The Norwegian bands developed the style of their 1980s forebears as a distinct genre of heavy metal music.

The surge of interest and popularity that followed is often referred to as the 'second wave of black metal'. During 1990–1992, a number of Norwegian artists, who were strongly influenced by those bands, began performing and releasing a new kind of black metal music. Norwegian black metal singer Gaahl wearing corpse paintĭuring the 1980s, black metal was a loose grouping of a handful of heavy metal bands who shared Satanic lyrics, although most of the 'first wave' bands referred to Satanism only for shock value. The early Norwegian black metal scene has since been the subject of books and documentaries.

Some referred to them as 'Satanic terrorists' and one Norwegian TV channel interviewed a woman who claimed Satanists had sacrificed her child and killed her dog. The Norwegian media covered events closely, but the reporting was often sensationalist. Most showed no remorse for their actions at the time. In August 1993, several of its members were arrested and in May 1994 were convicted variously for arson, murder, assault and possession of explosives. Musical integrity was highly important and artists wanted black metal to remain underground and uncorrupted. The scene was exclusive and created boundaries around itself, incorporating only those it deemed to be 'trve' or committed. They adopted pseudonyms and appeared in photographs wearing ' corpse paint' and wielding medieval weaponry. In interviews, they voiced extreme anti-Christian and misanthropic views, presenting themselves as a cult-like group of militant Satanists who wanted to spread terror, hatred and evil. It consisted primarily of young men, many of whom gathered at the record shop Helvete ('Hell') in Oslo. The scene had an ethos and the core members referred to themselves as 'The Black Circle' or 'Black Metal Inner Circle'. It attracted massive media attention when it was revealed that its members had been responsible for two murders, a suicide, and a wave of church burnings in Norway. The early Norwegian black metal scene of the 1990s is credited with creating the modern black metal genre and produced some of the most acclaimed and influential artists in extreme metal. Thrash metal, hardcore punk, punk rock, black metal

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