Doors of Perception

Black metal today is not the black metal of the early 90s. It is not an adolescent revolt against death metal musicians wearing surfer shorts, nor merely an expression of teen angst. As black metal has evolved musically, it has matured lyrically, the trend being an abandonment of mindless calls to abusive fornication with goats and central religious figures in Christianity, and the traversing of a deep expanse of subjects steeped more in reflection than in barbarism, such as postmodern continental philosophy and particularly medieval theology. As more and more bands in the genre seem to be choking on the dust of lyrically sophisticated bands like Deathspell Omega and Krallice, it seems as if the genre as a whole, complete with its different ideological offshoots, desperately needs to play catch up.

Since its popularization in the 90s, black metal has been in large part musically and lyrically derivative, a game of qualitative copy-catting where the band that does it best is regarded as the best band, period. In the last few years, however, there seems to have been something of a paradigm shift. Bands all over the world, particularly in France and in the States, have been taking the old formula, excising the beaten and worn components, and injecting stylistic and musical elements hitherto unheard in black metal. Some replace the old parts with enhanced versions, like punk drumming and tremeloed chords. Others augment the engine with post-rock riffing and ambient orchestrations. As black metal is arguably a genre where music and lyrics and necessarily inseparable, it seems only natural that lyrical transformation would follow musical renovation concomitantly.

I think this poses a significant challenge to unblack metal, and therefore to Eulogium. Kierkegaard says that faith presupposes doubt, since one must first have doubted before believing. Doubt is the exercise of the rational faculties, and anyone who is rational must see the truth of Christianity as something which is inherently doubtful. Faith is a leap, a commitment in the face of uncertainty; but how are we to know uncertainty if we never consider the opposing views? Are we being faithful, or merely credulous? Unblack metal has been locked in a screaming match with black metal since 1994, forcefully arguing for its own ideology as heedlessly as its secular counterpart. But black metal, as already stated, is different now. It no longer consists of the tantrums of indolent youths, but is glaring with the sardonic decorum truly exemplary of a satan, of an adversary. Black metal forces us to come to grips with the likes of Bataille, Nietzsche, Derrida, and other philosophers who would see our religion annihilated. It compels us to look at our theologies and doctrines and discern their terrifying inexactitudes, and at our scriptures in all their contradictory multi-dimensionality. Ultimately what black metal does is shove us face to face with all that seems obviously wrong and evil about Christianity, the natural consequence of following a God who is dead. Black metal is the fountain of doubt.

But if faith presupposes doubt, and we never come to doubt on a metaphysical level, how can we have faith? Are we simply seeing no doubt, speaking no doubt, and hearing no doubt? Are we just plugging our fingers in our ears and screaming to drown out the noise, too scared that we might lose not our faith, since faith was never there, but our credulity? If we are too scared to walk in the valley of the shadow of death, then have we faith? I don't think that unblack musicians and fans can escape this potentially perilous journey into the void, as it were, and that we must confront our simultaneously ancient yet postmodern problems without simply retreating to our customs and traditions for safety. How could we ever be taken seriously if we cannot take ourselves and our God seriously?

Studying continental philosophy in college in the states, where analytic philosophy is supreme, is admittedly difficult. Studying theology is even harder. But we should dare to embark on the journey somehow if we ever hope to leap to faith from crumbling precipice of doubt.

The suicide of void is Being.