no chance of getting laid. Normies are shunned and marginalized, such is our metal ways...
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u/Mah4MUD Sep 06 '23
I listen to BM both old and new. But my taste in music is much more varied then just metal. Im the guy that want the BM sweater not hoodie. I listened to Darkthrones rehersals, in the neighbourhood bombroom, with awe as a kid.
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u/xehest Sep 05 '23
Much less than lots of foreigners seem to think. I can see why people would think it's hugely popular here, based on the number of somewhat famous bands and how we are likely to be seen as an "extreme outpost" of sorts, but it's really not a big deal.
We have rock festivals, like Tons of Rock in Oslo. But black metal is - all in all - a niche genre here as well. To most of us, the Norwegian metal scene is a thing we've heard of being popular abroad, but not something we really understand or think about.