What Black Metal Taught me About Good Branding

It was disgusting.

Putrid and vile.

No I’m not talking about that time I tried to make macaroni cheese with month old cream.

I’m talking about my first ever Black Metal show.

Sweaty, hot, aggressive and way too loud, there were bodies flying around as a circle pit formed.

About 200 sweaty people smashing back beers, pushing, jostling and occasionally hitting each other.

The band was Immortal who had traveled all the way from Norway to play in Wellington NZ.

(if you are curious google Immortal ‘Call of the Wintermoon’).

The venue was San Fran Bathhouse, it was hot and cramped, the room stank of beer, body odour, stale cigarettes and weed.

I remember the pit being so aggressive, that even though my friend and I were watching from RIIIIGHT at the back, she still got knocked over by the sheer size of the pushing and moshing going on at the front.

Reflecting on it now, it’s made me realize why that show was so packed, and why bands like Immortal are still attracting new die hard fans (and 5.6 million views on youtube) 30 years after they landed.

They have a strong brand.

They don’t fuck around, they don’t try and appeal to everyone, they create music that you love or you hate.

They are aggressive themselves, they polarize, they create kvlt followers as a result.

Those are the followers that buy every album, go to every festival, identifies and makes that music an integral part of their life.

Just like Apple has a tribe who buys every overpriced phone and mac every year just because it’s apple and if you buy apple you are an apple person.

Black Metal has a tribe who are divisive, they are discerning, they buy the latest re-release of a 30 year old Dissection album just because it's them, their tribe, how they identify.

Love it or hate it (there are some parts of the Black Metal mythology that I would never support or condone) Black Metal has created a solid brand that is constantly evolving and changing.

It’s solid, it’s polarizing, it’s KVLT.