Greetings and infernal salutations warbrothers and assorted kvltlords. Dex again, this time sharing the list of my favourite EPs and demos (worth more than your life. Is that joke old yet?) from the past twelve months.
Somewhere in the vicinity of three and a half thousand black metal demos/EPs alone were released last year. Of course I didn’t check them ALL out – I do possess at least some vestiges of a life – but this list represents the cream of the crop of what I did spend time with and kept returning to over and over again. Yes, there are an excessive amount of Near Misses. But even they were culled from a towering stack of hundreds more and all of them are worth your time (hell, even I’m surprised some of them didn’t make the cut for the main list). So without further ado… my 30 favourite EPs and demos of 2021. Apologies in advance, I’ll be back before you know it with my full-lengthalbumslist. Hails.
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Near Misses:
Gaahls Wyrd – The Humming Mountain
Cathedrals In The Night – Demo I
Selvans – Dark Italian Art
Grinning Death’s Head – Cataclysm
Katabasilisk – Sunset Of Solemn Silhouettes
Sapientia Diaboli – Black Is the Messenger. Black Is the Destiny.
Stikkersvin – Kælderens Barn
Vaal – Het Vagevuur
Lamp Of Murmuur – Punishment and Devotion
Shades of Vrsaj’kett – What Lies Beneath Gravel & Soot
Irae – Dangerovz Magick Zpells from the Mesziah of Death
Sojourner – Perennial
Mooncitadel – Onyx Castles and Silver Keys
Merzuul – Gallipoli
Förgjord – Ruumissaarna Pt. 2
A Mournful Path – Upon Mounds Of Flesh And Ash
Ifrinn – Caledonian Black Magic
Kudlaakh – Beyond A World Of Illusion
Ŭkcheănsălâwit – Alaskan Escape
Kampfeswut – Kampfeswut
Tumultuous Ruin – Demo I
Sentiero dei Principi – Romantic Black Metal Manifesto
Sightblinder – Relinquishing Light
VzörbrëzV – Ébloui De Ténèbres
Wampyric Rites – The Eternal Melancholy Of The Wampyre / Demo III
Sounds like: “A burning fire both immediate and resonating from times of old. A feeling of being totally lost, yet coming home. Destruction and rebirth. Writhing in eternal torment and bursting with limitless power. A burning, overpowering and obliterating rage… and soaring triumph.” Well, that’s what we said when we premiered a track from this one-two punch from the kings of the Greek underground. It still sounds like that to me now.
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29. Dwarrowdelf – Cold Lie The Ashes (Independent) UK
Sounds like: Nepotism. Nah, I genuinely love what our man Tom does, and here he pushes the Delf sound further than ever. He also completely owns that B-side cover – if you didn’t know, you’d swear it was a Dwarrowdelf track. Really looking forward to the new album he may or may not be recording (and I’m not being obtuse – I really have no idea what he’s doing).
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28. Kerasfóra – Denn Die Todten Reiten Schnell (Templo del Sol Muerto) Chile
Sounds like: Evil red eyes looking at you from the darkness behind that gate on the cover. This sinister blend of DS infused, hypnotically paced, medieval raw black is captivating – the kind of thing everyone should be paying attention to but barely anyone does.
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27. Xirgan – Prolonging The Archaic Slumber (Independent) USA
Sounds like: What you love to stumble across when you’ve been scouring the backwoods of the internet for great new shit but only discovering steaming hot garbage. At least, that was my situation when I discovered Xirgan anyway, and it’s stuck with me ever since. A great collaboration between several raw USBM names that does everything absolutely correct for me, this was released on cassette alongside the also quite nice first demo The Alchemist’s Curse so I could have cheated and thrown them both on here. Start with this one anyway. Side note: it also has a Harry Potter logo on the artwork… do with that information what you will.
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26. Tharagavverug – Vile and Loathsome Discord / Thin Is the Veil Betwixt Man and the Godless Deep (Rat Covenant) Romania
Okay fuck it, I AM going to cheat here, because this tape released by Rat Covenant combines both demos from this Romanian newcomer. Tharagavverugcould sound like just another one of the million projects that do this sort of thing and I might have skipped over – if it wasn’t for the way it incorporates ’80s horror movie soundtrack vibes on occasion, and also just plain rips.
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25. Trhä – Inagape (Independent) Unknown
Sounds like: Trhä‘s stunning earlier 2021 demo Ihum Jolhduc parking its ass on my list for basically the entire year… until Inagape dropped right at the death, somehow managing to top even that and leaving my jaw in a gape. I’m not sorry for that joke. Get fucked.
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24. Nächtlich – Bewitched Under Hollow Nightskies (Vinland Corpse) Canada
Sounds like: Well. If you’re not attuned to the wretched delights of these Canadians after how many times I’ve shitted on about them and how often they’ve made my Listcrush in previous years, just listen to this tape and be forever converted. One of the rawest and also best things they’ve done lately, which is saying more than you could imagine.
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23. Hope Drone – Husk (Independent) Australia
Sounds like: An already excellent post-black band experimenting with what they do and coming up with something alternately shattering and breathtaking. I’m sure I said this last time, but come and tour down Melbourne way again soon, lads. Husk is the most accomplished and evolved record you’ve ever done and I need to see this stuff live.
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22. Krvna – Sempinfernus (Seance Records) Australia
Sounds like: “…lush, sanguine grandeur that pays respect to the ancients like Emperor but forges a path all its own. Showcasing top-notch writing and attention to detail, the melodies are sublime, every note dripping in midnight majesty and malice … a perfect paean to the eternal torment and savage will of the immortal beasts of the millennia.” Taken from our interview with main man Krvna Vatra Smrt, that description sums up this utterly sumptuous smorgasbord of vampyric black metal delights quite well. Superlative stuff, salivating for the upcoming debut album.
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21. Carathis – The Amethyst Fortress (Labyrinth Tower) Austria
Sounds like: That glorious album cover given sonic form, with a twist that only preternaturally gifted composer Erech Leleth could provide. He appears in this list twice and genuinely writes some of the most thrilling shit around. Just hook it to my veins.
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20. Sørgelig – Slaves Of Tomorrow (Repose Records) Greece
Sounds like: You know those guys who stand on street corners holding signs saying “the end is nigh” and proselytizing to anyone within earshot? This sounds like that. But the dude is also on fire. And trying to bash your head in with whatever he can get his hands on. Even when they get punkier than usual, Sørgelig remain underrated as fuck and completely incredible.
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19. Jernved – Stormvarsel (Independent) Denmark
Sounds like: The ’90s never left and all those bands you discovered and tapes you traded back then are magically new again. Absolutely top notch stuff; the type of quintessential black metal you can put on at any time and it always hits the spot.
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18. Black Kruud – The Staircase of Interdimensionality (Moonworshipper Records) Canada
Sounds like: fervent nocturnal worship from the otherrealms, by way of throwing a drum kit down twelve flights of stairs. Kidding – but I do absolutely adore the clattering cacophony this side project of Gamzhurm from Nächtlich creates. I could listen to it all day. You should too.
Sounds like: Wandering centuries-old crumbling ruins and feeling the lingering vibrations of those ancient civilizations resonating deep within your soul. The type of raw black metal to leave an indelible mark, you’ll hear from this side project of Vritra from Brånd and Kringa again on my next list.
Sounds like: The ineffable Fog doing what he does best whilst bringing his superb Golden Horde saga to a close. Or, “wielding his mastery of classic black metal and bending it to his will to crush the listener underneath and leave us breathless”, as we said in our glowing review.
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15. Hekseblad – The Fall Of Cintra (Fólkvangr Records) USA
Sounds like: The rich and immersive world of The Witcher perfectly translated into black metal form. I rated this 4.5 / 5 when it dropped and it more-or-less managed to hold that score down since. Killer shit. They also just released a follow-up EP that expands on their sound; be sure to bust a nice big suss all over that as well.
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14. Apparition Of Sunlight – Wilt of Rose’s Crimson (Demo MMXXI) (Tour De Garde) USA/Canada
Sounds like: FUN. Which is weird for a demo with such melancholic tendencies, but I’ll state right here and now that it is categorically impossible to listen to this new raw melodic project from members of Fin (RIP), Délétère and Aleynmord and not thoroughly enjoy oneself. Can’t wait for more.
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13. Spiral Staircase – Cellar Dream (Lampshade Tapes) USA
There isn’t a single release since 2017 that Justin (aka Dread of Drekavac, Triangulum and more) hasn’t put out in his latest creative incarnation as Spiral Staircase that I don’t adore, and Cellar Dream keeps that streak going strong. At ten minutes long, the insistent rotting melodies within sounds like the kind of thing I’d leave on repeat for hours on end. Because I did, many times. Absolutely vital raw black metal.
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12. Леший – Поганые сны (Horrible Room) Russia
Sounds like: filthy, filthy dreams. That’s what the cyrillic title of this fucking stupendous demo by Russians Leshiy translates to anyway; one listen to its gnarled and ravenous spiritual rawness and you’ll certainly decide these are the type of dreams you love to have. And I don’t mean it’ll make your night shorts all sticky. Although it probably will.
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11. Somme – Prussian Blood (Death Kvlt Productions, Death Prayer Records) Finland
Sounds like: Being dropped smack-bang into the middle of WWI alongside members of Fallen Forest / Coniferous Myst, who then proceed to provide the perfect soundtrack for the misery, death and agonizingly hard-fought triumphs around you. Pretty much the same as their first EP, only even better.
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10. Etxegiña – Herederos del silencio (AbArt Corruption, Vertebrae) Spain/France
Sounds like: One of the most honest and powerful EPs to see the light of day in 2021, and a remarkably versatile one too. These four tracks each have their own singular mission yet fit together like a hand in a glove; plus, no matter what they do, they’ll stir your blood and get you up out of your seat. Check our previous interviews with main man Waldo for the incredibly affecting story and context behind it all.
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9. Ancient Mastery – The Chosen One (Death Prayer Records, Northern Silence Productions) Austria
Sounds like: Magnificent, hammering epic black metal with more ideas crammed into three tracks than that entire stylistic sub-genre can usually come up with in several years (and our Tom seems to come up with half of those anyway). Erech Leleth‘s other entry on this list. The man is truly unstoppable and this EP is dazzling.
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8. Crucifixion Bell – Astral Famine Chambers (Nithstang, Forgotten Sorcery Productions) USA
Sounds like: Being buried six feet deep in a coffin filled with tiny bloodsucking bats / swirling psychic vampire spirits and frantically trying to dig your way out whilst being fed upon before you’re sucked dry. The black metal tracks on this EP are two of the finest and most creative to appear all year, prolific sole practitioner The Astral Serpent (check out Fåvnesbane and all his other projects if you haven’t) just does not fucking miss.
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7. Krigstjørn – Liv, Død og Mellemvejen (Tour De Garde) Denmark
I can’t remember who shared this when I first saw it, but I owe them a debt – I wasn’t aware of this fresh Korpsånd Circle entity at the time and it ended up being one of my most played demos for the rest of the year. They also dropped another great demo (Skikkelser) later on in November which for whatever reason I haven’t been able to spend that much time with yet, so you should probably check that one out as well.
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6. Ärid – XIII – The Putrefying Rest (Death Hymns) USA
Sounds like: Being dead but your consciousness remains trapped in an eternal nightmare, bound to your decaying body so you’re forced to slowly experience yourself decomposing over endless time. Maybe I’ve just been unlucky in recent years but I haven’t come across much of this sort of thing lately (“thank fuck” I hear most of you say) but the weird magic created by thin, hornet’s nest guitars, absolutely disgusting vocals and tin-can yet creative drumming still hits the spot just as well as it did when I used to hear it done on the regular, and thankfully I still have Ärid to deliver it to me. Everything this project does is fucking great.
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5. Tirgûl – The Victorious Star (Independent) Netherlands
I actually discovered this super late in the year via one of Neill Jameson‘s lists for No Clean Singing (which are also fantastic, check them out if you haven’t) but I’ve listened to it daily since and can’t believe how good it is. I was intrigued when he described it as sounding like something that would have been on Hot Records back in the day; for those of you who don’t know what that means I guess just think of this EP as a spiritual sequel to the original recording of Stormblåst and you’re in the ballpark.
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4. Μνήμα – Spectres Of Oblivion / Gathering Sorcery to the Eternal Portals of the Past PT II / Flesh Prison (Escafismo, Phantom Lure, Crown and Throne Ltd, Hexenkult, AbArt Corruption) Greece
Sounds like: The most messed up, harrowing shit you’ve ever heard in your life. Yeah I’m cheating throwing every EP/demo the mysterious Greek tomb-dweller released this year on here, but no two releases are alike and all of them should be on this list, so deal with it. And listen to them all. Now. The forthcoming full-length Disciples Of Excremental Liturgies will blow your fucking mind, by the way.
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3. Bat Magic – Feast Of Blood (Sore Ear Collective) Unknown
Sounds like: SCREAMING, FLAPPING, FEASTING BLACK SORCERY. The first track I heard from this mysterious new Ordo Vampyr Orientis coven shot through me like a bolt of electricity; the rest of it surpassed all my expectations a zillion times over. Even in the more sedate, mystical, or just plain fun as hell moments it feels like everything about it is redlining to 11 (not least of all the vocals), and it contains probably one of the best riffs of the year to boot (I’ll let you figure out which one) as well as the best conclusion of just about any release anyone put out. The hardest hitting demo / EP to slap me in the face this cycle, by far… I need more. MORE. MORE!!! HAIL THE BAT!!!
“Just remember… you’ll dig two graves instead of one.”
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2. Immortal Forest – Howls From The Primordial Ones (Elderblood Productions) Unknown
You know when you find something that does absolutely nothing new at all, yet seems to do it perfectly? Elderblood Productions‘ 20th release Immortal Forest – Howls From The Primordial Ones is exactly that. As we said in our review: “Attitude, sound and aesthetic all align in a perfect storm encapsulating the quintessence of underground black metal. Even within the boundaries of their sound all elements are near flawlessly balanced. The visceral rawness, vocals like wind roaring bitter and cold through the trees, the melodies ablaze with zealous sorceries atop brittle percussion – despite the razor-sharp abrasion and searing obfuscation of the production these four compositions radiate an ancient and fervorous majesty, largely due to the fact that no amount of distortion can hide the beautiful melodies at play. Each track is a stunning expression of darkness and creates the type of swirling, heady delirium that regular patrons of the label and raw black cult acolytes will no doubt drink up like spilled claret from a jugular vein.”
The title track from this might just be my favourite demo song of the year, but the entire thing is impeccable. If the description above sounds at all within your wheelhouse I highly suggest you immerse yourself in it post-haste. Thou shalt be consumed.
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1. Kêres – Flaming Ash (Terratur Possessions) Finland
It takes no more than sixty seconds once you’ve pressed play on Flaming Ash, the latest EP from Circle Of Ouroboros composer Atvar‘s long running project Kêres, to realise the sheer quality that lies within this release. One minute maximum is all you need to feel that riff sink in; one minute until the vocals begin so soothe your soul. A few people said the last album Ice, Vapour, and Crooked Arrows had somehow lost a little of the Kêres magic – if you were one of those people, put those thoughts right out of your mind because from beginning to end Atvar is firmly back on top of his songwriting game (as if he ever wasn’t, really) and the flow from early Katatonia-esque melancholia to turbulent black storms and back again is nothing short of exquisite.
In this piece I’ve mentioned the best demo riff of the year, demo song of the year. Flaming Ash is without a shadow of doubt the best overall EP of the year. Get yourself a copy now. Hails.
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Listcrush returns with the Tom O’Dell Edition, Gos Edition and Dex full-length album Edition soon.
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Follow Black Metal Daily on Facebook, Instagram, Spotify and Bandcamp HERE for more cult sounds and tonal blasphemy.
Here we are again: LISTCRUSH 2021 HAS ARRIVED. Another year done, which for many was about as enjoyable and welcome as a wet fart, but as usual at least the music was killer. Wasting no time in getting this shit underway (because it usually takes us weeks to get through it anyway) here’s my list of the splits that resonated the most with me throughout the year. My tastes seemed less eclectic than usual, or maybe they weren’t – I don’t even know anymore. Many of the near misses could have made the list on a different day, and probably should have given that I’m listening to that Valac / Crucifixion Bellagain as I type and it’s blowing me away, but fuck it. Read on and check ALL of these out, every single one is highly recommended. Infinite thanks and massive respect to every artist on the list for giving creating your art and spreading a little more darkness across this wretched earth. Stay tuned for Part 2 (demos and EPs) coming soon. Hails.
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Near Misses:
Spider God / Μνήμα
Valac / Crucifixion Bell
Vampirska / Wampyric Rites
Glemt / Vampirska
Entropy Created Consciousness / Silent Remission
Black Kruud / Drelnoch
Vide / Bloodnun
Goatpenis / Demonic Apparition
Xavarthan / Vampyric Winter
Order Of The Iron Fist / Necroprofanator / Intolerant / Blood Artillery
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25. Dusk Lurker / Archierophant – The Third Flame (Blackwood Productions)
Sounds like: sitting in a small boat, drifting alone down a river, watching your life go up in flames behind you. And you were the one who set it all on fire. Just a wonderfully well put together UK split of stirring black metal with hefty emotional weight.
Sounds like: Screaming at the sky as swords flash and blood flies in the heat of medieval battle. Will you die this day? Nay, thou shall not die this day. A short, sharp shock of pure kinetic energy from two US beasts.
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23. Celestial Sword / Trhä – edënohhdlha hálgra tu majtranlh’ha / ga nëcëcta mon idlhi (Independent)
Sounds like: Celestial Sword being pretty darned good but Trhä being fucking GREAT and spiriting you away to another world, as usual. This would be higher up the list if the two sides were of equal value; modern raw black metal is being torn apart by Trhä and the resulting carnage is beautiful.
