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The Scandinavian metal scene continues to evolve even as the rest of the world continues not to notice, outside of a minuscule underground web of fanatics who treasure their own obscurity above almost all else. The latest silly catch-all term in vogue among journalists is "extreme metal"; it refers to heavy metal that dips into both the black-metal palette (symphonic guitars, occasional use of strings or keyboards) and the death-metal cookie jar (growled vocals instead of black metal's shrieks; lots more action on the bottom end). Norway's the place for this stuff; while the Swedes and Finns are experimenting a lot with melody and instrumentations, up in Norway it's all about loud, fast rules with the gore factor cranked up as high as it'll go.