By the mid-nineties, many important developments had occurred. In Norway, for example, the so-called "Inner Circle" of black metallers had engaged in church burnings and murders, throwing the whole scene into chaos. Some of the more notable incidents include: Mayhem vocalist Dead had killed himself, Burzum frontman Varg Vikernes had murdered Mayhem guitarist Euronymous, Thorns frontman Snorre Ruch had been jailed as an accomplice of Varg, and Emperor guitarist Samoth was convicted of arson. Abroad, similar events occured as well. Happenings such as these threatened to put an end to the fertile black metal movement. But all was not lost. Aside from these tragic events, the early and mid-nineties saw some amazing sonic advances in the black metal sound.
The Norwegian band Thou Shalt Suffer morphed into EMPEROR in 1992, and they began to dominate the scene. There were even a few "latecomers" on the cusp of the first wave: in Norway, bands such as GORGOROTH, ULVER, DODHEIMSGARD, OBTAINED ENSLAVEMENT, AETERNUS, SATYRICON, and ENSLAVED. In Sweden, the groups DISSECTION and SACRAMENTUM were really making waves with their melodic, yet brutal sound. And America saw the formation of the Profanatica side-project HAVOHEJ, and the Celitc-themed band ABSU changed from a death metal band to a black metal band. But this is simply the tip of the iceberg. I could probably devote pages upon pages to the important bands of modern black metal's first wave.
This time period also saw the formation of some early black metal "super groups." In Norway, for example, members of Satyricon and Emperor combined their efforts to put out some songs as the group ZYKLON-B
Another important development that came at the tail end of the first wave was the blossoming of eastern Europe's black metal scene. The Czech Republic's MASTER'S HAMMER, Germany's BETHLEHEM and NAGELFAR, Poland's GRAVELAND, Ukraine's NOKTURNAL MORTUM and Austria's ABIGOR are some notable examples of this. Even the far east got in on the act, with Japan's psychedelic black metal act SIGH and Singapore's death/black hybrid IMPIETY rising from the underground.
I would characterize the first wave as beginning in 1987, with the release of such seminal albums as Mayhem's Deathcrush and Sarcofago's INRI. This presents a clear demarcation line and a shifting of aesthetic sensibilities within the metal underground. And I would say the aesthetic territory that was explored in the late eighties culminated in many releases of the years 1993 and 1994: Burzum's Det Som Engang Var and Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, Darkthrone's Under a Funeral Moon and Transilvanian Hunger, Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse, Marduk's Opus Nocturne, Sigh's Scorn Defeat, Immortal's Pure Holocaust, Havohej's Dethrone the Son of God, Samael's Ceremony of Opposites, Abigor's Verwustung: Invoke the Dark Age, MonumentuM's In Absentia Christi, Enslaved's Vikingligr Veldi and Frost, Blasphemy's Gods of War, Beherit's Drawing Down the Moon, and most importantly, Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.
De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, in my opinion, summarizes and epitomizes everything the first wave was about. It is not the most nihilistic (I would give that distinction to Blasphemy or Havohej), or the fastest (Immortal), or the most technical (Emperor), or even the most minimalist (Burzum). Musically, it accomplishes everything black metal sets out to accomplish without sacrificing any of the just-listed elements. It also does not dilute the sound with numerous outside influences, as "second wave" black metallers were apt to do, in short, 1994's DMDS is one of the best--possible the best--black metal album of all time.