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22. Black Imperial Blood / Grundhyrde – Wallachian Windspirit / Odious Chasm of Scorn (ASRAR)
Sounds like: Australians Black Imperial Blood having a MASSIVE hard-on for Satanic Warmaster whilst US cultist Grundhyrde gets lost on an epic, forest-covered mountain, saying fuck it, and living there howling with the wolves forever. Sounds a touch furry, but it works – even if Lauri could probably sue for those BIB riffs.
Sounds like: Scraping centuries-old scum off the inside of mildewed tombs and eating it. Both of these Indonesian projects are great, but Nansarunai… holy fucking shit. Ultimate creeping death, straight from the spirit realm.
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20. Vessel Of Iniquity / Thecodontion – The Permian-Triassic Extinction Event (I, Voidhanger Records, Bad Moon Rising 惡月上昇, Dead Red Queen Records)
Sounds like: The cream of UK and Italy destructiveness combining for the sonic depiction of an extinction level event wiping out 90% of all life on the planet. Which we said in our review, HERE. Obliterating.
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19. Glemt / Unholy Vampyric Slaughter Sect / Crucifixion Bell / Celestial Sword – What Sin Hath Twisted (Crown and Throne Ltd.)
Sounds like: Midnight madness, mania and raw fucking majesty from a who’s who of raw UK/USBM. Is Crucifixion Bell one of the greatest raw black artists currently active? You know all signs point firmly to yes.
Sounds like: Two of the most interesting subterranean black conjurers around teaming up and sounding like nothing else on this list. Croatian Krik‘s post-punk raw black of Spear Of Teuta is given an extra dimension by Australian Siliniez pulling double duty here; and of course, the Opium Grave side is stellar goth weirdness. Both projects are far too slept on, and more eyes should have landed on this split.
Speaking of interesting splits, this little conjuration is fascinating. Sounds like losing and then finding yourself again in a primal woodland glade. Remarkably touching, I’ve returned to this split far more often than I expected to yet still not as often as it deserves.
Sounds like: My TRUE NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL heart beating in double time. Kirkebrann landed on my splits list last year; I’ve absolutely no fucking clue how more heads who jam Mork or Darkthrone-esque goodness aren’t all over them like flippers on a GoatowaRex drop. This split is so long it’s like getting a mini-album from each band – no complaints here.
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15. Μνήμα / Upir / Koreltsak / Calling Of Phasmic Presence – Conspiring in Blood-drenched Moonlight (His Wounds, Crown and Throne Ltd.)
Sounds like: your life and sanity slowly being sucked out of you by spectral leeches who then reanimate your corpse to wander as a slowly decomposing lost soul, hungering for the taste of life until the weight of your own fate causes you to tear yourself limb from limb. In blood drenched moonlight, of course.
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14. Thorns Of Malice / Moraš – Quivering Silhouettes Beneath the Corrupting Gleam (Atrocity Altar)
Sounds like: Me being extremely pissed off I didn’t snag the tape of this – but hey, Atrocity Altar is back in Australia so things are looking up for the future. Speaking of, fellow Aussies Thorns of Malice keep up remarkably well with the always untouchable Finn Moraš. Pain, melancholia and the exquisitely vicious gnashing of teeth all in one.
Sounds like: Nobody on the planet being surprised that this split from two of Australia’s premier subterranean artists was fucking amazing. Nobody at all. Backing vocals on Lepidus’ side were performed by Kūwāha’ilo of Kūka’ilimoku, which is the cherry on top of a deliciously vital yet decomposing cake. Killer Vberkvlt cover art, too – may he get well soon.
Sounds like: ANOTHER double Australian assault. I’ve been telling people for as long as I can remember that Australian raw black metal kills and deserves far more attention than it gets; listen to both sides of this on repeat for more proof.
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11. Délétère / Sarkrista – Opus Blasphematum (Sepulchral Productions)
Sounds like: Glorious, spiralling melodies of shimmering black effulgence rising tall and proud in satanic majesty. Two of my favourite bands together on one disc was never NOT going to fucking rip.
Sounds like: tarot cards, suffering, and capitalism being torn down – via beautiful, tortured raw black metal. I’d almost bet everything I own that this slipped under your radar, so check it out below (or at our premiere where we had a chat with the lovely Esmé and CicatrixHERE) and get to know.
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9. Gnipahålan / Evilfeast – Storm av rå Nordisk Dödskonst del. II / Black Witchcraft over Carpathia (Amor Fati Productions)
Sounds like: Swirling ice-wind sorceries searing through the timeless black of eternal night. Swedish mystics Gnipahålan never put a foot wrong, and although I’m sometimes take-or-leave regarding Evilfeast (for a variety of reasons) even Grimspirit knocks it out of the park. Two absolute masters doing what they do best.
Sounds like: Half of those who (rightfully) jerked off over last year’s Introvertere probably not even realizing that this low-key split was out. Two of the most interesting names in Italian black metal; one of the most fascinating splits of the year. Sadly, the human blood spattered version is now sold out.
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7. Nächtlich /Grundhyrde – Nächtlich / Grundhyrde (Death Hymns, New Era Productions)
Sounds like: Riffs upon riffs upon riffs upon… yep, you guessed it – RIFFS. Interesting pairing the punkish and prolific Canadians Nächtlich with the raw classicism of Grundhyrde, but fuck me with a rusty knife if it doesn’t work a treat.
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6. Eishalle / Ancient Necromancy – Forbidden Sorcery in the Frostbitten Night (Drakkar Productions, Cultus Caliginous)
Sounds like: frozen hypnotic waves, relentless and battering even as they crumble to pieces around you. I didn’t expect this one to stick quite as hard as it did but every time I listened it just became more and more satisfying from both sides, every element perfectly placed. Grab a jacket, because this shit is fucking cold. Gloriously grim.
Sounds like: “the soundtrack for long and lonesome walks in utmost recluse trails of your surrounding wastelands or your own mind”, according to the Bandcamp – and this quietly stunning lo-fi split indeed fits exactly that sentiment. The combination of Austrian Brånd‘s post-punk infused riffage with US duo Cavalry‘s even more haunting and introspective approach is simply magical.
Sounds like: If you need me to tell you about either of these bands, just click play on the link below and all will be explained. Danish Korpsånd Circle alumni Fanebærer are exquisite as always, whilst Australian (Tasmanian, to be precise) Carved Cross‘ side is their warmest yet but still conjures a miasma like no other. Remember when I said Australian raw black kills? Yeah. Also dedicated to the memory of Lasse of the mighty Skjold. Rest In Power.
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3. Dai-ichi / Lamp Of Murmuur – Virgin Womb Of Eternal Black Terror (Fólkvangr Records, Nebular Carcoma Records, Bile Noire, Lunar Apparitions)
Sounds like: HYPE. Yeah, everyone rides Lamp but (if you’re not a sour cunt who hates riffs) it’s well deserved – and Dai-ichi is deserving of equal attention. I mean, just listen to this thing. Contemporary raw black doesn’t get much better…
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2. Kommodus / Pan Amerikan Native Front – Immortal Ceremonies (GoatowaRex)
…except for THIS, which sounds like contemporary raw black metal perfected. In an era where it seems more obvious by the day that bands are just throwing any old guitar-based musical style into the mix, playing it on a reverb drenched or ear-splittingly distorted potato and dubbing it raw black metal, Australian Lepidus Plague is out here doing whatever the fuck he wants and making it seem 1. completely authentic, and 2. totally ravenous at all times. Oh, and Pan Amerkan Native Front‘s side is even better. This would easily, by far and away, have been my split of the year. If not for…
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1. Amestigon / Shaarimoth / Inconcessus Lux Lucis / Thy Darkened Shade – SamaeLilith: A Conjunction of the Fireborn (World Terror Committee)
…THIS. Sounds like: the best collaborative effort this year could possibly have produced. Thirteen years in the making (!), these four singular artists unite under one theme and focus their will to set the world ablaze. Every time I listen to the fifteen (!!) passages of this split I’m totally blown away – the diabolical power seething within each composition ensures it’s an almost reverential experience. No other split on the list gives me this feeling; very few other releases I heard this year do eeither. Considered together, SamaeLilith: A Conjunction of the Fireborn is a towering monolith raised on four pillars of unwavering, indestructible strength to tear the firmament asunder. An immense, sprawling monument that should not – CAN not – be ignored. Split of the year. Hails.
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Greetings, infernal warbröethers and all that. After a marathon stretch we’re finally here, hammering the last rusty nail into our 2020 LISTCRUSH series – the full-length albums that resonated most with methroughout 2020. At a cursory glance,Metal Archives has 3146 full-length black metal albums logged as being released last year. Of those, I probably only checked out around a thousand, tops. So remember: this is in no way a definitive list. I’m not the grand arbiter of taste or final word on anything. These are just the records that tickled my own personal blasphemy glands juuuust right.
The original shortlist was over 200 albums long and I’ve (excruciatingly) whittled it down to a hundred of the finest – there is no “near misses” section, because in a year in which we were absolutely spoiled for good music as most had much else better to do in quarantine, there are simply too many that would have very deservedly made the cut.
There are records that immediately blew my mind (number 92, number 2, number 8), records that crept up over time to become firm favourites (number 31), expected hypebeasts (number 4) and records that deserve FAR more attention (59, 63). There were things of beauty (58, 24) and ugliness (49, 38). There are records that I fell asleep to almost every night since they were released (number 3), thrilling new discoveries (95), old masters making a triumphant return (6)… and in the case of number ONE, records that unleashed their black irradiant glories extremely late in the year yet annihilated everything else that had come before.
If any of the album titles are highlighted, clicking that will take you to our coverage of the album (reviews, premieres, interviews and all that good stuff). This list is strictly black/blackened, so if you’d like recommendations for other genres hit me up – for example my top death metal album was Ulcerate, of course, followed by Atræ Bilis. I’d probably give label of the year to the untouchable Debemur Morti Productions and if you want to check out what I consider to be the strongest demos, EPs or Splits I heard last year, readPart 1HERE and Part 2HERE.
That’s it. Have at it, Listcrush is finally done for another year. Hails.
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TOP 100 ALBUMS OF 2020
100. FORTRESS OF THE OLDEN DAYS – Verlassenheit(Worship Tapes / A Pile Of Graves)
1. ABIGOR – Totschläger (A Saintslayer’s Songbook) (World Terror Committee)
I originally intended to keep it simple and wasn’t going to write anything at all about any album on this list, but I simply have to say a few words about this diabolical gem. After TTblew me away at the death of 2019 with the dazzling NEDXXX (well, personnel are still as-yet unconfirmed but I’d bet a solid hundred that he and Rune from Shaarimoth were involved) he’s done it again with Abigor‘s twelfth album, Totschläger (A Saintslayer’s Songbook). I’ve been listening to these nine tracks repeatedly since release and over countless spins each experience brings something new to appreciate and astound – be it tiny details in each intricate composition, or an entirely new favourite track each time. Silenius from Summoning puts in what may be the best performance of his life here, too – I liked Höllenzwang, but this proves Abigor remain at the absolute top of the game. I mean, just check out the final moments of album closer ‘Terrorkommando Eligos’ – what other band would have the testicular fortitude and sheer unbridled ability to pull off what’s ostensibly a minute or two of wild, slavering, black metal drum & bass?
THIS is, hands down, the best black metal album of the year for me. Listen to it. Hail Abigor.
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Ultimate respect to all artists, labels, writers and supporters of the blackarts. You are all lords.
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Finally, Part Two of my Listcrush series materializes. I’m currently stuck in bed after surgery, high as shit on a cocktail of painkillers and feeling like someone ran over me in a flaming dump truck – what better time to sift through my most personally resonant splits and collaborations of last year? As before, every single one of these comes with my highest recommendations, even the near misses, so be sure to check them out. Stay tuned for thefinal part in the coming days. Hails.
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TOP 20 SPLITS
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20. INFERNO REQUIEM / CZARNOBOG – Fear of Tartarus / Remembrance of the Blood Moon (Death Kvlt Productions)
The two tracks of glorious, grandiloquent evil from the master Fog of Inferno Requiem led me to this split, where I discovered the more somber and synth laden darkness of Czarnobog. Still love the IR side a little more, but both are great stuff.
One of the deepest conceptual splits of the year (probably equal with number two on this list, but in a completely different way) is also noteworthy as having the unchallenged best cover art for 2020. Just look at it… and the music itself is as ambitious and resonant as that art. I was familiar with Precaria, even having interviewed sole practitioner Ianzel a few years back, but Ôros Kaù were a neat new discovery.
This one was a huge surprise for me, as on paper I didn’t expect this pairing to work well at all. No idea why – turns out I was completely fucking wrong and Albionic Hermeticism provide a fitting Yin to Decoherence‘s obliterating Yang. Challenging and immersive.
A fine helping of killer crumbling riffs from Australia’s always-superb Solipsism, but once again Kudlaakh completely steal the show for me. Absolutely cannot get enough of this project.
Two monolithic, sprawling, twenty-plus-minute long soundscapes of Icelandic gold. Carpe Noctem made a welcome tweak to their sound for this split, and Árstíðir Lífsins justcontinued to cement their exalted place as one of my go-to artists when I’m in the mood for this sort of thing.
“Behold, purveyors of the sonic void: now in this era of catastrophe approaches one of the most cohesive splits in recent memory…”
Our man GOS called this meeting of minds “a black/industrial/doom masterwork of devastating proportions” in his reviewback in June. I, of course, wholeheartedly agree – read it. And listen, if you haven’t.
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14. NODUS TOLLENS / CROWN OF ASTERIA – Split (Realm and Ritual)
“Indescribable feelings arise from the combination of depressive black and plaintive viola (wielded by Marisa KayeJanke, ex-Isenordal) with such devastation they would challenge My Dying Bride for sheer emotional weight; feelings that have been ripped from the chest of sole practitioner Cicatrix as he pours his soul from the gaping wound for all to see. Guitars crash and soar as his rasp and roar summons sorrows, sharing the weight that lies heavy upon him, his tribulations and turmoil becoming our own because we recognize ourselves in what his sound is expressing. We are on that rudderless boat, screaming at the world, and nobody can hear it.” …is what I wrote about Nodus Tollens‘ side of this split when I had the sizeable honour of premiering a track back in February; Crown Of Asteria then completes that stunning picture with breathtaking ease.
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13. WARMOON LORD / VULTYRIUM – Pure Cold Impurity (Wolfspell Records)
The ineffable and ruthless Warmoon Lord continue to create ultimate Finnish black metal glory that’s so good (check ‘Victory Of Irreverend Might’, fucking hell) it almost wouldn’t matter if Vultyrium totally shat the bed on their side. Luckily, those sheets remain pristine. More please.
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12. CANDELABRUM / SULPHURIC NIGHT – Death Slumbers Amidst The Ruins (Altare Productions, Black Gangrene Productions)
Entomb yourself in deep catacombs for 300 years. Arise and wander the dank forgotten halls forlorn. Scratch your way to the surface, feeding on the blood of any living thing you can find on the way… then reach the air, and rule the night forever. That’s the overwhelming imagery and feeling provided by this split. Incredible.
A double helping of calls to ancient earthen blood from two old Australian spirits, beautifully entwined into a single harmonious and bewitching whole. Only one way to describe this split: pure magick.
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10. BRÅND / HÄXENZIJRKELL – Split (Amor Fati Productions, Tour De Garde)
One of the first splits to make a big impact on me all the way back in the heady days of January, before the plague really took hold. Perhaps the release of this split even facillitated its spread? I know, I know… but just listen to Häxenzijrkell‘s side in particular and tell me that’s a ridiculous concept.
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9. INVUNCHE / IFERNACH – Split (Tour de Garde)
The shamanic black punk of Invunche placed back to back with Ifernach displaying a more raw punk version of his own sonic warfare results in a compelling experience. This grew on me every time I put it on, and by the end of the year I fucking adored it. Will feature in my listening habits for a long time to come.
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8. HAND OF GLORY / ENSHROUD – S/T (Death Hymns)
I’d already had this astonishingly oppressive split locked into this spot on my list for months and was ready to yell about how good it was into all of your ears, but finding out that Lam of Hand Of Glory / Sanguine Eagle / Zarabanda Moon / Unseen Forest Patriot unfortunately passed through into the next life on 6th January 2021 puts a tragic spin on its inclusion… and makes it all the more fitting. Rest In Power.
Described in a Bandcamp review (by our friend VUK of The Metal Wanderlust, no less) as “wonderfully unusual music”, which sums it up perfectly. Vuur & Zidje‘s debut expression of mystical madness boils away under ethereal female vocals that have haunted me since May, and Impavida is as discombobulating and harrowing as ever – especially on the epic final track Wahn & Stille. One of those splits that creeps under your skin and stays there.
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6. LAMP OF MURMUUR / REVENANT MARQUIS – Split (Death Kvlt Productions, Les Fleurs Du Mal)
Two of the premier names in contemporary raw black on one split? Hype be damned, if you thought this was ever going to be anything less than great, you’re a chump. Or you just appreciate different things, which is also fine. I guess.
HAIL THE ANTIPODEAN TRIUMVIRATE. All three of these projects are the some of the best fresh black art to arise from our sweltering shores, down here in Aus – Forest Temple is the dungeon synth project of Lepidus Plague / Kommodus, which is noteworthy because 1) he (spoiler alert) shows up in this list twice, and 2) it’s the only pure dungeon synth project to surface on any of my lists. This split is the equivalent of being violently abducted and killed by a backpacker murderer (Hinterkaifeck) before your corpse is slowly dismembered and interred in a shallow grave somewhere deep in the tranquil Australian bushland (Forest Temple) then decomposes, rotting away beneath the cold, damp earth for seventeen years (Burier). Nice.
Let it always be remembered that 2020 was when two of the premier cosmic black metal entities of our current era combined their limitless powers – after November 18th, the very fabric of our universe was irrevocably altered by the ravenous black hole created by this split. We will forever live in its terrifying shadow, on the cusp of being sucked in to total obliteration. Life will never be the same. Plus, there’s eurobeat.
