Dark Metal, my Lord!

Dark Metal represents a subgenre of Extreme Metal that developed in the late 1990s by merging musical and aesthetic elements of Black Metal, Death Metal, Symphonic Metal, and Gothic Metal. 

It is mostly characterized by a dark atmosphere, blending various styles like doom metal, 
black metal, death metal or dark wave. The term is sometimes applied when a band cannot 
be distinctly categorized into death, black, doom, or gothic metal traditional scenes. 
Additional elements such as electronic rhythms or the famous "beauty-and-the beast" dual vocals are occasionally adopted.

With influences from bands like Katatonia, Bethlehem, and Deinonychus, 
the music style is noted for its dark and often suicidal themes, featuring a fusion of Doom Metal and black metal with intense screams and fast-paced sections. 
Artistically, the aesthetics and lyrics are often highly sexualized or satanic.

The popularity of the term "Dark Metal" grew following its use in album titles 
from bands like Katatonia and Bethlehem, which helped establish a distinct musical style 
combining Black Metal guitar work with orchestral keyboard arrangements. Bethlehem's 
focus on a fascination with darkness, as opposed to the satanism in Black Metal, 
set a thematic precedent within the genre. Bands such as Trail of Tears, 
Arcturus, The Kovenant, and Siebenbürgen shared similar stylistic pathways. 

Additionally, Samael, Cradle of Filth, and Dimmu Borgir significantly 
contributed to the genre's rise by blending gothic, Black Metal, and even techno elements into their basic musical structure. While the genre achieved considerable 
success around the 2000s, its popularity later declined. 
Today, Dark Metal isn't extensively explored or defined within journalism or 
academia, and artists are usually categorized under Gothic or Black Metal genres instead.


Black Doom


In a related vein, Black Doom, also defined as blackened doom, combines the slow, 
dense sound of Doom Metal with the intense vocals and distorted guitars typical of Black Metal. 
These bands maintain the satanic themes of Black Metal and integrate the 
more somber themes akin to Doom Metal, such as depression and nihilism. 
The slower rhythm of doom metal is used to enhance the harsh atmosphere 
characteristic of Black Metal. Notable Black-Doom bands include Barathrum and Forgotten Tomb.
Woods Of Ypres, Deinonychus, Tristitia, Shining, Nortt, Bethlehem, early Katatonia, 
Tiamat, Dolorian, and October Tide.