# Black Metal Graphics

> The visual language of black metal, fixed by Norway's second wave in the early 1990s, now worldwide, since the 2010s borrowed by mainstream acts (Szpajdel's Rihanna and Metallica logos, 2016). A hand-drawn band logo, barely legible, its letters grown into thorns and branches and balanced on a central axis, sits white on black over one bleak picture: a grainy black-and-white photograph of a corpse-painted musician, a church, a forest or a Romantic painting. Early covers, xeroxed like punk's, rejected death metal's bright painted art; the tone is misanthropic, pagan or occult, never ironic.

- Period: 1990–present
- Where: Northern Europe, Global / networked
- Origin: Norway's second-wave scene of 1990–1993 (Mayhem, Darkthrone, Burzum, Immortal, Emperor), centred from 1991 on Euronymous's Helvete record shop in Oslo and released on Deathlike Silence, Peaceville and Candlelight; it built on the 1980s first wave of England's Venom, whose album Black Metal (1982) named the genre, Sweden's Bathory and Switzerland's punk-influenced Hellhammer, and on logos by underground letterers such as the Belgian Christophe Szpajdel (Emperor, 1992)
- Branch: Counterculture
- Also known as: Black metal logo style, Norwegian black metal aesthetic, Kvlt / trve aesthetic
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/black-metal-graphics/

## Use it with care

The Norwegian scene's early-1990s fame rests partly on real crimes: church arsons from 1992 and two murders. Varg Vikernes of Burzum, sentenced in 1994 for the murder of Euronymous and four church arsons, is credited with bringing neo-Nazi views into the scene, and a small National Socialist black metal minority still spreads them through lyrics and imagery; even Darkthrone had to remove a slogan about race from a 1994 back cover after distributors objected. Cite Burzum sleeves only as history, and take mood from the public-domain Kittelsen and Doré pictures instead. Borrow the mirrored logo, the black field and the bleak photograph, but never a burnt or burning church, a photograph of a real death, or far-right symbols: no Black Sun (Sonnenrad), winged or serifed odal rune, wolfsangel, SS runes or Totenkopf, and no slogan about race or nation in blackletter. Inverted crosses and pentagrams signal hostility to Christianity; weigh them before using them for a general audience. Logos are the commissioned, living work of named letterers such as Szpajdel: commission or credit one rather than copying a band's name or mark.

## How it works

- Draw the band's name by hand in pen and ink as a sigil: let the strokes sprout spikes, thorns and branches, mirror the whole on a central axis, and accept that it may be barely legible.
- Print in black and white: one dark, grainy or photocopied photograph, the logo in white on a black field, and little or nothing else on the cover.
- Give the cover one subject held in darkness: a corpse-painted musician by candlelight, a cathedral or a stone church at night, a winter forest or a mountain, or a nineteenth-century painting or engraving of the same mood.
- Leave out colour, collage and wit: no bright painted fantasy scene, no ransom-note mixing of faces, no wink to the viewer; the empty black is the point.
- Quote blackletter for titles and set inverted crosses or pentagrams as menace, sparingly, rather than as running text or decoration.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Central symmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/central-symmetry/) (defining)
- [Isolated object](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/isolated-object/) (characteristic)
- [Full bleed](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/full-bleed/) (characteristic)
- [Organic flow](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/organic-flow/) (occasional)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (defining)
- [Generous white space](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/generous-white-space/) (characteristic)
- [Extreme scale contrast](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/extreme-scale-contrast/) (occasional)
- [Illusion of depth](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/illusion-of-depth/) (occasional)

### Typography
- [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (defining)
- [Experimental & distorted](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/experimental-and-distorted/) (defining)
- [Blackletter](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/blackletter/) (characteristic)
- [Tight setting](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/tight-setting/) (characteristic)
- [Ornamented display](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/ornamented-display/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Monochrome](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/monochrome/) (defining)
- [Dark ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dark-ground/) (defining)
- [Analogous harmony](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/analogous-harmony/) (occasional)

### Form & shape
- [Angular & zigzag](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/angular-and-zigzag/) (defining)
- [Biomorphic curves](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/biomorphic-curves/) (characteristic)
- [Naturalistic depiction](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/naturalistic-depiction/) (characteristic)
- [Whiplash line](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/whiplash-line/) (occasional)
- [Distortion & exaggeration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/distortion-and-exaggeration/) (occasional)

### Surface & texture
- [Grain & noise](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/grain-and-noise/) (defining)
- [Photocopy & distress](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/photocopy-and-distress/) (characteristic)
- [Painterly brushwork](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/painterly-brushwork/) (occasional)
- [Halftone & Ben-Day dots](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/halftone-and-ben-day-dots/) (occasional)