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3. HAJDUK / AKANTHA / NIMBIFER / SØRGELIG – Ruins Of Humanity (Repose Records, Not Kvlt Records)
When I first learned of this split from the Sørgelig guys, I was hyped as hell – and I can unequivocally say that it lived up to every expectation I ever had. I mean, if that lineup alone doesn’t excite you, what the fuck else will? Masterful, in every single sense imaginable.
The most monolithic, imposing and expansive conceptual split released last year. Based upon Gustav Holst‘s The Planets – a seven-movement orchestral / symphonic blockbuster suite based upon the personalities of each planet in our solar system – the sheer amount of work put in to this thing is mind blowing, and the result is stunning. We had to team up with Moshpitnation-mi to adequately review it.
“…for this is a split for the ages… humbling in its size and ambition, executed to near perfection.”
And now, the champions. As I’ve waxed lyrical about many times, the mighty Kommodus is the best Australian black metal project active right now and Lord Lepidus Plague just has a knack for writing great riffs that get stuck in your head – Pyrrhic Victory was frequently found ripping through my brain throughout the entirety of December. His side is sheer indomitable ferocity (with a killer Celtic Frost cover) whilst US spirit Valac perfectly complements and continues the fury, adding a devastating Leviathan cover to boot. In a year stacked with incredible splits, Eclipsing Honour and Decay was the irrefutable cream of the crop from two projects at the very top of their game. So criminally good it should be illegal.
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NEAR MISSES: Carved Cross / Torrid Death’s Fire – Split 2020, Lament In Winter’s Night / Black Imperial Blood – Split, Evilfeast / Uuntaar – Ode To Lands Of Past Traditions, FallenForest / BlackImperialBlood – Split, Nyctophilia / Hellmoon – Under the Darkest Sign of Ancient Evil, Reign / Rulum – The Occult
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Hails. I’d usually publish my best of list in one hit, or even two, but seeing as 2020 was such a shitshow and 2021 has started off in similar fashion (for me, anyway), I’m struggling to get anything done at all. So, to save at least a few of these recommendations appearing sometime late June or some shit when people will care even less than they do now, I’m splitting the list up into three sections to get these EXTREMELY deserving releases out there while there’s still a modicum of interest in hunting down last year’s gems. Hopefully this steers your attention towards something you haven’t heard, or at least confirms your own fine taste so we can both feel good.
Needless to say, every single one of these releases comes with my utmost recommendation, even the near misses. So without further blathering… Part One, covering the biggest short releases of the year that was. Stay tuned for parts 2 (splits) and 3 (albums).
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Top 20 Demos, EPs & Mini Albums
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20. BORÉALYS – Là où les eaux se séparent (Winter Sky Records, Les Fleurs Du Mal Productions)
I originally intended to write up a full review of this subtle Canadian gem, before the entirety of December completely fell to shit for me – so consider this my strong recommendation that you should immerse yourselves in the effortlessly stunning naturalistic black metal of this all-too-short debut, post-haste. Tapes are already sold out, but once you let yourself drift along on these troubled waters you’ll likely be trying to hunt one down.
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19. VAAL – Rehearsal 2020 (Tour De Garde)
I’ve enjoyed everything put out by this raw black metal project of The Spectre from Dungeon Synth project Old Tower, and he hits the spot once again with two tracks of boiling crepuscular madness. Yes, I am fairly distressed that I missed the tape of this. No, the tapes on Discogs do not ship to Australia. Yes, if you have one you should send me one. Hails in advance.
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18. THROANE – Une balle dans le pied (Debemur Morti Productions)
Another monolithic, explosive, violent and harrowing gem from the mind of Dehn Sora aka Vincent Petitjean, who if you’ve never heard of by now should be first on your list to check out next – and you should start with Une balle dans le pied (translation: “A Bullet In The Foot”). When it comes to this sort of psychological torture, nobody else comes close.
Celebrated their ten year anniversary of existence by ferociously expelling two standalone tracks that could each scour the flesh from your face in an instant. These blackened hardcore killers have also just signed to the impeccable Debemur Morti – ergo, expect fucking EVERYONE to be talking about them later this year.
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16. CROWN OF ASCENSION – Twixt Zero and Infinity (Xenoglossy Productions)
One of those projects that hit me just at the right moment and it was all I listened to for a time. As I said in my review: Crown Of Ascension‘s swirling maelstrom is a continuum formed of translucent space-dust and lacerating shards of onyx all crashing into one other at lunatic speed, before bounding off and sometimes settling into brief pockets of somber, metaphysical wonderment. It all projects a type of disembodied ultraviolence that’s not threatening, but curiously inviting… it may be a whorling, eddying vortex of unknown origin and effect, but there’s something ethereally beautiful about it that makes you want to dive right in and experience it for yourself.
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15. FROZEN MOON – Legend Of East Dan II (Pest Productions)
If you aren’t completely sold on this riff-tastic Chinese folk black opus by halfway through your first listen, you’re a lost cause and most likely boring as fuck at parties. Fan Bo from Vengeful Spectre‘s fearless vocal approach is unreal, as is this entire EP. Possibly the most “entertained” I’ve been by anything all year – check it out and you’ll understand.
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14. COVETOUS – Return To Hythloth (Unborn Productions)
I slacked a bit and discovered it a few months after it dropped, but everything about this Norwegian demo struck the right chord with me as soon as it hit my ears – from the production, to the cover art, and naturally, the tracks themselves. Haunting and epic in equal measure. Will be watching very closely in future.
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13. NIMBIFER – Demo II (Vendetta Records)
Just let these magnificently austere and crumbling melodies wash over you and you’ll see why this German duo are one of the best of the current raw black crop. Do it. Do iiiitttttt. Also note that Vendetta released both demos together as an LP, so the stunning Demo I which I featured on last year’s Listcrush could technically count here as well.
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12. VOËMMR – Tordaebr odr Daebr (Harvest Of Death)
Another masterpiece of rural hallucinatory dementia from the divisive Portuguese masters, summoning spirits to sever any last shred of your sanity. If these Aldebaran Circle wraiths continue their schedule of releasing something new every year I’ll be an extremely happy man.
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11. NYREDOLK – IndeBrændt (Strange Aeons Records)
The Danish black metal punks make good on the promise of their 2018 demo with a stunning set of four songs. Hostile and loathsome to the core; would likely stab you several times and spit on you as you lay bleeding. Listen at your own risk.
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10. IFERNACH – Waqan (Les Productions Hérétiques)
An emotional, stirring EP from the most underappreciated raw Quebecois master out there, that I returned to whenever I needed to enflame my soul. Which, incidentally and perhaps unsurprisingly given what went on throughout the world, was often. Also not even the best thing he released last year, believe it or not… spoiler alert for parts two and three.
A quote from myinterview with the band that might tell you why I fucking adore this EP, or it might not: “Everything we do, objectively, has no value. Everything is equally vain. Value only exists subjectively. The term and meaning of “value” is but a human conception. Cosmos is an endless continuum of events, neither good nor bad, neither ethical nor immoral. Any sign, positive or negative, is the consequence of a subjective perspective. By accepting this and by shaking off all external suggestions of how you should live or what you should chase after, of what is desirable and what should be avoided, of what is right or wrong, you unlock a path to better acquaintance with yourself and to living a life that will truly be satisfying to you and not the one you were told you should be.” Listen for yourself and find out.
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8. KUDLAAKH – Deepest Regions of Naught (Perverse Homage)
Some of you might check this out of curiosity and wonder why the fuck I’ve put it on this list… others will be swept away in the coruscating wall of howling sound and completely understand. Cacophonic black gold that sounds as if a portal to all of your worst fears just opened up in your brain and sucked you into it, for eternity. This was my introduction to the project back in January, and it remains one of my favourite discoveries of last year.
Listen to everything put out by this ear-destroying Greek raw black/noise abomination. And I do mean EVERYTHING, it’s all fantastic. I’m cheating listing the Death Kvlt / His Wounds compilation LP of two of the demos released this year because it allows me to sneak both in here, but fuck it, they both deserve it – make sure you also seek out the Tombs Of Necromantic Lunacy EP from September too. Total maniacal death psychosis.
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6. GRIFTESKYMFNING – Satanic Poltergeist (Darker Than Black Records)
This only dropped out of nowhere on December 26th, but it was all I listened to for days when it did – so it sneaks in here, and honestly should probably rank even higher. The impeccable Sir N does it again, enough said.
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5.FROSTEN – With Sigils and Infernal Signs (Death Kvlt Productions)
Whenever I listen to this solo project of UK scene legend Azrael I really am left speechless by just how well it’s all put together. If we’re being real, this debut demo does absolutely nothing new – but instead is like the perfect distillation of true black metal solidified into a blazing core of darkness… consuming, overwhelming darkness. In a word: superb.
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4. TRHÄ – novej kalhnjënno (Independent)
Unleashed not one, but two great demos in 2020 – however, it was novej kalhnjënno that swept me up in its magnificent maelstrom and kept me there for the remainder of the year. Valorous melodies meet frozen melancholia in a truly dazzling display of raw winter delirium.
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3. LEECHES – A Plague In The Heart Of Light (Fucking Your Creation Records, His Wounds, Dominance of Darkness Records)
Now, these final three releases are all remarkably close in ranking, and all extremely deserving of the number one spot. You’ve likely heard me shout the praises of this demo many times already (not least of all when we premiered an official video from it on New Years Eve), and with good reason – A Plague In The Heart Of Light is fucking ravenous old school glory, devouring all the pious filth of the world in its path. If you have even that slightest sliver of good taste I mentioned in the introduction, you need to hear this. Now.
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2. GORRCH – Introvertere (Duplicate Records)
Holy fucking shit, Introvertere was everything I’d hoped for and more after hearing the first teaser track what feels like aeons ago now. Like a thousand golden razors whirling and slicing with terrifying precision, this blistering tempest of supreme dissonance is the epitome of what “technical” black metal SHOULD be – but what else would you expect from Chimsicrin of Lorn and his brother? Along with Leeches, this could have taken the number one spot. If it wasn’t for…
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1. Ŭkcheănsălâwit – Tekipuk (Corde Raide, His Wounds)
…this. Released right at the screaming birth of 2020 yet never bettered for the duration, this Native American depressive project is – as the title of the first track suggests – four tracks of utterly flawless nocturnal magic. Bewitching, ensnaring, memorable; I picked up the tape when it was released and proceeded to almost wear it out, listening to it more than anything else I picked up last year. The best demo of a killer crop reaped out of a miserable year, and nothing short of pure perfection.
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NEAR MISSES: Morta – Fúnebre, Mork – Pesta, Stormkeep – Galdrum, Kyrios – Saturnal Chambers, Anarazel – Iconoclastic Rebirth, Zalmoxis – A Nocturnal Emanation, Soul Dissolution – Winter Contemplations, Deus Mortem – The Fiery Blood, Spirit Possession – Demo 2020, Doldrum– The Knocking, Witchburn – Prepare For The Sabbath, Empyrean Grace – Bestowment Of The Seraphic Key, HellGoat – Goatfather
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As with last year, I’ve decided to create two definitive lists recording my favourite discoveries this year – the black metal list to stay on brand for this site, and the non black metal list because I’m really not as kvlt as I should be. These are the albums I kept coming back to for more, the ones that really stuck with me; in my opinion, that’s the mark of a great album. Even if it’s not technically the best thing ever written, if you enjoy the hell out of it and can’t put it down, it’s done something right. So, without further ado…
This year was the year I stuck my head into deep waters of the raw side of black metal, undoubtedly due in no small part to the unrelenting chaos of the world around us. Whilst mostly diving into past releases I’d missed, Ascend Towards the Moon’s debut instantly grabbed me with its beautiful-yet-haunting artwork, chaotic-yet-calming riffing and a pervasive sense of otherworldly mystery; I’ve found myself often returning to it to kick off raw binges as the days continue to grow bleak.
An album I reviewed quite recently, Winterlore earns its place on this list by being a thoroughly satisfying listen time after time. The band isn’t reinventing the wheel, but they certainly don’t hold themselves out as attempting to do. Instead, all the fun and drive of the riffier classics from the second wave (think Immortal) is competently refreshed for the modern day and sprinkled with a touch of epic scope. I do tire a little of the fuzzier production, especially when compared to the shining mixes elsewhere on this list, but it’s totally appropriate for the style and is easily looked past. After all, when the riffs are this fun, why would you complain?
Essential tracks: ‘Eternal Defiance’, ‘Dark Tempest’, ‘Spears of the Dead’
A relatively straightforward melodic black release, Spectres from the Old World really shone for me with its replayability being one of its major assets. Boasting exactly the production you’d want from an album like this – clear and professional without softening any of the bite – Dark Fortress conjure a cold yet catchy landscape that never feels as long as its 58 minute runtime, helped by a variety of sub-textures that support the blackened assault and ensure it doesn’t get stale. Similar releases in the meloblack field (such as Naglfar) failed to grab my attention this year, and in a way it’s quite difficult to quantify why. What is clear is that Spectres is a riff-tastic whirlwind of an album, and it’s a blast every time I listen.
Essential tracks: ‘Coalescence’, ‘Pulling at Threads’, ‘The Spider in the Web’
I wrote up this album back in May, in which I stated that “it’s a record that grows with each listen, new nuances revealing themselves every time”. I am clearly a wise man blessed with exceptional foresight (or just lucky), as my appreciation for Ruadh’s second full length album still continues to grow. My various criticisms still stand, but the fact remains that I’ve gone back to the record time and time again this year, and expect to continue to do so for years to come – and it’s a truly enjoyable experience every time.
Essential tracks: ‘The Rock of the Clyde’, ‘Only Distant Echoes Reign pts 1-2’
Released right at the beginning of this hellspawned year, Between Land and Sky has been an ever-constant presence at the top of my AotY playlist right from its release. Described by many as pagany black metal in the vein of Havukruunu or Moonsorrow, the album may lay its foundations in that world, but develops and builds colossal heights that incorporate influences from beyond any one subgenre. The guitar work is excellent throughout, supported by very natural sounding drums and a variety of organic, subtle folk timbres. It’s an album that feels bigger than the 45 minute runtime, and as such does require a certain mood to want to engage with the story it has to tell – but when that mood is struck, few other releases this year can match it.
Essential tracks: ‘The Ardent Passage’, ‘Karakorum’, ‘Those Who Are Long Gone’
Describing itself as “Quarantine Fraud Metal”, due to being recorded in two swift weeks during the early days of lockdown, you’d be well within your rights to assume that this self-titled debut would be filled with anger, frustration, and haunting loneliness. That, however, couldn’t be further from the truth. A magnificent and triumphant release, the joyous synth layers couple with the (mostly) instrumental atmoblack foundations to create something that brings ambient “nature black metal” bands like Eldamar and Lustre to the mind, but the inherent sense of uplift composed and woven through the production sets the project on its own path and brings hope to the heart; perhaps intended as a reminder to us all that these days of disease will end soon.
Malist are unique. Billed as melodic black metal yet far more ambitious than just that, To Mantle the Rising Sun is a masterclass in creating an atmosphere across an album that sounds truly different to anything else. Sure, there are identifiable influences at play, but the way sole member Ovfrost combines and constructs songs makes a sound that is definitively this band and no one else. It’s an impressive feat for a band that’s released two albums in little over a year since emerging from the shadows, and I predict huge things on the horizon for them.
Essential tracks: ‘The Ultimate Possession’, ‘Tempest of Sorrow’, ‘To Stifle the Fire in the Eyes’
Having been quite underwhelmed with previous full-length Unity, I wasn’t really expecting to enjoy A New Dawn a great deal, but I was curious to see how the band’s debut on Northern Silence Productions had turned out. And how wrong I was. The album is, simply put, gorgeous. The artwork is warm and hopeful, and a perfect mirror to the six songs contained within. There’s a greater emphasis on clean vocals, which are stronger this time around and match the lush textures of the synth and guitars (clean often layered with distorted), which additionally makes the (quite frankly occasional) uses of harsh vocals far more notable. Everything about this album seems purposeful, and intended to invoke a warm feeling of beauty; atmospheric-post-black-gaze has a new champion, and this is their dawn.
Essential tracks: ‘Heart of the Forest’, ‘Along the Waves’, ‘Wanderer’
Another album that’s been pushing for a podium finish since January, this is an exceptional record. I struggle to come up with meaningful comparisons because the truth is that I haven’t heard anything quite like it. The Metal Archives seem to suggest that Saor and Sojourner are the closest to a match, but aside from not shying away from folky instrumentation alongside the metal and ethereal female vocals I’m not sure how accurate the comparisons really are, nor do they do justice to just how special this album is. Dzö-nga truly consolidate their own sound and identity and emerge as a colossal epic titan, triumphantly standing over almost all others.
Essential tracks: ‘The Death of Minnehaha’, ‘The Song of Hiawatha’, ‘Flames in the Sky’
Beaten only by my top choice for non-black metal this year, Winterfylleth’s latest effort struck a massive chord with me. Following on from their controversial acoustic effort in 2018, this album showcases everything I love about the band. From the sombre-yet-savage riffing, to the tender folky interludes, to the mighty man choirs that bring majesty without excessive cheese, it’s somehow truly embodied with a sense of English nature and history that personally resonates with me like few other sounds can. It’s a feat that Winterfylleth have always been able to pull off, but never quite as triumphantly as this.
Essential tracks: ‘Misdeeds of Faith’, ‘A Hostile Fate (The Wayfarer pt. 4)’, ‘In Darkness Begotten’
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HONOURABLE MENTIONS (because this year was too good to fit into 10): Morwinyon; Havukruunu; Forlorn Citadel; Vredehammer; …And Oceans.
