Black Metal: Founding Fathers

In the '80s, the raw attack of extreme metal forerunners like Venom, Mercyful Fate and Bathory set the raging template for the sound that would become known as black metal. By the early '90s, Scandinavian black metal pioneers like Mayhem, Burzum and Emperor had set a new standard for stripped-down bleakness and brutality, launching a worldwide movement in the process.