### Ornament
- [Restrained accents](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/restrained-accents/) (characteristic)
- [Folk & sacred symbols](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/folk-and-sacred-symbols/) (characteristic)
- [Floral & vegetal](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/floral-and-vegetal/) (occasional)
- [Emblems & badges](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/emblems-and-badges/) (occasional)

### Imagery
- [Treated photography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/treated-photography/) (defining)
- [Straight photography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/straight-photography/) (characteristic)
- [Painterly illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/painterly-illustration/) (characteristic)
- [Line illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/line-illustration/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Pen, brush & ink](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pen-brush-and-ink/) (defining)
- [Photocopy & zine](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/photocopy-and-zine/) (characteristic)
- [Offset printing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/offset-printing/) (characteristic)
- [Screen printing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/screen-printing/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Rebellious & subversive](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rebellious-and-subversive/) (defining)
- [Spiritual & sacred](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/spiritual-and-sacred/) (characteristic)
- [Romantic & sensual](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/romantic-and-sensual/) (characteristic)
- [Nostalgic & retro](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/nostalgic-and-retro/) (occasional)

Avoids: Collage & layering, Eclectic mixing, Rounded sans, Light ground, Fluorescent & neon, Pastel, Full polychrome, Complementary clash, Rounded & pill, Squiggles & confetti, Gloss & highlights, Comic & cartoon, Playful & witty, Ironic & self-aware, Warm & approachable

Palette: #0a0a0a, #e6e2d8, #6f6f6f, #2a2a2a, #a6a6a6

Typefaces: Hand-inked thorned, mirrored logotype, Old English Text and Fraktur capitals, Hand-drawn pen-and-ink band logos, mirrored and grown into spikes and branches, as in Christophe Szpajdel's Emperor logo (1992); Szpajdel calls symmetry 'a reflex in the subconscious' and says some bands want 'unreadable logos that look like a pile of branches', Blackletter and Old English display letters for album titles and band names, quoted for menace rather than set as text, Art Nouveau lettering, which Szpajdel says helps him organise positive and negative space, and Art Deco display letters, which he also names as an interest

Known for: Darkthrone, A Blaze in the Northern Sky (Peaceville, 26 February 1992): cover photograph of rhythm guitarist Ivar Enger (Zephyrous), cover design by Dave Pybus; Darkthrone, Under a Funeral Moon (Peaceville, 15 February 1993), with vocalist Nocturno Culto on the cover, and Transilvanian Hunger (Peaceville, 17 February 1994), a black-and-white photograph of Fenriz with a candelabrum; Burzum, Aske EP (Deathlike Silence, March 1993): a photograph of the ruins of Fantoft Stave Church after its arson on 6 June 1992, credited to Are Mundal but widely believed to have been taken by Varg Vikernes himself; Mayhem, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas (Deathlike Silence, 24 May 1994): a monochrome photograph of the east side of Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim; Emperor, In the Nightside Eclipse (Candlelight, 21 February 1994): painted cover by Kristian Wåhlin (Necrolord) of a host of orcs bound for Tolkien's Minas Morgul, the part below the logo reportedly after a section of Gustave Doré's engraving Death on the Pale Horse, under Christophe Szpajdel's logo; Burzum, Filosofem (Misanthropy / Cymophane, January 1996): Theodor Kittelsen's painting Op under Fjeldet toner en Lur on the cover, more Kittelsen in the booklet; Christophe Szpajdel (b. 1970, Gembloux), logos for Emperor (1992), Enthroned, Dimmu Borgir, Wolves in the Throne Room and Nachtmystium; shown in the branding section of the Walker Art Center's Graphic Design: Now in Production (2011); Christophe Szpajdel, Lord of the Logos: Designing the Metal Underground (Gestalten, 2010)

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Grew out of: [Punk & DIY Zine](https://stylogeny.com/styles/punk-diy.md) (1976–1986)
- Influenced by: [Gothic Blackletter & Fraktur Tradition](https://stylogeny.com/styles/blackletter-fraktur.md) (c. 1180–present)
- Influenced by: [Art Nouveau](https://stylogeny.com/styles/art-nouveau.md) (1890–1910)
- Alike in its design choices: [Roots Reggae Sleeve Art & Rasta Iconography](https://stylogeny.com/styles/roots-reggae-sleeve.md) (1973–1985), 43% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [ECM Sleeve Aesthetic (Munich)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/ecm-sleeve.md) (1969–present), 43% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Palestinian Resistance Poster](https://stylogeny.com/styles/palestinian-resistance-poster.md) (1965–1993), 43% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [NSK Retro-Avant-Garde](https://stylogeny.com/styles/nsk-retro-avantgarde.md) (1980–present), 41% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Baybayin Revival Graphics](https://stylogeny.com/styles/baybayin-revival.md) (1963–present), 40% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Zoomorphic & Figural Calligraphy (Islamic Calligrams)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/zoomorphic-calligraphy.md) (1500–present), 40% alike

