It’s sad to say, but black metal, even from the start, seems to attract more posers than any other type of metal. There’s something inherent in black metal, because of the "extreme" imagery, that appeals to rebellious teens. I blame a lot of this on the same type of spoiled teens who made up the scenes in Norway and Sweden back in the 1990s. All of the extracurricular activities around which these mythologies were built have just as much, if not more, to do with attracting these "edge lord" kids to the black metal scene than the actual music itself. In fact, a lot of these kids are into the aesthetic and all of the superficial trappings of black metal, while not actually listening to the music at all. Social media only made this worse. The constant posting of pictures with corpse paint and band shirts is just another way to claim an identity in a disingenuous manner. It’s become less about the music and more about how many "grim" selfies you can take. This is something I’ve been saying for years—too many people in black metal are more obsessed with the idea of it than the actual sound. It’s become more of a fashion statement or a social club than a true musical expression.

If you talk to a lot of people, today, they'll have you believe that they were in on the ground floor of the Norwegian black metal scene. Seriously. Worse yet, half the people are my age or even younger, yet they'll swear up and down that they were into it from day one. Truth be told, most of the people that were even old enough to be around at this point were probably wearing their mother's make-up and listening to The Cure or some sort of glam rock, when Deathcrush was released. The vast majority only ever heard about the Norwegian black metal scene after it was, more or less, dead. Maybe they read about the church burnings and the murders. More likely, they read about it online or in "Lords of Chaos". People carry on heated discussions regarding the relationship between Euronymous and Varg, as if they knew the people, personally. Sadly, most of these people are in it for the hype and nothing more. Very few actually bother to listen to the music and even less have a true understanding of it.

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen on the internet these idiots dressed up in their black metal cosplay with their clown paint and their band logo t-shirts from bands they probably don’t even like. Then you look at what they’re actually listening to, and not only is it not black metal, but it’s not metal at all. It’s usually some kind of alternative rock or something. Or it’s this 'DSBM' garbage that, in most cases, has nothing to do with real black metal but is just trash.

“It is important to point out that black metal is not like punk was; i.e. a group rebelling. It is every man for himself. It isn’t like ‘all for one, one for all’. It is individualism above all.”

- Fenriz

This individualism has completely dissolved. Now, instead of finding your own path, black metal has become just another niche identity to latch onto, another scene to mimic and fit in with. Where is the sense of rebellion? Where is the true isolation? It's all just a trend now. Like much of metal, black metal became an island of misfit toys. All the social rejects, all the angsty teens who didn’t feel like they fit in with the other kids, decided that black metal was going to be their boys’ club. The focus was no longer on the music or the message, but on creating a sense of belonging—something that’s always been antithetical to what black metal was supposed to represent.

Black metal died a long time ago, and we’ve been molesting its corpse ever since. Between the cringe-worthy fans who were attracted by all the wrong elements and watered things down even more, the bands who jumped on the bandwagon because they wanted to be trendy (black metal was cool at the time), and the old-timers who lost the fire and the plot, the scene lost its soul. There’s no need for these geriatric bands to continue to exist. Losers like Mayhem, who haven’t made a decent album in decades and don’t even have a single living member responsible for their classic material, still get to tour, squeeze a few more dollars out of their name value, and offer nothing new. It’s all just a business, and most of these bands are just whores. The anti-establishment mentality was sold out and became a commodity. What’s left is a hollow mockery, as these bands parade themselves as icons while contributing nothing new.

Every time some snot-nosed kid emails me about their band’s demo or album, trying to sound as grim and raw as some demo from 1993 because they think they’re better than everyone else for ignoring the trends, it’s all just a joke. You’re not more cult, you’re not more grim—you're just a fucking poser. These things weren’t meant to keep going on forever. Whether it's the old-timers touring when they’re 60 years old, or the kids who just discovered this stuff a few months ago and want to be part of the same thing and to "join in on the fun", fuck them too. It’s dead, and it needs to stay that way. Find something else to do with yourselves other than just mindlessly copying every trope from the past with zero creativity added in. Not every fan needs to participate when in truth you have nothing to add. Quit trying to be part of (exploiting!) something that died thirty fucking years ago.

And I know, this might sound like I’m being hypocritical, because I’ve played black metal and worn corpse paint in the past. But let me clarify that, first of all, I'm ancient. And one of the main reasons I eventually stopped making music was because of this exact conflict. I was sitting there, asking myself, "What’s the point of all of this? What am I doing other than paying tribute to the likes of Darkthrone, Bathory, Moonblood, Mütiilation, etc.? Why does this need to exist? It’s already been done. And honestly, it’s been done to death." Why were the '80s, in particular, such a special time for metal? There was an undeniable creativity permeating all forms of the genre. The decade saw the birth of thrash, death and black metal. Bands weren't just sitting around content to copy what had been done before ad nauseum. It was a very meaningful time but it was all-too-brief. While those innovations were further developed into the '90s, nothing of value has been created since.