Kicking off the non-black metal section come Lorna Shore, who merge earth-shatteringly stupid deathcore breakdowns with… well, black metal. It’s a similar approach to that taken by Carnifex, but in my opinion every element is executed far more effectively here. The tremolos and blasts are frosty when they appear, yet leave centre stage for the catchy hooks and aforementioned massive mega beatdowns (seriously, just try not to laugh during the final section of ‘Death Portrait’). Certainly by no means to everyone’s tastes, I can’t help but love the straightforward “fuck it, let’s be idiots” approach combined with the genuine technical proficiency on show from all the members. A fun album.
Essential tracks: ‘Death Portrait’, ‘This is Hell’
I’ve been waiting for this album since I discovered power metal. Fairyland’s Score to a New Beginning was one of the earliest records in the genre that I truly loved and would listen to religiously, swept up in the symphonic fantasy world. It also served as a springboard into so many other bands in the wider power metal genre, as I realised that I truly do love the cheese. Eleven years after ScoreFairyland are back with another slab of symphonic wonder; and whilst it’s by no means the best thing I’ve ever heard, it’s true and faithful to the classic Fairyland spirit and serves as a worthy companion to that hallowed album.
Essential tracks: ‘Heralds of the Green Lands’, ‘Hubris et Orbis’, ‘Alone We Stand’
This is by no means the perfect release. There are two intro tracks for some reason, an interlude, and a finale. Most of the songs top seven minutes, which is quite odd for big cheesy symphonic power. But when the songwriting and production is as good as this, you can forgive the excessive length. There are some massive choruses throughout the album and the stellar vocals of Tommy Johansson portray the fantastical pirate world perfectly. The album goes a long way in developing the ambitious original concept world that the band have created, and it’s all too easy to slip into the soundtrack and immerse yourself.
Essential tracks: ‘The Land of Xia’, ‘Zera’s Shadow’, ‘Some Day Soon’
Having loved previous album Tarot (the best album of 2017), I was initially quite lukewarm on Redneck Vikings From Hell. The band was leaning a bit more into the tongue-in-cheek aspects of their aesthetic, there were a couple of softer tracks, and closing with an 11 minute instrumental seemed… uh, bold. However, I just kept coming back for more, and essentially realised that I actually just didn’t care about those previous statements. It’s a fun ride through Finnish-styled melodeath territory – as if Wintersun knew how to not take themselves too seriously – and the variety created throughout the album by the inclusion of some softer cuts makes for an interesting and dynamic journey. It’s got big singalong moments, it’s got irresistable headbanger riffs, and it’s got moments of pure, raw emotion. It’s quintessentially Æther Realm, and they’re quite simply a force to be reckoned with.
Essential tracks: ‘Cycle’, ‘Lean into the Wind’, ‘One Hollow Word’
Another band following up on excellent previous albums, I saw a lot of online debate as to whether Unleash the Archers had indeed managed to do that with Abyss. Dousing their melodeathy take on power metal with a heavy dose of slick synths, there’s no questioning that Abyss is potentially the best produced album of the year. The attention to detail is staggering, and the result is deeply enjoyable to listen to. However, it is a surprisingly bottom-heavy album. With a couple of missteps in the first half of the album it falls a little short of the magnificent triumph that was Apex, but some of the cuts on the latter half of the album are just sensational, and I’ve gone back time and time again.
Essential tracks: ‘The Wind That Shapes the Land’, ‘Soulbound’, ‘Carry the Flame’
Whilst I am listing all these new releases, 2020 was really the year I developed an unhealthy obsession with ’90s Blind Guardian (something I’m honestly surprised hadn’t happened sooner). As such, Persuader’s Necromancy came at the perfect time to knock me off my feet. The album just rips, with hard hitting heavy/power riffs and a fantastic vocal performance that isn’t afraid to stray into harsh vocals when the song demands impact. Whilst a little light on the obvious hooky choruses that you might find in the poppier end of power metal, it’s the kind of album that grabs you straight away and has you fired up and headbanging for all 44 minutes.
Essential tracks: ‘Scars’, ‘The Curse Unbound’, ‘Raise the Dead’
Continuing the Hansi worship on this list, Judicator have received a lot of attention for their latest opus, Let There Be Nothing. Previous album The Last Emperor became a strong favourite of mine the moment I heard it, with its slightly hookier approach to that traditional Blind Guardian sound, vocalist John Yelland’s extraordinary voice and harmony writing, and excellently written First Crusade themed lyrics. Let There Be Nothing plays to my historical interests even more strongly with its Byzantine concept and, whilst the individual songs are generally a bit less memorable than on the previous record, it’s a wonderfully immersive concept album. Furthermore, the title track and album closer has to go down as one of the songs of the year – that chorus is absolute weapons grade material.
Essential tracks: ‘Let There Be Nothing’, ‘Gloria’, ‘Let There Be Light’
Whereas I enjoy Lorna Shore’s approach to deathcore primarily due to its sheer stupidity and fun, Viscera earn their place on this list for different reasons; it’s just breathtakingly good. The riffs combine elements from technical death metal and similar areas seamlessly with the deathcore breakdowns; the harsh vocals are solid and well deployed, whilst the clean vocals have no right to be as good as they are; and the 35 minute runtime has forced them to cut out anything unnecessary and still deliver a dynamic, intense experience. It’s yet another example from recent years that proves deathcore is evolving beyond the meaningless chugs into an interesting genre with serious metal credentials – and I’ll die on that hill.
Essential tracks: ‘Delilah’, ‘Immersed in Ire’, ‘Affliction’
If you’re aware of the backstory behind this album, you’ll know it’s a miracle that it managed to come out at all, but the 20 year struggle to bring it into the daylight gifted the band with the opportunity to have Yannis Papadopoulos (Beast in Black) on the mic; and the man delivers the performance of a lifetime. Atop an expansive musical tapestry that varies between trad/heavy power riffs, soft, tender acoustic moments and everything between, Yannis draws us into an emotional journey that captivates the listener entirely. It’s a very different album from the hook-centric singles-orientated metal of his other project, and fans who love singalong power metal probably won’t enjoy this as much. However, if you’re willing and ready to give yourself entirely to the concept and submerge yourself in the musical layers for the runtime, it’s one hell of an experience.
Essential tracks: ‘Damned for All Time’, ‘Lonely Man’, ‘Scared to Cry’
Forgetting musicality for a moment; an album hasn’t made me feel such introspective and deep emotions as this since Asira’s Efference in 2017. Glow is an absolute triumph, merging the moody melodeath leanings of Finnish heavyweights like Insomnium with the atmospheres and dynamic range of post-metal. The songwriting is progressive yet accessible, with huge climaxes and vulnerable, raw moments woven together seamlessly. All the members are clearly highly proficient, but the real star of the show goes to clean vocalist Phil Romeo’s soaring tenor, adding a transcendent quality to the already ethereal nature of the album.
Essential tracks: ‘Tempest’, ‘Zephyr’
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HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Sylosis, Dark Forest, Omnivortex, Fellowship, Bring Me the Horizon, Eternal Champion, Megaton Sword
…and if you’ve made it this far, I released two things this year. I’m bloody proud of both of them, and whilst I can’t put either in my lists (because that’d be frowned upon), I think they’d be absolute contenders if they were by someone else.
For four years in a row now I have developed a list of my favorite albums of the year. One would think that I would have developed some sort of solid format at this point, but strangely, this is not the case. For reasons not entirely clear to me, the way I organize and categories the list changes from year to year. What worked perfectly for 2019 (a tiered selection) did not work at all for me for 2020. I simply could not make sense of it, could not organize releases in a way that seemed coherent using that method. So, I reverted (it almost seemed that I was forced to revert) back to something I did all the way back in 2017, which was to break up selections into some broad and subgenres and categories, which should be fairly self-explanatory, although of course open to interpretation. I also borrowed from what I did in 2018, which was to forgo a solid ranking and to instead place releases according to “quantum” principles, wherein each release (save the AOTY) does not have a solid location, but shifts around in the general vicinity of its placement depending on my mood etc. So, while I have chosen an AOTY, the top few picks in each category might very well be my favorite thing of the year at the moment of any particular time or mood. Am I being wishy-washy? Perhaps a bit. Am I overthinking it? Almost certainly, but I suppose that if this conceptual apparatus is what it takes for me to be satisfied with a summation my assessment of black metal in 2020, then so be it. Of note: the United States KILLED IT this year for me, and that is a first. Thanks for checking this out, and may thy will be done.
Anyone familiar with Naas Alcameth’s monumental output of immense, perseverant, and absolutely malevolent black metal in the forms of NIGHTBRINGER, BESTIA ARCANA, and AORATOS will immediately recognize the signature auditory maelstrom of perhaps his most notorious project, AKHLYS. A journey inward, a manifestation born of terrifying psychic nightmares, and the dread spirits which inhabit them, the dense murk of harrowing antipathy ascending from the depths with only a futile glimmer of warning before we are consumed in torrents of synth, writhing layers of pitchshifted guitars, measured percussive severity, and the hellish, maniacally spectral voice of Alcameth. The rhythm guitar and bass help to keep everything from tearing itself asunder, and periodically they pull the other instruments into their less frenetic trajectory for powerfully bombastic, cadenced movements across the whole instrumental continuum. Menacing builds towards abrupt eruption in absolute fury and malice. Lavish, orchestrated melody, tragic, compelling, terrible, and beautiful… imposing and utterly demonic black metal terror that is sustained, pensive, ominous, oppressive. {full review and interview}
~
HYPERAURAL
(11 selections)
PANZERFAUST [Canada] – Suns of Perdition Pt. 2: Render Unto Eden
Centering on religious and spiritual motifs: humanity’s sin and virtue, suffering and denial, fall from redemption, descent into ruin, and impending judgement, PANZERFAUST continues to dish out monstrous, crushing, black/death with overpowering, uniquely roaring vocals (a standout feature among a litany of compelling characteristics), and an overall sense of progressive, desolating inevitability. The shift in focus from the first Suns of Perdition installment is not only represented with the album title and lyrical themes, but also with the sound itself, which seems overall to be a bit more ritualized and contemplative, borrowing more from progressive blackened doom sensibilities than its predecessor did, and perfected in terms of execution, production, and mix. Render Unto Eden is, overall, a more than adequate follow up to War, Horrid War, a powerful yet reflective specimen of God-tier blackened art, and to no surprise, PANZERFAUST have produced truly one of the best albums that I have heard this year. {full review}
Endarkenment is really damn good, and better than I thought it would be. I’m particularly appreciating the lack of forays into djenty or metalcore territory and it seems like there’s several angles from which NATHRAKH has dialed up the ferocity factor. I’m surprised at the increased transparency that the band is providing, as well as the number of songs that decline to swing into that pattern of melodic chorus with clean vocals. While I frequently like those parts in other albums, I’m finding myself particularly drawn to tracks that don’t do that as much here. Even so, a few of those clean melodic choruses have undeniable hooks which don’t easily leave my head. After A New Kind of Horror (2018) I was pretty concerned that NATHRAKH was going to stray afar from black metal altogether, but I think those concerns have been laid to rest. {collaborative review}
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DECOHERENCE [United Kingdom] – Unitarity
With virtually no introduction, the listener is confronted with a celestial wall of overwhelming cosmic black metal. Where the previous album Ekpyrosis (2019) had room to breathe around a more staggering pace, here much of that space filled with blasting maelstromic percussion, a molten dense core of bass, searing trajectories of guitar dissonance, more sustained cataclysmic ambience and well-embedded vocals that roar through the tracks like some sort of abrasive solar turbulence. While initially more saturated and massive, the journey through Unitarity proves it to be also more epic and nuanced. As the final orbit is traveled it is clear that DECOHERENCE have created an elite, immense constellation of black epic industrial atmospheric insanity, decimating in execution and universally apocalyptic in scope. {full review}
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ABIGOR [Austria] – Totschläger (A Saintslayer’s Songbook)
Well, I guess this one is really a surprise to nobody, except maybe me. Never been into ABIGOR before this for whatever reason. I just found it too… technical? Thin sounding? Just too fucking weird? Yeah, this is different. Came out of nowhere in the final moments of the year but already I have listened to this compulsively more times than many other entries on my lists. Grandiose, varied, aggressive, complex, dynamic… I just don’t have time to do this album justice with words this late in the year. This thing is just a gaddamn masterpiece and we all know it.
Well-produced, aggressive, mature, mainstream symphonic/industrial black/death and it is phenomenal. This album has a particular sharpness, crystalline, and pristine quality to the overall production that I think perfectly expresses what the band was trying to achieve. This album got a lot of playtime from me, particularly early in the year. FFO mid-era DIMMU BORGIR, BELPHEGOR, GLORIA MORTI, SHADE EMPIRE, EMPYREAN THRONE, DAWN OF ASHES, ID:VISION
Expansive, cosmic, electronic, epic, black madness. Sustained atmospheres and beautiful keys float over a blistering percussive attack and razor-sharp riffing, which in turn radiate from a dense core of bass and ebbing industrial noise effects, all accentuated by mostly frigid vocals with some haunting cleans. This is a perfect follow up to 2017’s [∞], and utilizes much of the same postapocalyptic impressions and melancholic vastness. Herein we may witness the cold, detached power of an ever-expanding universe.
By the time the modest intro of the first song breaks into a well-timed barrage of double kick, cascading piano, shredding riffs, and triumphant roaring, it is readily apparent that every element of Solace of Death is orchestrated with immense, grandiose, overwhelming intensity. Vacillating between charging power and insistent groove, unhinged frenetic pacing, downright assaultive synth progressions, incinerating guitars and almost constant minigun battery on the drums… just as the listener starts to adapt to this exquisite barrage, we are treated to a fucking beautiful acoustic interludes, melody with a tempered intro of acoustic guitar and fantastic piano, grandiose and almost majestic sections. This is nothing short of a symphonic black/death metal masterwork, with complexity, precision, and fire. {full review}
Conceptually, the black spires of a colossal, horrendous evil preside over a helpless, abject populous as a lone individual struggles in desperation against incomprehensible malice and inevitable doom. The sonic representation is an opus of contemporary black metal: persistently massive, forcefully heavy with elements of doom, and almost grandiose in its complex, blackened melancholy. Misery, desperation, hopelessness, and despair find auditory expression through layers of elaborate and epic guitars, a veritable onslaught of vicious percussion, immeasurably dense bass progressions, haunting and mesmeric synth, and varied ferocious vocal manifestations. Yet, amidst this impenetrable darkness, we can find a faintly glimmering ore of heroism, strength, loyalty, hope, love, sacrifice, and tragic beauty. {full review and interview}
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OBSCURAE [United States] – To Walk The Path Of Sorrows
Sort of similar to BORGNE in its expansive, nocturnal cosmic aesthetics, except the atmospheric onslaught is ratcheted up to the highest possible degree. Whereas BORGNE’s cosmicism leaves plenty of room to breathe, OBSCURAE’s layers upon layers of texture and nuance greatest a density which is just absolutely crushing yet profoundly beautiful. It was love at first listen for me, and To Walk The Path Of Sorrows was a late but instant addition to both my end of year list and my vinyl collection.
Pensive yet savage, technical but with no small expression of agony, forceful yet nuanced, Devouring Ruin is a near-perfect example of black/death/grind hybridization, which has been at the forefront of my attention for the majority of the year. FFO (pre SIDABS) ULCERATE, ULSECT, EMBRA, NOCTAMBULIST
Skáphe³ manages to ride just on the right side of the very limits of what I’m able to tolerate in terms of unpredictability and erraticism in black metal. And it does so beautifully, each element really standing out as exceptional, and the combination of them is a beautifully psychotic journey to the heart of spiritual abyss.
One would be hard-pressed to deny that the modern black metal scene is becoming ever more saturated with an array of musical variations which increasingly depart from the traditional foundations of the orthodox cannon. Thus, for me there is a distinct sense of appreciation when an album comes along that manages to, for a time, sweep all of the frills off the table and demand full attention with pure, austere, straightforward hyperscandinavian fucking excellence. While The Funeral Pyre isn’t breaking new ground, this debut album establishes KVAEN firmly alongside an extremely impressive plethora of god-tier Swedish peers. Every damn song is born a classic, every note is pure gold. {full review}
Apparition is currently top of my list for most under-recognized masterpiece of the year. They got a bit of recognition in the Order but no label? Someone needs to sign these dudes stat! I mean, give the first track just a few minutes and focus on those layers of guitars. How many do they have simultaneously? Two? Three? That shit is artful as fuck and damn near orgasmic. This reminds me of why I enjoy Si Monvmentvm from DSO, but sort of fell off afterwards. Some amount of atonality with the riffing but the progressions themselves are classically coherent and awesome. And the vocals are awesome. And the cover art is awesome. IT’S ALL AWESOME.
Döden Nalkas is not only one of the most unabashedly savage and vehemently apocalyptic albums to be unfurled this year, it is in fact one of the most puritanically decimating traditional black metal offerings of recent memory. The auditory foundation for this maelstrom is an absolutely devastating assault of blistering black metal aggression and aural hatred of the most authentic and blatant variety, reminiscent of pillars of Swedish aggression like 90’s classic DARK FUNERAL and MARDUK, combined with the unbridled, unflinching darkness of FUNERAL MIST. The riffs? Incinerating, burning through the tracks and embedding in the flesh of the psyche like the razor-edged spearhead of death itself. The vocals? unhinged, ragged, varied, powerful, and ruthless. The torrential, relentless ballistic percussion is provided by none other than the ineffable king of artillery Nils ‘Dominator’ Fjellström. But what really pushes HORDE OF HEL to its darkest capacity and solidifies it as unique among a host of impressive peers is the massively effective incorporation of an evil, catastrophic, and inexorable industrial edge to the blasting turmoil. {full review}
Not much I can really say about this which hasn’t been said by people who are more familiar and more versed on the history of ONDSKAPT’s discography. Bottom line: its just fucking great. To my ears it basically sounds like top-notch Swedish orthodoxy with furious guitar lead, mixed with that heavier/deathier aspect that Poland often brings to the table. Creative combination and a terrific album.
