In Japanese metal magazines of the late 1990s, Nordic black metal was introduced not simply as “fast and dark music,” but as an extreme underground scene that emerged mainly in Norway. Bands such as EMPEROR were positioned as having not only violence and mystery, but also symphonic construction and an experimental character. However, material allowing the amount of coverage and scores for individual releases in Japanese magazines of the time to be compared continuously is limited.
PERIOD CONTEXT
The main points of introduction were broadly threefold. First was the regional identity of “the Nordic countries” and “Norway.” Black metal was associated with the image of a cold, closed-off Nordic underground scene removed from the center of the established heavy metal industry. Second was its difference from earlier death metal. Rather than low-end heaviness and grotesqueness, the focus was placed on sharp tremolo picking, repeating, icy riffs, a rough sound, screams, and a satanic or pagan aesthetic. Third was the scene’s internal differentiation. Groups of lo-fi bands that emphasized the initial impulse and groups that heightened their artistic character through keyboards, extended developments, and classical harmonies began to be distinguished, even while being grouped under the same name of “black metal.” In later Japanese magazine retrospectives of EMPEROR, they are treated not only as one of the leading bands of Norwegian black metal, but also as an “innovative, experimental, original” collective. Regarding their second album, ANTHEMS TO THE WELKIN AT DUSK, its expanded keyboards and clean vocals were criticized at the time, while later generations have evaluated them as musical adventures. This is important retrospective evidence indicating that magazine coverage in the late 1990s mediated Nordic black metal for readers not only through sensational incidents, but also as an expansion of metal’s expressive possibilities. In Japan, reception moved from a “地下音源”-like stage, reached through imported records, specialist shops, and devoted readers, toward a stage in which releases by bands such as EMPEROR were heard as important works in the history of the genre. However, it does not necessarily follow that the overall picture, including MAYHEM, BURZUM, and DARKTHRONE, was introduced in equal detail in general magazines. Magazine coverage tended to emphasize the mythic and sensational aspects of the bands, and there was a time lag before their musical evaluation was systematically organized.
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EVIDENCE
- BURRN! 2020年1月号EMPEROR’s Japanese performances and position in the Norwegian sceneThe originality of ANTHEMS and its later reevaluation
- BURRN! 2020年2月号EMPEROR’s history and continued reception in JapanThe speed competition and production background of the 1990s Norwegian scene
CONFIDENCE
Low
NOTES
For Japanese magazines from the late 1990s, primary material that allows coverage frequency, review scores, and imported-record information—including MAYHEM, BURZUM, and DARKTHRONE—to be followed continuously is limited. Accordingly, rather than comprehensively reproducing the introductions from the time, this explains the trend in reception through the evaluative axes and historical positioning of the genre that remain in later retrospectives.