Pitch-black nights, croaking vocals and fake blood, magical symbols, archaic rituals, and ancient stories: Black Metal operates on various levels of staging codes of the dark, evil, and mysterious - musically, discursively, visually, physically-performatively, and paratextually. But how exactly do common aesthetic symbols of Black Metal function, and how should they be understood and contextualized? Based on this question, the contributions in this volume provide nuanced insights into a complex musical and cultural contemporary phenomenon. Furthermore, they methodically shed light on the possibilities and limitations of transdisciplinary, collective analyses of popular music.