Malleus Philosophorum retains many fantastic elements of DEVENEROR’s first album Kenoma (2019): blasting percussion, savage and layered vocals, incinerating guitars, and imperious, fully audible bass, carefully crafted together with just the right amount of dissonance (an element which I have seen highlighted in various descriptions of the album, but which, to me, really shows itself to be only one aspect of a full spectrum of awesomeness) and an impeccable mix. What it does shed is some of the sporadicism and in its place, develops a lot more of everything I really like in black metal. It is more melodic, more structured, more cohesive, more coherent. Less infernal and chaotic perhaps, but certainly more thoughtful and engaging. {full review and interview}
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YMIR [Finand] – Ymir
Punchy, upbeat, aggressive, snowbound fire with plenty of blasting and continuous riffing. That and a combination of really epic elements, overt melodicism, and lots vocal variety which doesn’t overpower the music (as is the case with much Finnish BM) elevates this one above other similar offerings this year for me. This one’s doing for Finland what KVAEN is doing for Sweden in 2020. Perfected classic traditionalism which hits all the right targets.
Like ritual artifacts placed purposefully around the perimeter of a prophetic shrine, every title, word, image, note, sound and utterance from Icelandic black metal entity NEXION has been crafted together with a full intention to create a coherent meditation on pursuit of decimating esoteric wisdom. Forgoing the overtly claustrophobic and oppressive signature Icelandic black metal style for one that is more dynamic, aggressive, catchy, melodic and with hints of death metal brutality, while The lyrics articulate the dissolution of human construction and belief from seven perspectives, and tend to revolve around messages of ontological violence, cataclysmic revelation, corrupted sanctity, existential death, cosmic darkness, abyssal wisdom, pestilential chaos and the prophecy of some sort of oblivion messiah. {full review}
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DUMAL [United States] – The Confessor
The much-anticipated follow-up to The Lesser God album (2017). Straight up melodic USBM, which (like a shitload of other similar bands i.e., WORSEN, DEVENEROR, GRAVENCHALICE, VOID OMNIA, INEXORUM) doesn’t get nearly the hype that it deserves and is much better than *other* US bands that get a lot of attention for all the wrong reasons. Uncomplicated, catchy, groovy, accessible… it’s so simple, and so awesome in its simplicity. No synth, basic melody, no massive sound, no ambient textures, vox is nothing radical… no aspect of it is really overbearing, yet when it all comes together it’s just incredibly solid! KVAEN is to Sweden what YMIR is to Finland is what DUMAL is to the US this year.
Proclaiming that “they do not tell the story of the victorious powers, but the story of the forgotten”, Utopian Deception paradoxically takes on the role of the social dystopian Orwellian engineer and propagandist in the lyrics as a criticism in this album. So far, so good. Musically, it seems to be fairly straightforward but well-executed melodic black metal, maybe with a touch of ‘progressive’ thrown in. Nothing particularly mind-blowing but uncannily addictive, and I have come back to it over and over since it dropped.
With KRYPTAMOK, speed metal aggression yields to healthy doses of orthodox Finnish melodicism, which in turn pushes the envelope even further towards downright epic horizons. Pace fluctuates between what seems to be a baseline frenetic, driving bloodlust and a more measured predatorial malevolence all driven forward by blistering percussion while spearheaded by riffs to freeze your heart and a poisonous vocal delivery. Verisaarna also throws us an array of fantastic elements to an already accomplished timbre: war-horn brass, vaguely symphonic elements, choirs, bells or chimes, electric organ, etc. It’s not often that a progression can go from stripped-down, galloping, no-shits-given d-beat belligerence to classic Finnish snow-swept frigidity and then to the far battle sagas of Middle-Earth, but KRYPTAMOK pulls it off seamlessly and naturally.
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DOMMEDAG [Sweden / Norway] – Marburg
Man, this is just a hard-hitting, in-your-face, fast, violent, thrashy, riff-centered example of Scandinavian black metal orthodoxy, most comparable I think to the legendary TSJUDER. A clear example of when one should not judge a book by its cover, because I really think that the album suffers quite a lot from the gothic/darkmetal style choice of cover art. Marburg looks like NIGHTWISH, but it does NOT sound like it. At all. Give it a listen if you want a good pummeling for your false assumption. That’s what I did, and I’m happy I did so.
Out of all the albums on my list this year, this is the one that probably suffers from the biggest divergence between how much I love it, and how much I have “given” to it in terms of posts, shares, etc. It’s one that I should have done a full review for, but by the time I realized it, I was busy with other reviews, and that ship had sailed. Outstanding USBM which boasts the unorthodox quality of actually being somewhat… well… fun. Borrowing from rock and punk, the upbeat, wind-in-your-hair cadence of the tracks, fueled primarily by persistent and artful percussion, are augmented by phenomenally enjoyable, often harmonized guitar arrangements. The vocals, with lyrics which focus on struggle and perseverance, are probably the darkest element of the album, and are consistently growly, which is good because the aesthetic overall is so lite that softer vocals might have pushed it too far in that direction. Each track is well-crafted with memorable hooks and fantastic moments. Ha! To be completely honest, relistening to Moonlit Navigation again now at the end of the year, it occurs to me that one could label it as melodic death metal just as easily as unorthodox melodic black metal! Whatever though, this one makes the top of this list either way.
~
WAYFARER [United States] – A Romance With Violence
The Colorado black metal cowboys return for a much-anticipated 4th full length! Borrowing heavily from American West folk and country not only in terms of timbre, but also lyrical themes and visual stylization, WAYFARER have practically created a subgenre of their own. A Romance With Violence is noticeably and purposefully more theatrical than World’s Blood (2018) was and some of the latter’s grittiness of the production was dusted off for an album that is overall more elaborate, refined, and epic, much like the excellent earlier album Old Souls (2016). With everything from the saloon waltz of the intro to the melodic black metal riffs of ‘The Iron Horse’ to the doomier psychedelia of the epic closer ‘Vaudeville’, A Romance With Violence has a LOT to offer. {full collaborative review}
Joining the growing number of bands who are tapping into what American western and rock can offer to black metal, with this release JORDABLOD is even more upfront about it, and so much the better. TheCabinet of Numinous Song takes these influences and crosses it with somewhat of a semi-claustrophobic and more psychedelically unrestrained of the Icelandic (sounding) sound to fantastic effect. There’s even a track on there (‘The Beauty of Every Wound’) that features almost a dead-on black metal replication of the central riff from STEPPENWOLF’s ‘Born To Be Wild’. Sounds fucking awesome? You bet your ass it does. This was an early 2020 pick for me and hands down my favorite release in January.
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DZÖ-NGA [United States] – Thunder In The Mountains
This is a beautiful, expansive, epic, and accomplished atmospheric post/pseudo black metal opus with a focus on Native American folklore and auditory aesthetics. It features huge number of great highlights: pristine and sorrowful melodies, lots of clean female vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, violin, and amazing solos, while still maintaining more mainline BM elements like harsh vocals, driving percussion, thrashy moments, and hints of folk. FFO SAOR, SOJOURNER, SKYFOREST.
While lyrics focus on the synergistic elements of oxygen, water, wind, and mountains, gorgeous acoustic progressions and soaring lead guitar balance out with blustering riffs, scathing vocals, and a stripped-down, tumbling and charging percussive battery. The end result is a beautiful album which intentionally reflects the coherence of nature itself. FFO PANOPTICON, more aggressive AGALLOCH (ie Marrow of the Spirit, Faustian Echoes), ALDA, and NECHOWEN. [interview]
From nature-based, blackened melodic pseudo-folk aspects of first album Restoration (2012), to the more progressive, epic sound of Ascension (2015), to more traditional synthphonic black metal aggression of All Paths Lead to Death (2017) AMIENSUS have consistently refined their sound. Abreaction takes all of these styles and combines them into a cohesive unity, pulling the listener through an elaborate, seamless gambit of sonic and affective approaches, from the full-on post-rock/alternative intro to the epic, roaring and heavy black/death/doom closing track. Here we find layered harmonizing electric and acoustic guitars, an array of vocal approaches including plenty of cleans, a variety of keyboard additions from orchestra to organ to piano to brass, and soaring cello mixed perfectly into what was already an eclectic musical template. FFO IHSAHN, XANTHOCHROID, WILDERUN {full review and interview}
This debut album is a beautiful and haunting account of memory and dysphoria, frequently rooting sorrow and reminiscence in natural metaphors such as the moon, lakes, rivers, gardens and wind, and while it generally has black metal as its foundation, it sits on the fringes and defies many expectations of the genre. Musically DISMALIMERENCE proves to be a harmonious mix between the naturalist tendencies of Cascadian black metal, the warmly radiating melodicism of atmospheric post-black, and the raw emotional content and impact of DSBM. Clean production finds soaring guitar lead and rasping vocals taking center stage over full bass and driving percussion, accentuated by synth; a near perfect balance of musical aggression and tenderness as meandering, pensive, sometimes apprehensive sensitivity repeatedly succumbs to distorted anguish and/or rage and vice versa. {full review}
UNREQVITED consistently pushes the boundaries of what can be considered black metal proper, and typical descriptors such as “melodic” do not even begin to describe the immaculate, celestial magnificence of the project’s God-tier blackened cinematic atmosphere. Melancholic acoustic guitar, lofty choruses, and easy percussion repeatedly building skyward towards precipices and then cascade over into characteristically massive, widescreen waves of brilliantly layered synth, soaring guitar lead and distinctive, dejected screams, often with perfectly utilized double kick. The harsh vocals are characteristically removed from the forefront of the mix, distant, as if echoing from aloof vistas. Empathica is an exercise in radiant winter surrealism, a display of shimmering, brilliant soundscapes both pristine and vast, harnessing the particular elevating, epiphanic sorrow that only UNREQVITED can materialize. {full review}
Bedehuis starts off with some straightforward melodic riffs which begin to lift, careen and sway before the powerful, shouting vocals begin to push the listener under. Soon the beauty of the depths become evident as the vocals explore a variety of different modes, and aggressive punk-laced beats sustain even as the song evolves back to blacker melodic riffing. Bass is audible throughout, which provides a nice strong undertow to the swirling, churning currents which plunge into post-black melodic progressions, intoxicating vocals soaring above the surges. The closing track hits like a flood, a veritable torrent of massive, ambitious, beautiful waves of sublime, epic black metal reckoning. Bedehuis is a rich, fluid, roiling offering with a myriad of complimenting, varied features that are just as apt to overwhelm you under the crushing tide as they are to hold you buoyant above the eddies. {full review}
Corps Fleur is a combination of traditional melodic black metal and more atmospheric post-black, but it would be more accurate to describe the album as starting out in the sunnier realm of the latter and moving towards the darker, more assertive edge of the former. The aggression is definitely kicked up with “Solace” and “Lament” (my two favorite tracks), and although it is perhaps most readily noticeable in the percussion, it’s really due to the overall songwriting. It is worth noting that it is not just the amalgamation of DSBM, post-black, and more classic BM rancor which makes the album stand out… equally important is the tight musicianship, skilled and effective technique exhibited by all involved, and also an incredible production and mix. {full review}
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MINI ALBUMS / EPs / SPLITS
(11 selections)
STORMKEEP [United States] – Galdrum
Galdrum is a blatant, unashamed ode to the 90’s era of symphonic black metal both visually and musically. The cover art is fucking stunning, but also have you seen the band’s promo photo and art? Candles, swords, dragons, spikes, axes… it’s just perfectly quintessential. Would almost be cringy if it didn’t seem so fucking authentic, and now that I can really comprehend the music, they hold their own in that department too. STORMKEEP taps into that Scandinavian nostalgia while still maintaining an identity of its own and stands well above most relevant contemporary acts, and alongside THE KRYPTIK and VARGRAV. Everything is top-notch, every element crafted together in such a way that I think Galdrum achieves exactly what it is trying to achieve: classic symphonic black metal euphoria. {full collaborative review}
ALMYRKVI marches forward like the steady, otherworldly stride of some planetary giant, footfalls heavy enough to shake the earth but with a crown amongst the stars. There is a measured and incredibly effective industrial aspect threaded throughout, giving the Icelandic contribution a sense of posthuman aloofness. Layers of dense melodies, grandiose to the point of celestial, creates a sense of being helplessly witness to something that is both cosmically transcendent and vaguely technological, with the gravitational inexorability of blackened monolithic power, a God of such prowess that humanity cannot help but plunge into the hypnotic depths of reverence and worship. Enter THE RUINS OF BEVERAST. The increasingly ecstatic chanting and steady pseudotribal cadence fantastically captures a tranced veneration encircling the deific monument which ALMYRKVI introduced. The impenetrable, crepitus bass seems to crackle like the black energy of a central locum of power while the rest of the elements meditatively, intoxicatingly, ritualistically cavort ‘round in a possessed doom orbit. The devotion to dark idols develops towards an increased tempo, enthusiastic groove, and soaring two-minute guitar lead, impressing concluding notions of a more elated yet violent elevation… rapture. {full review}
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MAQUAHUITL [United States] – Con Su Pistola en La Mano
Hard-hitting, galloping, cutthroat southwestern bandido black metal. It’s practically impossible to not mention WAYFARER (since they too put out a release this year), but best as a contrast: Con Su Pistola en La Mano is faster, harder, more focused, more aggressive, and more *black metal*, and would be better compared to something more orthodox like SKAN or GLORIOR BELLI, yet allowing an even more cross-cultural elements to permeate the music, with Latin guitars, wind instrumentation, and cumbia percussion! The burn through three tracks on this EP with reckless abandon, leaving me wanting mucho, mucho mas.
Eschewing the pitch black, frigid, subzero atmospherics harnessed by a plethora of typically Scandinavian acts, Winter Contemplations adopts a more overtly post-black sunniness while still projecting distinct wintertide. The album eases in with the whistling wind before settling into an easy pace of plodding percussion, thick melodic strings, and somewhat monotonic yelling vocals. Soon we see where SOUL DISSOLUTION shines: when those elements are combined with warm, almost bluesy guitar lead which twirls and plays amongst the other instruments, mid-paced cadence, and lovely acoustic guitar progressions. Majestic synth puts on a pristine display as electric lead guitar foretells the heaviness of the nevertheless casual percussion. We catch the full cascade towards the end, all musical grandeur ecstatically conjoining atop torrents of rapid double kick before the album concludes in epic fashion. {full review}
Comprised of efforts from the hyper prolific SadVoice (INNER SUFFERING) on music and the vocals of Imber (ALUDRA, ex-SYNODIC, PALUS SOMNI [tba]), ANCIENT HOSTILITY specializes in mid-paced, ruminating, slow-churning black metal. The music has a slight industrial edge, as well as an element of unnerving, almost haunting dissonance, while the scathing vocals convey unbridled, red-hot hatred. Anthropophagy succeeds in transmitting a sense of dread with tracks of haunting, anxiety provoking, smoldering malice.
Surprisingly good old-school symphonic black metal! The simplicity and earnestness of the 2nd wave, with sustained orchestral synth atmospheres, scathing vocals, sufficient drumming, and some solid guitar solos. This sounds perfect alongside early EMPEROR, EVILFEAST, VARGRAV, KATAXU, and perhaps this year’s ELFFOR.
Heavy, thickened, black, almost meditative ritualism with hints of death metal, done extremely well and fully developed in every respect. I have been following this project for a while and every release just gets better and better. Blazing and monstrous, even for an EP. FFO (and I’m just gonna go a little crazy with the comparisons here because I love this particular sound so much): SCHAMMASCH, MEPHORASH, ORDER OF APPOLYON, GLORIA MORTI, THEURGIA, MESZAROTH, ANIMUS MORTIS, AVERSIO HUMANITATIS, TEMPLE OF BAAL, the newest PANZERFAUST, TEMPLE OF PERDITION.
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VITAL SPIRIT [Canada] – In The Face That Looks Through Death
A very cool combination of melodic black / post-black metal and, like several other releases this year (WAYFARER, MAQUAHUITL) Western/American folk aspects. VITAL SPIRIT centers their theme around Native American motifs, and although the cross-cultural aspect is a bit more subdued than those mentioned above, there are distinct moments where it really shines through.
There’s not much which I think can be legitimately called “technical black metal” but I think that TÓMARÚM fit the bill perfectly. Complex, melodic, and without the techdeath tropes that many bands try to pass off as “blackened”, Wounds Ever Expanding also includes some interesting things like clean vocals and keys. But, most importantly are the FUCKING AMAZING guitar leads. I’m extremely interested to see where TÓMARÚM goes from here and hopefully we will find out in 2021!
Ok ok, I know this was technically a 2019 release – but because it dropped on December 31, there’s no way that it could have made it onto my list in 2019, and it really deserves it. Also, I checked my posts, and I first listened to it on January 1, 2020, so it is certainly the very first list-worthy thing I heard in 2020! This is an addendum EP to the Impressions of the Morning Star (2018) album and has a similar timbre: an avant garde, blistering, murky, almost droning onslaught broken up by epic splendor… inhumanly aggressive and impossibly beautiful at the same time. ECC also came out with the Antica Memoria di Dis double EP this year, and that’s growing on me (Lethe particularly) but the sound changed somewhat, and although Innocence and Experience is somewhat of a bridge between Morning Star and Memoria, I just like the earlier style better.
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ORCHESTRA OF THE DROWNED [Russia] – Northern Aurora
Alright, so the little-known one-man act ORCHESTRA OF THE DROWNED put out an album in 2018 called Revealing the Arcane, which I immediately associated as somewhat of a lighter, more psychedelic variant of BLUT AUS NORD… essentially, it sounds more like BAN’s Hallucinogen than anything else I can find, except it came out *before* Hallucinogen did. Northern Aurora, on the other hand, steps a bit away from the more programmed/industrial aspect and moves more towards melody and folky epic composition, with the vocals reminding me a bit of Dani Filth. Its pretty damn good and great wintertime music!
