You can tell some of the more discordant French black metal bands like Blut Aus Nord and Deathspell Omega have been listening to Sonic Youth.
Black metal seems to be more high brow conceptual/'arty' whereas Death Metal these days seems to have more in common with sport than any sort of art. But fuck it, I'm seeing Morbid Angel tonight - gonna be off the hook.

this thread make crypto the best fan of sonic youth?
cause if it is he's the avant-gard of blackmetalsonicyouthfan

It's more interesting to me to hear of all of the black metal dudes into Sonic Youth than Thurston being into them. SY have always checked out and promoted fringe music, but to hear of it crossing back is fascinating. I remember an '80s interview where they admitted they didn't figure the hip hop artists they were into would likely listen to them and like it. However, apparently that's not the case with this genre/culture and they actually have made an impact.

The only hip hop artists I've ever heard give SY love were Chuck D, El-P,
Slug, Can Ox and Cage.

Are there any black metal bands whose lyrics is lacking the obvious thematic bollocks about Satan and the occult stuff?

Except Wolves in the Throne Room. I know about them.

Yeah, that was cool.

Although I've always thought of 'Cross the Breeze as being Sonic Youth at their most hardcore moment.

I figured as much. It is true, and I always wonder if the whole thing isn't a bit tongue-in-cheek; not the music, because I'd like to think that if they devote this much time and effort towards the music they take it seriously, but more the culture, what with the crazy face painting and the pentagrams and the hanging out at Wal-Mart and whatnot.

Do it! Do it!

Not that it would matter, since it's probably plastic. I'm sure he just grabbed it out of his little brother's $1 "Adventure Kit" he got in the bargain bin at Target.

"That's my toy, you can't have it!"

"God, I just need it really quick for an awesome picture, I'll bring it right back!"

cant keep up w/ all the sub genres but sepultura(metal of some sort?) in an interview in the mid 90s said they were really into sy.

It's no shocker that bands would be into bands out of their genre. It's bands that only listen to their own type of music that end up coming off as a complete clone of the genre.

xasthur perhaps, if you count that as BM.i could remember more. also striborg.

i remember listening to burzum in my teens, in my parents house, back in my room. couldn't care less 'bout satan, but hey. mute the vocals and filosofem is in GY!BE territory. also les legions noires stuff and later like blut aus nord -- THE WORK THAT TRANSFORMS GOD.

Also pretentious or not, bm produced real myths: for example, an album where a murderer and a victim play together.

Wow, I didn't know Striborg had ever attempted to play live... but I did learn recently that he used to play in a band called MSI, short for Mutilated Spastic Iguanas.

I've been listening to a lot of Woods of Infinity the last couple of weeks, one of the bands Thurston mentions. It's probably worth checking out some of the other ones I haven't heard of.

Thanks for the link, Moshe

If a black metal band doesn't write about Satan and occult stuff, usually they'll write about history or nature.

paganism, folk mythology

or lycanthropy

the first black metal album i heard was Ulver's "Nattens Madrigal - Aatte Hymne til Ulven i Manden"
and that's as great an introduction record as you can get.

Immortal, on the later albums, have been writing about snow and Norwegian nature only.

pioneers in corpsepaint + real satanism + ambitious arrangements = bm daddies.


one of my fave live bands, incredible intensity whenever i see them.


plenty sing about depression and suicide; wigrid and shining come to mind.

but can someone really listen to the lyrics?

Hmmm...We're talking black metal in 2009. I'm not sure exactly what this says about us as a people....