Dark epistemology: An assessment of philosophical trends in the black metal music of Mayhem

This article attempts to characterize a negative form of postmodernism as expressed in examples of black metal. Black metal is discussed in reference to a collection of examples from the music and comments of individuals of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. Through an integration of ideas advanced in postmodern philosophy and theory, this article attempts to describe a realization of epistemological darkness that is demonstrated within black metal, and this discussion concludes by considering the limitations of essentialism in relation to the art and its themes.