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HONORABLE MENTION
ULCERATE [New Zealand] – Stare Into Death And Be Still
I won’t dwell too much on this because although it has some blackish elements, it’s really atmospheric death metal… buuuut although I didn’t really rank my list this year, but this would be somewhere in the top 5. Maybe top 3. Also, it’s sort of a situation wherein if you know, you know. Superior and absolutely compelling musicianship creates an impossibly complex, crushing hypnotism which does it’s best to achieve complete spiritual annihilation, both ruinous and transcendent. I can usually only handle one or two songs at a time but each time it is more and more devastatingly euphoric.
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Okay, so here it is – my list of favoured albums that resonated with me the most over the last twelve months. These are the gems I garnered severe replay value from and that I’ll likely return to many more times in future; the ones that burrowed in deep and sat there, festering away and becoming an irreversible part of me. It may seem like a shitload but I somehow listened to somewhere around 1,200 black metal albums/demos (WORTH MORE THAN YOUR LIFE) over the last twelve months and my original shortlist was around 200 releases long, so cut me some slack here – whittling it down to 66 was hard enough.
It’s a black metal only list and only full-lengths qualify (top EPs/demos list is HERE and splits/collabs list is HERE, if you want more recommendations). Due to the sheer volume of albums I wanted to fit in I’m also being outlandishly pedantic with original release dates and other things this year, so although it’s a fucking outstanding record you won’t see stuff like Musmahhu (digital dropped December 2018 or it would have made it in for sure) or the BEKËTH NEXËHMU – De Fördolda Klangorna re-recording appear (technically first released on tape years ago even though not many heard it). There are also others like the new Mizmor that I really should’ve spent more time with, but I didn’t because I’m an idiot, so they don’t make the list. Anyway, here’s the year that was for me. Hope it was just as good for you, thanks to everyone who read my shit and to every artist either on this list or not for doing what you do with such passion, and keeping this beast known as black metal imbued with eternal life. Hails.
Ryan described the inspiration behind this to me as (and I hope he doesn’t mind me saying this): “Some sort of alchemical urge to meld things that shouldn’t work together into one singular, organic living creation based upon what I feel is common ground between black metal, certain types of old-time music, and certain types of modern jazz”. Some of the melodies are lifted from actual folk tunes too – you really do need to listen to this to get the full, incredible picture.
Weird, probably hated by many, but I thought this was a great return for the project and I liked it far more than the last Profanatica. Pure evil.
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64. REVENANT MARQUIS – Polterngeyst
Horrible, abrasive, mind-warping, harrowing, haunting. All apt ways to describe the raw onslaught of Revenant Marquis, the apparent new master of blown-out raw madness that’s as psychologically disturbing as it is suffocating. Will drain your very essence and leave you a hollow shell.
“at once rough and almost riotous, yet inflicted with a deep and forlorn melancholia, and the masterful juxtaposition of these elements is a true delight to listen to. Almost every song walks dusted, long forgotten and crumbling hallways like an ancient Count Orlok from Nosferatu whilst in the same breath tears through the forest like a pack of wolves on a wild hunt”. Read the full review HERE.
In a word: Primal. In another word: Excellent. Three more words: Listen to it.
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57. JUTE GYTE – Birefringence
Are you insane? No? If you’re unfamiliar with Jute Gyte you might be after listening to this album. Microtonal braindance madness, and my favourite thing I’ve heard from him in a minute. Which is saying a lot.
Another strange, beautiful and unique album from a strange, beautiful and unique band. Side note – W. Damiaen‘s other project Nevel also released a stunning album, Leven.
Yes, I’m putting these in together because they’re both equally astonishing and wonderful companion pieces to each other. Listen to them both, and read my interview with the minds behind these hypnotic forays into deep field black metal HERE.
The Helvetic Underground Committee does it again. These alchemical rites were positively thrilling.
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53. VOËMMR – O ovnh intot adr mordrb
“You may find yourself questioning: is this madness, the deterioration of my mental faculties? Nay – just the subterranean wraiths of Voëmmr infecting our reality with all the malignant malevolence usually hidden on the other side. For O ovnh intot adr mordrb isn’t just an album – it’s a portal to another plane of non-existence.” We were lucky enough to premiere this and speak with the Aldebaran Circle members themselves – read the full thing HERE.
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52. WARMOON LORD – Burning Banners Of The Funereal War
This Finnish one man project came out of nowhere for me and surprised me with how often I returned to it. Cold, classic melody – the old-school pretty much perfected.
Speaking of old-school perfected; the ever-reliable Onielar and co. returned with another gem. They’ve never released a bad album and Mardom drew from everything they’ve done before, with a few new twists.
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50. KËKHT ARÄKH – Night & Love
Romantic lo-fi black that probably should’ve been higher up this list due to it’s (relative) uniqueness and how damn well the whole thing is put together. Spellbinding, delicate atmosphere and raw emotion. LP is up for pre-order through Livor Mortis as we speak, by the way.
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49. BLACK CILICE – Transfixion Of Spirits
Not quite as good as Banished From Time… but still fucking great.
Opening your album with a 17-minute epic is the ultimate power move. US guys singing in German about Prussian involvement in WWI over gorgeous atmoblack never sounded so damned good.
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47. OBSEQUIAE – The Palms Of Sorrowed Kings
Everyone expected this to be amazing. Spoiler alert: they were correct. Medieval bliss.
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46. MYSTAGOGUE – And The Darkness Was Cast Out Into Wilderness
Wessel Damiaen of Laster and Maurice DeJong of Gnaw Their Tongues come together to create an album that “whilst not doing anything radically unheard of, still perfectly balances all of its elements into an experience that will subtly dawn on you with increasing power. Like an ecclesiastical revelation sent from on high… and echoed down below.” Plus, it got even better the more I listened to it. Read the full review HERE.
The final panel of their Dödatriptych of albums was just as face-devouring and intense as the last two. Ravenous and fetid. Where do they go from here?
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44. VAAL – Visioen van het verborgen land
Saw the fury toned down a little from previous releases, in favour of a more atmospheric menacing/morose feel – and you know what? It worked a treat. I’ve already liked everything the Dutch hermit has put out prior to this but the thick, ancient vibes conjured through these four lo-fi black tracks and four ambient interludes took the project to an entirely new level.
This progressive, complex and beautifully crushing album expertly blended psychedelia and dissonant death with the innate dazzling textures of Icelandic black metal; and all whilst being fed through a filter of intense emotional weight. Impacted early and had huge staying power. As a bonus, we also interviewed KjartanHERE.
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42. OCCELENSBRIGG – Glacial Conjuration
Thus, the enigmatic Aldebaran Circle solo entity returned to us with its second full-length blizzard of raw black hypnosis, Glacial Conjuration. This project hasn’t put a foot wrong yet and the magic summoned by its swirling tremolo winds and clattering drums is no less potent here; this shit will bury you under six feet of snow and you’ll be so transfixed you won’t even bat an eyelid.
Obliterating atmospheric post-black sludge-infused nihilism. Drown in the relentless devastating waves. I fucking love this band and how they’re evolving; 2020 will be the year I finally catch them when they come back down here (I’ve missed them more times than I care to count). This tape found its way to my deck many, many times.
These orthodox esotericists effortlessly outdid their already solid first album with a cosmic monument of modern black metal. Captivating and transcendent.
Kvohst is back, Thomas from Mork got involved… I was not expecting new The Deathtrip but I’m far from sad we got it. A worthy successor to the superb Deep Drone Master.
I’ll be honest – a lot of war metal/bestial black death runs the risk of all sounding the same to me. I mean shit, if I want to listen to Blasphemy or Bestial Warlust I’ll just listen to them. The stuff that really makes my pants fit nice is when bands or artists come at it from another angle, injecting their own idiosyncratic weirdness into the equation… which is where Cult Of Extinction come in. Although definitely still taking cues from the legends, the project of prolific German solo artist Void goes one further than those earthly brutalities and sophomore effort Ritual In The Absolute Absence Of Light instead sounds like the world being torn apart by occultic and alien means as all we can do is watch in abject horror. The ferocity on display is far past redlining, the harrowing audio samples only add to the mind-shredding abilities of the carnage vomiting forth from your speakers, the whole thing is almost biblical – just like the Gustave Doré cover art, this is exactly like staring into the Empyrean.
“In their unique robes and with manic fervour they reap madness with their newly polished spells; eight shrieking and howling odes to the primal and otherworldly. It’s music that sounds like it’s been whipped to your ears on laughing winds as you stand in ragged cloth at the crossroads at midnight… Hagzissa really do walk a wild path of ancient wickedness; unfettered from the norms of regular existence, dancing on that gossamer-thin line between this earthly realm… and the other.
Came back to this magical and sinister beast many, many times. I had the immense pleasure of premiering it and interviewing founder B. Moser too; check that out HERE.
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36. PHARMAKEIA – Pharmakeia
Everything Prava Kollektiv put out this year was fantastic… and this slab of oppressive, churning violence was the best. Harrowing.
Hold up – I want to stress this isn’t a “conflict of interest” type thing. Although later on in the year Tom would end up adding his considerable class to our writing team here at BMD, this stunning album was on lock for a spot in my list regardless. Anyway, this is my personal pick for epic black metal album of the year. I also had the pleasure of premiering this album, check that (and a nice chat with the man himself) out HERE.
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34. HUMAN AGONY – Putrescence Of Calvary
Was my favourite bestial black/death release of the year for a while. “A symphony of cruelty. Pure hatred and destruction of the human race“… check the full review out HERE.
“The Swedish occult black metal constellation of Grafvitnir is one of those projects intrinsic to the existence of black metal in general. They sum up the very essence of it, every release surging with the mystical power of forces unseen and calling to things beyond sight and comprehension; a grand maelstrom of hate, worship, violence and hyper-melodic intensity honed to the point where it could slice a hole in the fabric of existence itself.”
A band that has never fallen short of my expectations and this record was no different. I also got to chat with them about it earlier in the year; check that out HERE.
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32. BLUE HUMMINGBIRD ON THE LEFT – Atl Tlachinolli
One of the first albums that caught my attention for the year… possibly even in 2018 because promos came a little early, if I recall correctly. Hype built up over almost a decade to this slab of Aztec / Black Twilight Circle war, and it was worth the wait.
Slightly more accessible than their recent work and not quiiiiite up to Seven Chalices level, this typically dissonant monstrosity of nightmare-fuel still hit the spot for me. Could listen to the title track all day, which is probably an odd one to pick out of the bunch, but hey.
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30. DRASTUS – La Croix De Sang
Surprisingly this turned out to be a fairly divisive release between those that loved it and those who didn’t understand the hype at all. One guess which camp I’m firmly in.
“A divine conflagration crawling from the primordial core of life, reaching to devour all, and bring only ash” …read the full review HERE.
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29. WAGNER ÖDEGÅRD – Om undergång och de tretton järtekn
Released a pair of great eponymous albums this year but this one he let really rip with the punk influences, so it is therefore superior and takes the chocolates in my books.
Returning after eleven years in the abyss with the aptly named He, Who Walketh The Void on vocals, this album is genuinely unsettling as hell. As I said in the full review (HERE), it “…continues the path set out by the first two releases with impressive ease and a natural evolution into even further realms of unfolding terror and darkness. On sheer feeling alone experiencing this record is akin to sitting through some kind of mind-blowingly expansive psychological/occultic horror film. Complete immersion via repeat listens yields immense reward, but be warned; the terror may shatter your fragile synapses, turn your blood to ice… perhaps even burn you alive.”
Onielar’s second appearance on this list hit me even harder than the first – her throat-shredding howls are fucking perfect for the DSBM originators’ inventive compositions.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: True Norwegian Black Metal will never die as long as Mork are still around to carry the torch with great albums like this.
This album hits fucking HARD. Riffs ahoy, delivered with punishing force. The track ‘Prime Mover’ alone is insane… I can only applaud.
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22. FUNERAL PRESENCE – Achatius
I saw this recently described as “taking 10g of dried Hawaiian psilocybin mushrooms in a posessed 16th century convent”, which isn’t too far from the truth. Vital stuff with a pure and irrepressible black metal spark.
“What works? Everything. What doesn’t work? Nothing. With his second Vargrav offering V-KhaoZ has surpassed all comparisons to take the throne and reign in the modern era alongside all the old masters. Reign In Supreme Darkness is no mere copy or homage, no tribute album trading on nostalgia… it is Supreme Majestic Black Metal Art. Bow down.”
I was super pumped on scoring the full-stream premiere of this before it fell through at the eleventh hour – but that didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for it one bit. Read the full review HERE.
After some health problems, the Norwegians are back with serious intent. The breathtaking Ofidians Manifest is their strongest work in a very long time.
Originally, I was lukewarm on this album… now I cannot get enough of it. Þórir Garðarsson and Garðar S. Jónsson seem to unstitch reality with their riffs. Swirling, bewitching, celestial goodness.
“Challenging you to confront and accept the pointlessness of it all, this album is emotional warfare. A mandatory listen for those who will understand. Buy or die, it doesn’t matter… just accept the void.”
This ended up a chronically underappreciated album for the year. Read the full review HERE and then listen to the fucking thing, alright?
I’m sure even the gentlemen that created this incredible moment in art might even be surprised to see it so loftily placed in this list (especially when they released another, more black metal album this year too), but just listen to it and you’ll see why. It still touches me deeply with every mesmerizing spin.
“To fully feel this album, go outside into nature, as far away from anything civilised as you can go, and just sit. Close your eyes, feel the air on your skin and… listen. You’ll sink into an appreciation of the fabric of life, seeing all the threads that make up our existence intertwine together into the intrinsic tapestry that we walk through every day, yet ignore due to the very nature of the world we have created for ourselves. One that we should pay more attention to before it’s too late.This album is a reminder. Don’t miss it.”
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13. GOLDEN ASHES – Gold Are The Ashes Of The Restorer
…and the award for most stunningly coherent holistic expression of vision in 2019 goes to: this magnificent creation. Another project from Maurice of Gnaw Their Tongues, everything here ties in with perfect synergy – the album art, album title, track titles, hell even the project name are the very manifestation of the transcendent music found within, and all create something overwhelmingly beautiful.
Was not expecting this album to stick with me as much as it did; I’ve always liked everything the Norwegians have done, but not loved it like this. Soaring, progressive, wondrous stuff – with a few new members and ICS Vortex back on the mic, this was a revitalized, resounding triumph.
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11. QUALM – Tiefe
I don’t know what I expected from this album when I saw the cover art, but it certainly wasn’t the most raw, miasmic, miserable and mood-altering record of the year. The vibe here is nothing short of incredible as hypnotic waves of slow abrasion induce a trancelike, life-leaving state; the way this album feels speaks deeply to my soul. When this shit gets rolling it makes Xasthur seem like the happiest dude on earth. Drowning, portrayed in the harshest of audio forms.
First listen I quite liked this record, then I went off it a bit. Then one day I chucked it back on and it clicked like never before – it was all I listened to on repeat for days, and has remained in my regular playlist since then. Yeah, it certainly has its flaws, but by taking a totally different approach to their debut the Icelanders have created something stirring and electrifying… and oddly life-affirming. Probably a good one to listen to after Qualm, then.
Holy FUCK this album is a monster. Came out of nowhere at the end of the year and forced its way almost immediately to the top tier of this list. Hands down the best thing they’ve put their name to; a career defining release. “…a relentless onslaught that blows away anything they’ve put their name to thus far; it’s more intense yet with deeper textures than ever before, far more abrasive, more epic in composition… more transcendent. Every searing note is another scrape against your soul, slowly scouring it away with growing violence until it is left raw and bleeding.” Read the full review HERE.
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8. DAI-ICHI – dai-ichi
This mysterious duo came from nowhere (Japan? Who knows) with the sleeper hit of the year. It was also the first original vinyl put out by one of BMD‘s favourite cassette labels, Fólkvangr Records – so you should buy one and support. ‘Seishi’ is still one of my top tracks of 2k19 – check out our premiere of it HERE.
“Charging d-beat mayhem tears strips off of coruscating raw black, sinks its teeth into heavy metal and drags it flailing and bleeding through the dirt. Right from the get-go the guitar tone alone acts as a conduit for fearful mysticism and visions of arcane electrical storms crackling wildly into the night, off kilter riffage careening along as songs sound inches from flying off the rails… and it’s all deliciously drenched in a virulent strain of howling sanguinary misanthropia and the pungent stench of disinterred tombs.” If you somehow haven’t heard this album yet, fix that immediately – even Shatraug of Sargeist rated this as one of the best of the year. Read our interview with sole practitioner LeechHERE.
“We will grant you freedom from freedom”. A controversial inclusion? This is, to me, the best thing they’ve done since Paracletus (which is one of my albums of the decade).Hasjarl reallyis one of the most creative players out there.
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5. DEPARTURE CHANDELIER – Antichrist Rise To Power
Man, had I been looking forward to a full-length from these guys… and oh man did they deliver, adding to what is one of my favourite slowly growing discographies in black metal with a glorious, almost faultless record. Also took the honors of being one of the most memed bands of 2019. Neat.
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4. RINGARË – Under Pale Moon
In the entirety of 2019 I played no tape in my possession more than I did the Forgotten Centuries hand-dub of Under Pale Moon. It became my go-to for late night writing sessions, its haunting midnight atmospheres and otherworldly synth a catalyst for slipping into transcendent mental realms and inspiring creativity. Am I infinitely grateful Alex finally decided to release this after all these years? Yes, I am.
Don’t get me wrong, I love nuance and subtlety in my black metal as much as the next person. I can get down to some soft stuff when the mood takes. However, a massive part of my listening pleasure is also derived from hearing pure, uncompromising, skull-shattering aggression and holy fucking shit did this album utterly nail that brief for me. The gents in Sammath perfected their formula with an album that was the very sound of war; an obliterating beast of balls to the fucking wall hatred, relentless death and frenzied blood-flecked carnage. I can only salute them in awe. It’s probably also the review I enjoyed writing the most last year, read the full thing HERE.
“Sammath are the boot on your neck, the gun barrel pointed at your face as you cry and piss yourself in the mud. Across The Rhine Is Only Death is the bullet going through your brain as you choke your last breath.
