I have made a pledge never to actually buy an NSBM album. But some Burzum is really tempting. The fact that they're now distributed by a Resistance record subsidiary holds me back, but some of the early records are just so 'effing good...I really did pass Burzum up because of VV's politics until I bought 'Fenriz Presents: The Best of Old School BM'. I was just listening to it casually and 'Ea, Lord of the Deeps' came on and simply blew me away. If I ever do succumb to temptation it'll be the version of the self titled that comes with the Aske EP, and nothing else. Burzum never actually pushes a neo-nazi message in anything but the most stupendously obscure of ways anyway.
Plus, there are some fucking good Burzum shirts. Theodore Kittelsen is a brilliant artist, but people will think I'm a nazi! Maybe I should buy one just to wear under my jacket covered in anti-nazi badges...Irony eh wot?
NSBM is actually some of my favorite music. Nokturnal Mortum, Gontyna Kry, Graveland, Kataxu, Ohtar, Veles, Kristallnacht. . good stuff. I don't really consider Burzum NS because he doesn't really express these ideas in his music.
Now, I'm not a Nazi, though I am fascinated with them, and sometimes it's funny to joke about being a Nazi and piss people off. But when it comes down to it, I don't hate anybody because of their race. In fact my fellow bandmember is Chinese, his parents came over from Hong Kong, and he speaks fluent Cantonese, and for a while we also had a drummer who was Mexican. Doesn't give me a lot of room to be racist before you guys start accusing me of such because I like racist music.
I just think it's possible to listen to and appreciate a certain type of music without whole-heartedly agreeing with their message. I listen to bands that praise Satan over and over and over but I'm honestly not a Satanist. I don't even
believe in Satan. (though I certainly am very anti-Christian, but that's not the same thing) Music is about art, and you don't have to agree with everything an artist thinks to appreciate his or her work. Hell, my bassist Wallace (the Chinese guy) loves NSBM.
In fact, I think the racist ideals serve a positive purpose in the music. Black metal was always about struggle and conflict. Black metal is not a genre of music based around "fairness" or "accept everybody." Such ideas are a very Christian way of thinking, which is the polar opposite of black metal ideology. Let me emphasize again at this point I myself am not racist, though I do understand a racist viewpoint and can appreciate the art that comes from it.
Anyways, a lot of NSBM has a really epic feel to it such as Nokturnal Mortum, Gontyna Kry, and Graveland, which are my favorite NS bands.
KharBevNor, I know you like Ancient Rites so you should check out Nokturnal Mortum. . try getting ahold of Weltanschaaung, Goat Horns, or NeChrist. All three are amazing.