Black metal 2.0 : The Music has not changed but the Scene has : The identity of the black metal scene in the glocal area of the internet

The study aims to depict how black metal scene members see black metal, the scene and their own identities in the changing, global mediascapes of today and how they (re-) negotiate these elements in these circumstances. In the last two decades, the new ICT have changed the world and equally so musical scenes. The question to be answered then is how a global subculture like black metal that highly values obscurity and has a strong ideology reacts to these changes as these developments result in concepts such as scene, space, identity and authenticity being challenged in today’s globalized world. Despite the little academic attention that black metal has received, it is not only interesting musically with black metal being one of the newest and most extreme metal subgenres but the black metal scene and its practices are noteworthy because of their unique connection of music and ideology as well as the global network that has existed since black metal’s inception. A qualitative multi-method research design is used to achieve an understanding of both experiences and thoughts of individual scene members as well as to try to discover a wider scenic development, negotiation behaviour and to draw a picture of scenic media use. The data was gathered by starting a thread in an online discussion forum and conducting six semi-structured interviews both face-to-face as well as online through email and written Skype chats. Scenic material such as magazines and documentaries were collected and used to support the other two data sets and add more nuances. All these materials were analysed thematically from an insider researcher perspective. In conclusion, it can be said that while there clearly was a phase of conflict in the scene to adapt to the developments it seems they have enforcedly been accepted and are seen as part of an inevitable evolution. The Internet has become the dominant media used in the black metal scene. It is acknowledged that the Internet makes access easier and faster, it shrinks the world. This is seen both as positive and negative. Scene members see it as beneficial personally as the Internet allows inexpensive and fast access to information and communication tools. For the scene however, it is seen as a threat since it renders black metal more visible and provides easier accessibility for everyone. While black metal in its core has not changed and its ideology has remained the same, the scene has developed, grown up and become more diverse and fragmented as well as lost some of its restrictiveness