This was my number one for the longest time, switching back and forth with Sammath depending on the day. The Frenchmen mutated their sound even further, adding classic and progressive rock elements… resulting in their best work in years. I love albums that do odd things to your head, and this psychedelic trip into worlds unknown definitely does. Ivan did a great review of this which echoes my own sentiments well, so instead of blathering on further I’ll just say: check that out HERE.
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1. NEDXXX – NEDXXX
I’m sure at least half of you are reading this saying “what the actual fuck? This album dropped extremely late in the year, I didn’t even like it, how the shit could this poser have it at number one?” Well hold onto your Mayhem undies kids, I shall explain.
As I said way back in the intro, I listen to a relatively large amount of music each year (nowhere near as much as some), and often find myself thinking about that age-old edgelord chestnut – is black metal really dying? I mean, look at most of the stuff that gets praised each year. Look at your own favourite albums. Chances are, at the most basic level many if not all are a slightly rearranged or altered copy of something else that you already liked the previous year. And the year before that. And so on. Not only sonically, but in image, album title, the works. Even in extreme metal, all too often everything is expected, everything is safe – in the age of clicking scores of Bandcamp/YouTube links per day, if it’s not immediately familiar with a sound that people already identify with it’s often discarded in favour of the next thing released thirty seconds later. Not always, but often; that’s just how shit is nowadays. Paradoxically, that’s what largely happened with NEDXXX… and that’s what it seems actively designed to challenge.
If NEDXXX is similar to anything, you could say there are shades of the mighty Abigor within, especially the latter day albums. It’s not too much of a stretch to assume TT is somehow involved – I couldn’t think of too many others who would create this. Whoever it is, they’ve seemingly written the album with the intent to tap into something discussed by a voice in the centre of the album – the DIABOLICAL. As the voice states: “What is the diabolic? The diabolic disrupts. It comes from the Greek words Dia and Boli. Diaboli means to tear apart, rip asunder. Anything therefore that breaks pattern. That destroys unity. That corrupts gestalt. Produces discord. That is the diabolic”.
This album is the diabolic manifested, obtaining “evil” through tearing apart all of the safe, expected and endlessly repeated tropes of what you expect from a black metal album and leaving a truly expressive and creative conduit for unspeakable forces. It doesn’t even have a fucking name. I’ve seen many people saying they tried it once or for a track or two but they couldn’t handle the “mathcore” influence/complexity, or it was just noise, or boring. Where were the same old blasts and tremolo lines, or if it was supposed to be some sort of dissoblack, why wasn’t it a DSO copy? It immediately challenged people’s perception of what they expected to hear, it rebelled and attempted to corrupt expectations. For this is not an easy-lisening album – It’s impossibly complex, for starters. Almost Naked City level batshit. It shreds, blasts, switches on a dime at least twenty times in each track, has bongos, dialogue samples, clean proselytizing and distorted roars, takes an immensely intricate approach to composition. It demands attention, investment… and this investment pays off. Peel back the layers, allow its complex patterns to assimilate with your synaptic pathways and a doorway will open – a doorway only true black art can breach, and which all too few artists are attempting to even reach these days, content to release the same old stuff. A doorway to the true diabolic, one of the core tenets of black metal itself.
So yeah, simply put, for me this is the most creative and (yes, I ACCEPT YOUR WRATH) “black metal” album released this year. I’ve listened to it countless times since release, bought the LP and all. Of course, many people hated it. I wholeheartedly recommend you just try it again for yourself, forget about everything else and listen. Absorb.
Open the doorway. Hails.
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Near Misses:
You should also check out the recent albums by Degredo, Ancestral Shadows, Regnans, Arnaut Pavle, Beorn’s Hall, Penance Stare, Wormwitch, Nocturnal Departure, An Isolated Mind, Mizmor, SutekhHexen, Frostveil, Nordjevel, Runespell, Djevel, Earth And Pillars, Sun Worship, Arkona, Haunter, Gardsghastr, Örmagna, Keres, Sores, Marras, Ashen Chalice, Waste Of Space Orchestra, Defacement, Revenant Marquis, Witchbones, Gorgon, Vukari, Aegrus, Consummation, Vessel Of Iniquity, Sadisme, Cthonica, all the Prava Kollektiv stuff, Sarke, Schammasch, Mephorahsh, Vástígr, Bednja, Worsen, Wolok and Mo’ynoq. All of these are also fucking great records, and either just missed out or might have made the list if I’d been able to spend more time with them. Oh, and the new Mayhem was solid enough… but we’ve all heard that.
My LISTCRUSH isn’t a deep reflection on the musical and artistic sophistication of the past year. For me, the most important thing for any new album is how much I want to listen to it again and again. I appreciate and respect the skill and talent behind a musical monument like Funerals from the Astral Sphere, but it’s not the kind of album I’ll come back to time and time again. Therefore, I’m not saying that these are the best black metal/non black metal albums of the year. I’m saying that these are 20 albums that I’ve had a great time with, and I really hope you give them a listen and stick them on repeat for a bit as well.
I joined the Saor hype train really late (read: about a month ago), but you can imagine how I regret that now. From the jaunty chorus of ‘Bròn’ to Neige’s excellent guest feature in ‘Forgotten Paths’, this album is epic from start to finish.
With its perfect blend of driving aggression, haunting melodic leads, and savage vocals, this album really reignited my love for the harsher end of the black metal spectrum.
This blew my expectations out of the water. Rather than the cheesy symphonic black metal I thought I’d be letting myself in for, Walk Beyond the Dark explodes and drives with the force of a titanic powerhouse. Seriously hard-hitting black metal.
This is an album that makes you reflect. The emotional breadth on display is stunning, from manic fury to deep, elephantine melancholy. I challenge any metal fan to listen to it and not be moved.
From the first minute, this album storms out of the blocks with hooks aplenty and driving verses, and the interesting integration of subtle blackgaze elements contributes to an altogether unique musical atmosphere.
A really late release in the year (in fact kicking out another album I’d already written for this list…), this release shows that a new force of atmospheric black metal is ready to be revealed to the world. The ambience and emotion created within the exceptional runtime is huge, and promises to be an album I’ll be revisiting for a long time to come.
In a year overshadowed by drama featuring another band(s?) famous for black metal with traditional choral incorporations, Crimson Moon quietly released an album that outshone anything they(either of them?) have released.
Whilst not quite the colossal achievement that was Nature Stays Silent, I really enjoyed Cân Bardd’s second effort in as many years, and it’s great to hear them through some pristine production. The chorus on the title track in particular is huge.
I always wished that Emperor had released another In the Nightside Eclipse before going all proggy and well-produced, and now it appears that Vargrav have done that on their behalf. Any points lost for originality are more than made up for in awesomeness – this is an album that takes me back to my earliest days of black metal discovery, and I love it for that.
A release that deserved way more thunder than it received, A Heretic Art built on traditional melodic black metal elements and elevated them with creativity and imagination… all whilst clearly not taking themselves too seriously.
This landed straight at the top of my list when it dropped in March, and nothing ever threatened to knock it from that pedestal. It’s like if Wintersun incorporated more power metal elements, and it’s magnificent.
Traditional power metal, with plenty of thrashy galloping riffs and layered choruses. It’s a formulaic approach, but the charisma and passion showcased throughout never fails to evoke the grandeur required by successful power metal.
Check out: ‘Ember in the Winter Grove’
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3. Singularity – Place of Chains [Symphonic Tech-Death]
This is a rare beast; a tech-death album that knows when to show restraint. Combining that with the masterful integration of symphonic and blackened elements, Place of Chains earns its place as the most memorable tech-death album I’ve heard this year.
Insomnium are one of my all-time favourite bands, and I was never going to not love this album. It’s potentially my favourite album since Across the Dark, with some excellent clean vocal work alongside the traditional Insomnium elements.
Check out: ‘Pale Morning Star’
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5. Organectomy – Existential Disconnect [Slamming/Brutal Death Metal]
Relentlessly heavy slam; the addition of occasional black metal elements takes it to a level above the majority of the chuggers out there.
Deathcore has been a naughty word in metal circles for years, but bands like Shadow of Intent are showing that the genre really could be taken seriously again. Vocalist Ben Deurr might be the best in metal at the moment, and the orchestrations and incorporations of influences from black metal to melodeath are masterful.
Whilst not quite as colossal as 2016’s Proponent for Sentience, Allegaeon continue to showcase a level of technical brilliance without losing melodic direction.
Metalcore has also made some huge leaps forward in recent years, and As I Lay Dying’s triumphant return is as evident of this as any. The riffs are perfect for the gym, the hooks are massive, and the vocals are devastating.
Check out: ‘Torn Between’
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9. Twilight Force – Dawn of the Dragonstar [Symphonic Power Metal]
I was worried when Twilight Force fired their previous vocalist, as I thought he may have been the driving force behind their unique sound. However, with former Rhapsody legend Alessandro Conti at the helm, Twilight Force have delivered another album of classically-tinged power metal, filled to the brim with all the cheese they can muster.
Check out: ‘Dawn of the Dragonstar’
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10. Atlantean Kodex – The Course of Empire [Epic Heavy/Doom Metal]
I’m very particular with doom, but Atlantean Kodex really hit the sweet spot with their traditional take on the epic/heavy style. The vocals are layered with delicious harmonies, the riffs are slow and driving, and the Byzantine theme makes my inner history nerd way too excited than is acceptable.
Check out: ‘A Secret Byzantium – Numbered as Sand and the Stars’
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Hails to Order Ov The Black Arts, Black Metal Daily, and any readers gracious enough to spend time reading what will follow. 2019 has been a hell of a year for extreme metal, and these are my top 57 picks of the year. There’s a hierarchy here, but only by tier… those that fall within a given tier are generally interchangeable and honestly even the margins of each tier are a little arbitrary to some extent, but this seems like the most feasible way to provide some sort of structure.
I could write a short novel about my experience with Disillusion, but that would be boring for you, too personally revealing for me, and marginally inappropriate for this forum since Disillusion isn’t black metal. Sitting midway between progressive epic death metal (think An Abstract Illusion, Ne Obliviscaris, or Eternal Storm [see below]) and progressive modern rock (i.e. Tool), Disillusion can be squarely described as epic progressive metal. Their 2004 album Back To Times of Splendor is THE album I would choose if I could only choose one album to listen to forevermore (except if I were living in the snow, then it would be The Mantle by Agalloch), and The Liberation is a sequel to Back to Times of Splendor. The music?… you will just have to listen for yourself, don’t expect anything too aggressive, and I’m never surprised when other listeners aren’t nearly as hyped about it because so much of my listening experience is wrapped up in subjective contexts. Just listen to ‘In Waking Hours’ and ‘Wintertide’ (songs 1 & 2) with headphones and no distractions… if it doesn’t resonate with you I get it, but I can’t really adequately express how this album resonates with me, and I’m not going to try. Bottom line, it’s probably my favorite thing that has been released since 2015 except for Schammasch’s Maldoror Chants EP. Favorite tracks: ‘Wintertide’, ‘A Shimmer In The Darkest Sea’ [Tool fans should check that one out], and ‘The Liberation’.
This was probably my most anticipated release coming into 2019 except for Schammasch and Fleshgod Apocalypse. Since it was released early in the year, because it is so short, and because my love of the album was reinforced by seeing Saor live at Fire In The Mountains festival, it almost certainly gets the award for most spin time. Three epic Caledonian tracks and a nice filler outro that I nevertheless bother listening to. Did I mention that it is short? Yeah, that’s my only complaint… the album length, as well as more nuanced details like the physical presence of the vinyl (regular sleeve instead of elaborate gatefold with poster like the previous 3 albums) makes me really want to accuse this release of being an EP. That aside, the music is PHENOMENAL. Three tracks make picking top songs pretty pointless, so I’d like to recommend full volume on the track ‘Forgotten Paths’ at 4:20 (do you hear that crazy rubbing sound that the bass starts doing at 4:28-30?! What the IS that?!) and the chorus’ of ‘Brón’. Saor has since signed to Season of Mist, and Andy is already working on the next album. Yes, please.
Unlike Saor and Schammasch, I was completely blindsided by this one. When it went up for preorder I blew it off because there was no preview track. Big mistake, which was almost instantly rectified upon hearing the first minute of the first song. Aggressive, catchy, subtly epic, and with good amount of attention paid to seriously rocking the fuck out… to put it simply, Algleymi has everything that I look for in black metal… not just in timbre, but in attitude as well: “It is our utmost conviction that the artist ought to stand beyond good or evil and that the pursuit of his or her artistic goals should therefore remain untouched by considerations pertaining to critical reception, the sensitivity of a potential audience, or anything that would detract from the full accomplishment of those artistic goals. Taking into creative consideration the very fragile current zeitgeist would render any piece of art absolutely harmless and devoid of worth … let us leave the world of binary thinking for a minute, concentrate solely on the individual of exceptional fabric, and dream aloud.” [D.G., Bardo Methodology interview, 2019]. Full Support. Favorite tracks: I don’t know… fucking… all of them I think.
The prolific output of Naas Alcameth makes it difficult to resist exacting upon Aoratos a bit of comparative analysis against its infernal siblings. What Aoratos projects is a supernatural force which is both external and worldly, and can hence be more easily demarcated from the dread internal psychic nightmare of Akhlys, as well as from the more subterranean hellish inferno of Bestia Arcana. That leaves Nightbringer as Aoratos’ closest relative, but here there are important differences. Lacking the epic keyboards and heightened shrill falsetto guitar lead of Nightbringer and bringing instead a nuanced industrial edge, Aoratos forgoes the immense, sprawling apocalypse of Nightbringer and instead emotes a monstrous haunting; more local, more rural, and more terrestrial. The power of this album is absolutely annihilating. Recommended: ‘Gods Without Name’, ‘Thresher’, ‘Watcher on the Threshold’. See full review HERE.
One of my two most anticipated albums of the year, Schammasch (unlike Fleshgod Apocalypse) did not disappoint. Overall, both lyrically and musically, Hearts Of No Light exudes something that is darker, more negative, and more personal than previous albums. Lacking the usual concrete motif, Hearts Of No Light instead consists of multiple tenebrous approaches to a wider and more varied array of areas deep within, where shadowy undercurrents hold sway, where rays of light are glimpsed, and where outward cohesion begins to dissolve. In this way, Hearts Of No Light signifies a progression not only in terms of wider musical variance, but also in the way that the whole is composed… while each track addresses different nebulous aspects of being and tends to individually move from a state of abstraction towards increased emotive cohesion, of the lack of a distinct overarching thesis is itself a statement about the chaos and darkness of inner existential turmoil. Recommended tracks: ‘Ego Sum Omega’, ‘I Burn Within You’, ‘Katabasis’. See full review HERE.
If you are looking for straightforward, no frills, epically aggressive familiar Swedish sound (ala Sworn To The Dark / Lawless Darkness and Vobiscum Satanas / Diabolus Interim) complete with persistently satanic themes, casually blazing riffs, relentlessly tasty ballistic percussion, scorching vocals and that horns-in-the-air ‘let’s burn this fucker to the ground’ insolence, look no further than this musical inferno. Everything about this release positively glows with sincere and authentic classic black metal audacity, and they are doing it WAY THE FUCK BETTER than more established contemporary acts (yes, looking right at you, Watain and Dark Funeral). These ladies are fucking DOMINATING right now and if you like that style and you haven’t been paying attention, please get off your ass, because Dawn of Infinite Fire is downright ruthless. Recommended tracks… fuck, same as Misþyrming, this whole thing is amazing.
Shem Ha Mephorash is a work of massive ambition, and I have to admit that a significant part of the appeal is not just the music (which is fantastic but pointedly contemplative and ecclesial and not necessarily superior to 1557-Rites of Nullification in my opinion) but the sheer developmental advancement and enormity of the album (clocks in at 74 minutes), the stunning artwork of the physical product, and the overall level of ambition and coherence. The lines between the daemonic and theistic blur here as Mephorash seems to obscure such trivial distinctions, the trumpets of both Heaven and Hell harkening a sacred fire to the spirit, casting the listener simultaneously above as crystalized vapors of ethereal perfection and below to infernal ashes of annihilation. Woe to the profane secular flesh and petty ego, gasping and choking on the smoke from a numinous flame. A modern esoteric black metal masterpiece, Shem Ha Mephorash radiates with transcendence, sacramental power, and a terrible, beautiful white flame of holy judgement. See full review HERE.
This one is a bit of an enigma. There’s a LOT going on here that Kaleikr managed to seam together very well. Starting out very close to the beautiful, utra-melodic, atmospheric black metal sensibility of Saor’s Forgotten Paths (ironic because the albums were released at almost the same time), Heart of Lead quickly evolves in a myriad of different directions, like more menacing progressive black metal, technical death metal, progressive death metal, and prog-rock. It even gets a little bit into that claustrophobic and suffocating Icelandic sound with the short title track… but this is minimal and not overdone. A good thing in my personal opinion.
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Musmahhu – Reign of the Odious
A fucking savage blackdeath offering curtesy of Swartadauþuz, mastermind behind Bekëth Nexëhmü, contributor to Gardsghastr (see below), and a surfeit of other extreme projects. This one ranks as perhaps the most violent of all my year-end picks, and might be compared somewhat to Aoratos as an immediate reference. Reign of the Odious is more death metal-oriented, but similar in terms of unremittent pitch-black maelstrom mixed with subtle industrial(ish) elements and an undercurrent of epic cataclysmic ruin. Completely necessary.
I won’t get too into it because it isn’t black metal, but this is a magnificently written, powerful, very melodic opus of beautiful epic artful death metal, which got LOTS of playtime from me. For fans of An Abstract Illusion, Exsickator, and Rivers Of Nihil’s Where Owls Know My Name (but more melodic DM than technical DM). Recommended tracks: ‘Through the Wall of Light Pt. I (The Strand)‘, ‘Through the Wall of Light Pt. II (Immersion)’, ‘The Mountain’.
