A uniquely Nordic genre of rock music, Norwegian black metal rose in popularity from humble beginnings in childhood bedrooms in rural Norway to a nationwide voice of opposition. Today it is a worldwide phenomenon.
The National Library of Norway is currently hosting a niche exhibition, Bad vibes, which explores this strange art form, and its heritage steeped in the Norse mythology inherited from the Vikings. The event runs until the end of September.
The Viking Herald sits down with Eline Skaar Kleven, department director for exhibitions, events, publishing, and press at the National Library of Norway, and exhibition curator Thomas Alkärr, to talk rebellion, resistance, and the Viking Age.
The Viking Herald: Please tell us a little about this exhibition, how it came about, and the idea behind it?
Eline Skaar Kleven: The National Library has the responsibility of preserving and communicating Norway's cultural heritage. Our cultural history is full of rebellion and resistance. We are aiming to explore black metal as one such countercultural art form, where outsiders from all over the world have come together and formed a community.
The exhibition Bad vibes. Sonic emotions in Norwegian black metal explores Norwegian black metal as an art form and cultural expression. It also examines some of the emotions this music is able to generate.
TVH: How would you define 'black metal'?
Thomas Alkärr: Norwegian black metal is a sub-genre of extreme heavy metal, often referred to as the 'second wave of black metal.' In many ways, it's a logical continuation of early 1980s black metal.
When a new music scene began to emerge around Mayhem in eastern Norway in the mid-'80s, it was inspired by European black metal bands such as Venom, Hellhammer, and Bathory.
Norwegian black metal was also a reaction to American death metal – a popular genre around 1990. New Norwegian bands such as Darkthrone, Immortal, and Enslaved didn't like the clinical and trendy death metal fashion. They wanted to return to the primitive style of bands like Bathory.
The lyrics can convey a dark, occult, or mysterious feeling. Musically, Norwegian black metal is often characterized by blast beat drumming, shrieking vocals, and really fast, so-called tremolo picking on heavily distorted and razor-sharp electric guitars. Norwegian black metal should be full of emotion, serious, hideous, and cold as ice.
Thomas Allkärr, curator for the exhibition, and Marte-Kine Sandengen, head of exhibitions at the National Library of Norway. Photo: Gorm K. Gaare / The National library of Norway
TVH: Please, could you tell us about the Norse influence on this genre of music?
TA: Norse history, mythology, and the idea of an ideal heathen community are very much alive in Norwegian black metal. The sagas of the olden days and the Viking Age, before the christening of this nation, keep inspiring bands such as Enslaved, Einherjer, and Helheim, to name but a few.
Some musicians could probably pass as scholars, many have decades of Norse history studies behind them. Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson from Enslaved have built the entire lyrical concept of their band around Norse history, from the first demo cassettes until their most recent album, Heimdal.
Norway's deep forests are also an important source of inspiration for the country's black metallers. And there are masses of angst, fear, and tension buried in our art and cultural history linked to the forest, underworld, trolls, the devil, illness, war, and death.
These are wells from which Norwegian black metal also drinks. But black metal also contains traces of more recent popular culture such as role-playing games, fantasy literature, horror films, and electronic avant-garde music."
TVH: Do you think this exhibition has an attraction for people who prefer different types of music?
ESK: It's been important to us to reach fans of black metal but also an audience beyond that. For many in Norway – in parts because of the extreme events in the '90s – black metal still represents something alien.
We've tried to convey that black metal's story, culture, and community – and, not least, the art and music itself – is so much more. It is part of Norwegian cultural history in so many ways. For instance, how it is so deeply inspired by Norwegian literature, art, philosophy, nature, etc.
In addition to the exhibition, we've published a book, produced podcasts, and are hosting a series of events – all of them reaching out to a wider, general audience with a wide variety of relevant topics. We are happy to see that we have succeeded, as the audience so far is a great mixture of young and old, women and men – and also, we are glad to say, those dressed in black.
The opening of the "Bad Vibes. Sonic emotions in Norwegian black metal" exhibition at the National Library of Norway, with the performance by Witch Club Satan. Photo: Gorm K. Gaare / The National Library of Norway
TVH: Are these events and the exhibition English-friendly?
ESK: Most of our event program, the book Snø og granskog, and the podcasts, are in Norwegian. But the opening event, a concert with Sylvaine and a performance by Witch Club Satan, was something everyone could enjoy, regardless of language.
And all the exhibition documentation is available in English. This summer, we also offer guided tours in English, which will be advertised on our website and can be booked in advance. Everything free of charge.
TVH: What do you think the future holds for black metal?
TA: In 2023, it's probably as big as ever before, with many bands selling plenty of records and touring extensively. Considering that Norwegian black metal has been a force to count on in the world of heavy metal for over 30 years, it seems likely that the genre will keep attracting new fans in the years to come.
The bonds between the die-hard black metal fans and their favorite Norwegian bands are very strong, and for many, this connection will remain permanent.
There will always be extreme music lovers and outsiders in all corners of the world, people who one day dig their way into the dark and murky caves of classic Darkthrone, Mayhem, or Immortal, or maybe they experience the big sound of Dimmu Borgir and find something there that they will not be able to find anywhere else.
And for those with a deep interest in Norse history and mythology, Enslaved is a treasure chest. After decades of evolution, Norwegian black metal offers a wide variety of sounds and emotions, something for everyone, really. But not really for everyone, ha, ha!
Bad vibes. Sonic emotions in Norwegian black metal has been curated by Thomas Alkärr, co-director of the NRK documentary Helvete – the Story of Norwegian Black Metal. The exhibition design is by Nissen Richards Studio. The Bad vibes logo was designed by Jannicke Wiese-Hansen, who has designed band logos for numerous Norwegian black metal bands.
National Library of Norway, Henrik Ibsens gate 110, 0255 Oslo. Open Mon-Fri 9am-9pm, Sat 10am-6pm. Admission free.
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