## Sources

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_metal (Venom's Black Metal, 1982, coined the term; Hellhammer an important influence, and 'punk rock came to influence the birth of black metal', Tom G. Warrior calling Discharge 'a revolution, much like Venom'; second wave 1990–1993; Helvete opened May–June 1991; early covers 'xeroxed black-and-white pictures and logos', partly against death metal's 'brightly colored album artwork'; landscape covers of Filosofem and In the Nightside Eclipse; corpse paint, inverted crosses and pentagrams; church burnings from 1992, the first Fantoft Stave Church; Vikernes sentenced in May 1994 for the murder of Euronymous and the arson of four churches, and 'credited with introducing such views' (neo-Nazi) 'into the scene'; NSBM 'a small minority')
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christophe_Szpajdel (b. 1970, Gembloux; Emperor logo 1992; cites Art Deco, Art Nouveau and modernism; Lord of the Logos, Gestalten, 2010; Foo Fighters 2015, Rihanna and Metallica 2016)
- https://www.walkerart.org/reader/designs-dark-lord-discusses-the-walker-art-ce/ (Paul Schmelzer, Walker Art Center, 19 January 2012: Szpajdel in the branding section of Graphic Design: Now in Production; inspiration from landscapes, plants, insects, Art Nouveau and Art Deco architecture; plays with symmetry and fluidity)
- https://walkerart.org/magazine/christophe-szpajdel-black-metal-logo-walker-art-center (Walker Art Center, 28 October 2011)
- https://blazetype.eu/blog/christophe-szpajdel (interview, 15 March 2023: 'Symmetry is a reflex in the subconscious'; 'Art Nouveau is an influence that I continue to develop', as it 'allows to organize the positive and negative spaces inside the letters'; 'typography linked to Art Nouveau and Art Deco'; hand-sketched and inked logos; Rihanna and clothing companies)
- https://gigcity.ca/2016/12/30/lord-of-the-logos-black-metal-af (Mike Ross, 30 December 2016: 'unreadable logos that look like a pile of branches'; Rihanna and Metallica commissions; a Foo Fighters ugly Christmas sweater knitted to resemble Szpajdel's Emperor logo)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Blaze_in_the_Northern_Sky
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_a_Funeral_Moon
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transilvanian_Hunger (front cover 'a black-and-white photograph of Fenriz with a candelabrum'; a phrase on the original back cover removed 'Due to negative feedback from many distributors')
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aske_(EP) (cover photograph of Fantoft Stave Church after its arson, credited to Are Mundal, 'widely believed to have been taken by Vikernes himself')
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Mysteriis_Dom_Sathanas
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Nightside_Eclipse (cover by Kristian Wåhlin of 'a host of orcs en route to Minas Morgul'; the part below the logo based on a section of Doré's Death on the Pale Horse, marked citation needed)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filosofem
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathory_(album)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellhammer (Swiss, active 1982–1984; Thomas Gabriel Fischer 'blown away' by Discharge, with GBH and Anti-Nowhere League also influences; 'a key influence on black metal')
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust_(musician) (Bård Eithun of Emperor confessed to killing Magne Andreassen in Lillehammer on 21 August 1992; sentenced in 1994 to 14 years for murder and church arson)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_black_metal (its emergence in the mid-1990s linked with Vikernes; NSBM artists 'a small minority within black metal'; shirts with Totenkopfs and Hitler sold at Steelfest, where NSBM bands played)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Kittelsen (27 April 1857 – 21 January 1914; Burzum among the black metal bands that used his pictures as album art)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Doré (6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sun_(symbol) (Sonnenrad; 'widely used by neo-fascists, neo-Nazis, the far-right and white nationalists')
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odal_(rune) (the SS added serifs, 'feet' or 'wings'; used by neo-Nazis, while the plain rune is 'often used in non-racist manners', per the ADL)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfsangel (widely adopted in Nazi symbolism; listed by the ADL as a hate symbol)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenkopf (the universal cap badge of the SS)
- Christophe Szpajdel, Lord of the Logos: Designing the Metal Underground (Die Gestalten Verlag, 2010)
- Dayal Patterson, Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult (Feral House, 2013)

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From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Black Metal Graphics”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/black-metal-graphics/