In 20+ years of listening to extreme metal, there has been only ONE time that an initial listening experience was so profound that I was almost brought to tears from the opening minutes of a song… What is crucial about ‘The Isolationist’ (the last song, track 7) and in a more general sense Nattarvet as a whole, is the ability to capture a profound paradox: It is a journey both within and also beyond, aptly conjoining the psychological tragedy of isolation with the coldness of natural indifference, and achieving a dissolution of the self through immersion in the solitude that pervades reality as a whole. See full review HERE.
Another death metal album. A fantastic one… a near perfect combination of groove, speed, classiness, melodicism, brutality, progressiveness, and technicality, complete with tasteful acoustic interludes and fantastic vocal variation. For fans of Black Crown Initiate before Black Crown Initiate decided to try to sound like Tool. With vocals kind of like Travis Ryan ala Cattle Decapitation, but without those melodic highs. It’s really just badass in every way.
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Panzerfaust – The Suns of Perdition, Chapter 1: War, Horrid War
Monstrous, crushing, war-themed blackdeath with limited tasteful atonality, overpowering vocals, and some doomish sensibilities (mostly in terms of production and an overall sense of progressive desolating inevitability, not in terms of speed)… what can be said about this album that hasn’t been said before and more elaborately? This is one that just demands a listen in order to get it. It’s difficult for me to describe it in a way that makes the album sound unique, but it IS unique, and its short length and promise of subsequent installments makes it easily digestible, leaving one pining for more. I hope we get it in 2020.
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Totaled – Lament
You ever get those moments when you give your chosen listening device a raised eyebrow because of all of the asskickery that is suddenly occurring? Like it was sort of kicking ass in the first place but then it gets taken to the next level and hits that sweet spot when you are just like ‘fuuuuuck’? Well, Lament has a SHITLOAD of those moments. It’s a fusion of black metal and galloping no-damns-given punk/crust/core/grind/violence/something belligerence. On the BM side of things there’s some classic Swedish melody taking place, not unlike old Dissection or mid-era Watain, etc., but there also some much more aggressive, cutthroat Tsjuder-like ripping which really helps bridge the gap between the epic melody and the whateverthefuckitis in such a way that the tracks can vacillate between the disparate styles and sometimes outright mix them together while always sounding entirely seamless. I managed to pounce on the last fancy LP on Bandcamp and the package came with this really cool set of Tarot cards which match the cover art. Definitely highlights this as a top release for me.
With only moderate hype, this album turned a lot of heads when it dropped (at least in my social media circles)… and for good reason. Progressive black metal done perfectly: great focus, great balance, great drive, great production. The sound, while not as “warm” as one would find with many post-black offerings, but it is certainly not “cold” either, and the mix embraces the sort of enveloping, balanced, crystalline density that one can find, for example, with Gaerea’s Unsettling Whispers (2018) or Beltez’s Exiled, Punished, Rejected (2017) … the sort of mix where you can hear everything, nothing is in excess, and it all sounds terrific. There’s nothing here that isn’t downright tasteful, and it fucking rocks on top of it.
Vortex of End definitely gets my most underappreciated band of the year vote. Despite one previous album already under the belt, captivating album artwork, a surprisingly elaborate physical product (I grabbed a gold LP), and my own best efforts, it never really seemed like Ardens Fvror gained much traction as the triumphant black metal monument that I think it is. Musically, this is undeniably compelling: a slightly death-tinged, powerful, ferocious, yet artistic orthodox BM masterwork with an array of exciting elements and plenty of room to breathe. The vocals are particularly noteworthy… varied, interesting, and effective. What it reminds me the most of is a more muscular evolution of Ascension’s acclaimed Consolamentum album, while simultaneously being much better than anything Ascension itself has put out since. PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS.
Based on a novel of the same name by Eric Stener Carlson, and featuring narration of the story by the author, Muladona is the extreme auditory interpretation of a horrific tale of disease and decay, death, violence and stench, grotesque pubescence and entrenched evil. Heavy to the point of devastating, suffocatingly dense, and with a compressed magnitude which is a bit hard to explain, it is no surprise that Metal Archives inadequately describes the band as “Sludge/Doom Metal/Post-Hardcore” but, I’m somewhat curious that the “Blackened” tag is omitted. I’m not sure about older albums, but this one certainly warrants it. Much like the Reverorum Ib Malacht release last year (but sounding nothing like it) my reaction isn’t really “I like this”, but more like “I am in awe of this”.
Hallucinogen is a prismatic, spiraling, inspired voyage that intentionally waxes towards both the outer realms of cognition as well as towards the far fringes of an eccentric discography which is already so varied and visionary that Blut Aus Nord holds a categorically exclusive, unique, and unmatched status within black metal at large. See full review HERE.
A melancholic and moving combination of DSBM (which I almost never listen to) and post-black warmth. Much like the Wormwood release, the album is full of quality tracks, but there’s one that really caused me to make the investment, and that was “Wither” (track 2), which a peer shrewdly described as “the ‘Sultans of Swing’ of black metal”… can you hear it? Since I do believe that ‘Sultans of Swing’ is probably one of the best 5 rock songs ever written, let’s just say I was convinced.
Easy Americana-folk infused barelyblackmetal with meandering, woodsy melodies, lightly cascading percussion, straightforward vocals, positive Lennon-esque message, and a very organic, natural, mellow production. Very little distortion or aggression to be found here, this is for times of peace. My only complaint is that the vocals could use some variation, they stick to the Harakiri For The Sky-ish yelling pretty much exclusively. Quite beautiful overall though and probably my most laid-back pick of the year. Great tunes for a wayward northwestern drive amongst the trees, and truly a unique album, musically and visually.
Malignant, audacious, and relentlessly abrasive, Akasha is a hybrid of venomous, frenzied raw black metal and savage, necksnapping D-beat driven crustpunk. Unlike Totaled, there is zero melody to found in these tracks, only slight variations of speed which ranges from paced predatorial malevolence to frenetic, driving bloodlust, all the while spearheaded by riffs to rip out your throat and vocals to mar your soul. Shockingly, singularly, and utterly vicious.
Pummeling drums drive forward anxious riffing before seamlessly progressing to up-tempo headbanging extravaganza sections. Short but violent guitar solos are dispersed throughout, as downtempo passages featuring ominous chants emerge. Mid-paced groove proves to be one of the more stellar aspects of the album, among many other impressive qualities. Swirling, threatening, almost nauseating guitars atop simple ritualistic beats transition to more doomy, melancholic, and at times quite beautiful measures featuring soaring leads and spoken word. See full review HERE.
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Gardsghastr – Slit Throat Requiem
For me, there’s a lot to not like with about 95% of all modern symphonic black metal. Gardsghastr, essentially a supergroup comprised of Swartadauþuz (Bekëth Nexëhmü, Musmahhu, etc.), Alex Poole (Chaos Moon, Entheogen, Skáphe, etc.), the Blackburn brothers (Chaos Moon, Accursed Aeons, Guðveiki, etc.) and relative newcomer voice Glömd avoids all of those pitfalls, hurling forth an album that is at once grandiose and furious. Symphonic elements accentuate the songs instead of trying to carry them, and the tracks blast forward with surprising aggression and brazen scorn, tempting comparisons to more assaultive works within the subgenre like Anorexia Nervosa’s Drudenhaus (but less reliant on orchestration) and Nightbringer’s faster songs.
Immediately virulent melodies ala MGLA, Dumal, or Uada… helplessly addictive headbanging-in-traffic grooves… beautiful clean acoustic moments… unabashed black and roll qualities of Instinct / Assassins era Nachtmystium… the folk inspired flavors of Nokturnal Mortum… both the classic magnitude of Sworn / Lawless and the more stripped-down galloping orthodoxy of Casus / TridentWatain… fateful march-for-the-horizon-with-your-head-held-high epic ala Catamenia‘s Winternight Tragedies… and all wrapped up in just the right amount of Finnish fuzz. It might not be breaking any huge molds, but this album interweaves multiple facets of straightforward melodic black metal. An instant classic, second in line for most underappreciated album of the year.
A critically underrated release from earlier this year. A soaring and complex melodic post-black Lovecraftian opus with a long list of fine attributes, not least of which is an amazing and varied vocal performance and soul-tugging guitar solos. While the music tends towards epic, bombastic scales, the vocals serve to maintain integration with both more traditional black metal currents as well as loop in some post-rock and black-folk elements (specifically similar to the little-known American one-man act Appalachian Winter). I was midway through the third track on the first playthrough when I found myself going for the Buy Record/Vinyl button.
Nature-centered and frost bitten, this Siberian black metal places a heavy emphasis on melancholic inflection, an icy subzero vocal delivery, and shitload of damn appropriate accordion. Not to mention other cool stuff like winter bells, blizzards of furious double kick, and whirling guitar riffs, and frigid synth. As a bonus, when Naturmacht Productions opened up preorders they also made the previous album, Tales of the Enchanted Woods available on vinyl for the first time. Thankyouverymuch.
It is difficult to describe what takes place across the vast and furioussonic landscape of this album. The music embodies austere medieval granite… yet shimmers with golden empyrean aristocracy; the sound is gritty and hard… yet so clearly of the air and the heavens; belligerent and ruthless… but brimming with a passionate hyper-melodicism; a furious bombardment of harmonized antipodes. It is a shockingly flawless display of weightless chaos and choreographed intensity, breathtaking not only for its sheer aesthetic beauty but also because one can scarcely comprehend how such a beautiful maelstrom of orchestrated complexity is possible. Disorientation almost guaranteed unless full attention is given, and even then, it’s a gamble. See full review HERE.
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Remete – Into Endless Night
Steadily driving, foggy melodic black metal, courtesy of D, mastermind behind post-black prototype Woods of Desolation and the rawer(ish) and folk-energized Forest Mysticism. Synth and probably various other instruments adding heavy doses of melancholic presence make this some perfect wintertime midnight music which gets better with every subsequent listen. Into Endless Night is at the top of my list of albums that I’m willing to get pressed onto vinyl at some point.
Sort of an odd pick for me if I’m being honest. Also, hard to categorize with some sludgy elements, progressive aspects, doom pacing, black metal flourishes, and “epic crust” is given a nod on their Bandcamp page. Also, multiple vocal styles of deep roaring, blackish screaming, male and female cleans, and array of interesting instrumentation including viola, hurty gurty, Hammond organ, piano, tubular bells, clarinet, hammer dulcimer, and cello. Forlorn, complex, and heart-wrenchingly beautiful much of the time, the wake of my own personal hype surrounding this release led me to retro-collect their entire catalogue, and I regret nothing.
With The Black Consecration, Noctem have definitively annihilated any preconceived notions of what their 5th studio album should sound like… and it is tremendous. Abandoned are many of the death metal elements, grandiose epic flourishes, crystal clear pristine production, and overall vastness of musical concept. What has been embraced is something significantly more stripped down but not raw, focused but not primitive, and straightforward but not simplistic… something more… black metal, and with a noteworthy compacted production to boot. See full review HERE.
Like some immense cosmic horror, tentacles reaching through time and space to spread its monstrous alchemy across the vast universe, Cosmicism is immense, Lovecraftian supernaturalism, carefully layered into ambitious and complex, deep yet expansive melodic black metal. The void’s cold smolder, the frothing of measureless and beautiful empyrean dread emanates from these tracks, not in a relentless explosion, but in a calculated, purposeful, majestic cosmic imperialism, more powerful with every return.
Jet-black and insidious, this album makes use of addictive, needling riffing (including something that sounds, awesomely, almost identical to parts of the anxiety-inducing film score in 28 Days Later [track 2]) and blistering percussion. It was one of the earliest albums I found this year that really resonated with me (Veldes being the only one of note that I discovered prior to it), and thus it has gotten a lot of periodic listens over the last 12 months, each time reminding me just how fucking solid it is. I would certainly buy this on vinyl, were it available.
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FIFTH TIER (twenty-five selections)
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Veldes – Flameless
This one has the benefit of being the very first album that resonated with me in 2019… earnest, verdant, nature-based melodic post-black luxuriance with prominent (if slightly overbearing) vocals. FFO Woods of Desolation etc. etc.
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Ancient Hostility – Ancient Hostility
Vitriolic black metal with scornful, torturous, and pensive mid-to-slow paced music and absolutely caustic, scathing vocal delivery courtesy of Imber (ex Synodic, Aludra, and hopefully more TBA!).
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Decoherence – Ekpyrosis
Unnerving dissonance, mechanized inertia, catastrophic atmosphere, and ominous spirit, this is Blut Aus Nord worship of the highest order, managing, like Almyrkvi (Umbra, 2017), to surpass the master.
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Qayin Regis – Doctrine
Excellent occult black metal, reminiscent of a more stripped down variation of Naas Alcameth’s various projects (mostly due to the vocals, but also due to a palpable sense of authenticity) with Schammasch-like meditative pacing and even DSOSi Monvmentvm Reqvires Circvmspice style riffing at times.
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Beorn’s Hall – In His Granite Realm
American Viking/black, surprisingly pleasing despite (or maybe because of?) a particular looseness and rudimentary approach with timing, tempo, and production.
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Falaise – A Place I Don’t Belong
Urban, isolative, and despondent, this is warm post-black featuring a particular song that is heroin-level addictive (‘Leaves in the Wind’).
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Fleshgod Apocalypse – Veleno
FA will always have a place in my heart, at the very least due to at one point being an all-time favorite band. They’ve changed a lot. Veleno is good, but I hope this album grows on me more than it has so far.
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Misertus – Daydream
Lush, atmospheric post-black melodies absolutely drenched in an almost blinding distortion and featuring a vicious vocal approach, very cool combination of beauty and malice.
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Temple of Perdition – Homage to the Dead (EP)
Religiocritical hymns saturated in warm, heavy cathedralic aesthetics, and featuring choirs, celestial instrumentation, grandiose movements, blasting percussion, and transcendental nods towards ego dissolution and ascension. See review HERE.
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Worsen – Cursed to Witness Life
Hard-hitting melodic, misanthropic American black metal with thrashy flavors and hints of melancholy.
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Sulphura – Voidpulse
Instrumental atmospheric meditative ambient ritualistic drone side project of CSR (Schammasch). If you are familiar with the ambient bits of Triangle, Maldoror Chants, and Hearts Of No Light, then you know exactly what you are in for.
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MGLA – Age of Excuse
Polish masters of melody return with exactly what you would expect: infectious riffs and absurdly complex percussion that only MGLA delivers.
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Heilung – Futha
Massive neo-folk tour-de-force in a style similar to Wardruna, with a profound live show, fusing tribal beats with a plethora of instrumentation highlights and a vague ritualistic dance quality.
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Haxandraok – Ki Si Kil Ud Da Kar Ra
Occult black metal managing to blend ritual and melody, featuring guitarist of Acherontas and primarily semi-clean pseudo-chanting vocals, similar to what Schammasch does on the regular.
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Imha Tarikat – Kara Ihlas
Unique and candid black metal with back ‘n’ roll sensibilities, a particular shouting vocal approach, and fiery solos.
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Meszaroth – Caro Data Vermibus
Caught up with this one earlier in the year and it did the trick keeping me tuned in and primed for that Mephorash / Schammasch sound before either of the latter dropped their new albums.
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Thormesis – The Sixth
Very solid melodic progressive black metal, which sounds a lot like Harakiri For The Sky or 2019 Saor (except with keyboards instead of the Scottish instruments and more typical vocals).
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Minenwerfer – Alpenpässe
A strange but alluring combination of almost Agalloch-esque woodsy atmospherics, raw BM primitivism, war-metal callousness, and World War motifs.
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Stillness – Hermit
Warm, folky and fanciful with lots of synth, bagpipes, violin, piano, acoustic guitar, clean vocals etc. makes this damn near appropriate to make the family listen to during the holidays. Except when it’s not.
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Gorgon – Elegy
Polished, well-produced, epic, muscular, fully modern symphonic death metal with touches of industrial elements, fits snugly alongside bands like Dawn of Ashes, Empyrean Throne, Shade Empire, The Monolith Deathcult, and Septicflesh.
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Decarabia – Ancestral Kingdoms
Medieval black metal drenched in ghastly, murky, and archaic dungeon/dark ambience; also, vocals are quite submerged in the mix, which I have been appreciating lately, at times evoking a sense of ancient suffocating dread, despite being fairly easy to listen to.
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This Gift Is A Curse – A Throne of Ash
Blackened crust/grind/noise-core, surprisingly sophisticated and actually a bit epic at times, while yet exhibiting an unrestrained, almost hysterical barrage of white-hot hatred.
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Frostnatt – Rimfrost
A short melodic blackish instrumental featuring guitar / percussion (particularly cymbal) reciprocation and precision not unlike MGLA, except with a more synth heavy folky trajectory… think MGLA + maybe Falkenbach or Windir or something like that.
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Iapetus – The Body Cosmic
Aspiring and brilliant progressive death metal, flaunting a constellation of great approaches and talents, including percussion from Dan Presland (of Ne Obliviscaris, a reasonable comparison). Not a huge fan of some of the vocals but this album is a bit of a masterpiece in the progdeath world.
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Cult of Erinyes – Æstivation
The placement of this release is based almost entirely on how late it came to the game and the fact that it is still vying for position amongst everything above… a wild, occult auditory assailment, which, like Vortex Of End above, benefits heavily from fucking insane vocal performance and which, like Rorcal above, is almost supernatural in its ravening violence.
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And here, with Cult of Erinyes, an end-of-of year decimator which adequately represents the imminent black and extreme metal excellence that we will continue to see in the year(s) to come, seems like an appropriate place to stop and bid farewell to 2019. I want to give a humble salute to all purveyors of extreme music that I have interacted with this year, the fellow admins and superior members of Order ov the Black Arts, and Dex with Black Metal Daily and Rick with MoshPitNation for giving me the opportunity to ignite the flame with all reviews this year.
Forward, and may thy will be done.
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