There’s a school of thought that says for a black metal band to truly have any meaning or worth within the scene, it must have one foot in tradition and one foot always looking forward. Back at the inception of the second wave, if a band was merely a copy of another and brought nothing new to the table then they were “false” – you had to be fearless, striving towards your own unique sound and never hesitant to do whatever the fuck you wanted (whilst still remaining true to the core tenets of the genre). It seems an oxymoron, but that ethos has provided us with the greatest and most monumental works of art to be found within the genre to this day… and the lack of that ethos, a billion cookie cutter bands that might be a satisfying listen at first (often because they sound like another, better band) but then quickly fade away into forgotten obscurity.
The value of this ethos became ever more apparent as the ’90s wore on, and the greats of the second wave (or those who came shortly after) began to branch out further than ever before. These days some who are active are barely even playing black metal anymore, but still blowing us away (Enslaved), others have sadly devolved into weak imitations of their own past glories (Immortal, Mayhem), and a few still provide us with absolutely astonishing works that are sure to be remembered as classics forever (Dødheimsgard, Abigor etc. You know the ones). Why am I talking about all of this? Because there is another, unsung and steadfastly underground band who has long proven to have this fearless ethos, and who has now shown it once again with their latest collaborative record Asphyxiating Late Night Sessions: Collaboration With Sarvok… DØDSFERD.
If you think you know Dødsferd (and you should, as we have covered the works of Father Wrath and his conspirators many times on these stained pages), then think again. This collaboration pushes the Dødsferd sound further than ever before, into remarkable new territory – an acoustic, dark ambient, and altogether experimental re-imagining of three older Dødsferd works alongside two new compositions. Focusing on the former for a moment, this type of reworking is rare in black metal – people’s assholes often clench up at the mere thought of a band even re-recording old songs with a modern production – but has been done by mainstream metal acts like Cradle of Filth etc, to varying levels of success. Here, it works to devastating effect, like peeling back the layers of skin and flesh from a song to find a glistening skeleton of shining gold within.
Fellow BMD writer Pan Inentropy (who was also quite taken by the album) has said the overall effect is like a black metal version of Indifferent Rivers Romance End by Californian duo Wreck and Reference. It’s that sort of bold step into the unknown; languid, cinematic, sinister… with surprise elements throughout the first few compositions like a funky break-beat get you nodding, or hand drums like djembes that only an artist like m.Sarvok would think to include. The reimaginings of tracks like ‘….και το είδος σας θα ακολουθήσει (…and Your Kind Will Follow)’ strike right to the core of what made the original version great and blow it into a soul-rending new dimension, while the fourth track ‘Εγκατάληψη (Deserted)’ sounds like something one might hear in a film. I really, really cannot understate the cinematic aspects of the record as they are truly breathtaking. Final track ‘Μοναξιά (Solitude)’ is a perfect display for Wrath‘s vocal talent once more, the man delivers with such passion you can’t help but be drawn into his poetic agonies – paired with m.Sarvok’s experimental soniscapes, it’s another wonderful collaboration between two artists who seem to effortlessly breathe in sync with one another’s creative flames.
The works of Dødsferd might never reach the wider acceptance and appreciation of a band like Dødheimsgard. Which is okay – this type of music is made for the few, the true. The ones for whom Asphyxiating Late Night Sessions will resonate as work by an artist not afraid to do whatever the fuck he wants, and a work to be returned to for decades into the future.
Twenty two years into Dødsferd‘s existence and Father Wrath can still surprise us, which is the mark of a truly great artist… and one who has proven his worth and value to the scene once again. Looking forward to the next album.
RATING: 4.3 / 5
Asphyxiating Late Night Sessions: Collaboration With Sarvok… is available now via Fucking Your Creation Records.
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Purchase Asphyxiating Late Night Sessions: Collaboration With Sarvok… from Bandcamp HERE, CD and cassette coming soon via FYC.
Not with a whimper, but with a fucking BANG – okay fine, a dull thud at this point, we’re already at least one knuckle deep into 2022 – our long drawn out 2021 LISTCRUSH series finally comes to anend.
Pretty sure I’m the last person anywhere on the planet to publish their albums list each year, but anyway – there were over ten thousand black metal releases vomited forth into the void of rampant consumerism and discogs flipping (or unnoticed and abandoned Bandcamp limbo) throughout 2021. Here I present my 40 favourite full length albums of the thousand-plus I listened to and the couple hundred I shortlisted, a final curation that’s a damn sight slimmer than last year’s overblown top 100 but hey, I’m trying to reign myself in and practice a little restraint. New year, new me and all that (again). Also included are a handful of near misses that I really wanted to make the cut but couldn’t cram in – be sure to hunt them down as well, all of them deserved a spot on the final list.
If you somehow need even more from my curation of superb stygian artistry, seek help, but also feel free to check out my already publishedTOP 30 DEMOS/EPs and TOP 25 SPLITS lists as well (and scope Tom and Gos‘s lists while you’re at it, they both have impeccable taste). As always, eternal thanks and respect to all artists, labels, reviewers and promoters for keeping the black flame alive. You are all excellent. Support the artists, buy physical copies… aside from that, onwards, ever onwards, forging into the sunset.
Hails.
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NEAR MISSES
Black Kruud – Delusions Of Gangrene
Weathered Crest – Blossoming Of The Paths
Labyrinthine Haze – Descending Into The Deep
Archgoat – Worship The Eternal Darkness
Concilium – Desecration
Ofermod – Mysterium Iniquitatis
Burden Of Ymir – From Élivágar
Solipsism – Cruelty & Necrospection
Nächtlich – Satanas Solum Initium
Starer – 18° Below The Horizon
Henbane Chariot – Allpine Séance
Arazubak – The Haunted Spawn Of Torment
DSKNT – Vacuum γ-Noise Transition
Ungfell – Es Grauet
Yoth Iria – As The Flame Withers
Ifernach – Capitulation Of All Life
Norse – Ascetic
Korpituli – The Ancient Spells Of The Past
Inferno – Paradeigma
Lamp Of Murmuur – Submission And Slavery
Abstracter – Abominium
Miasmata – Unlight: Songs of Earth and Atrophy
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TOP 40 ALBUMS OF 2021
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40. Bræ – A Thousand Ways To End It All (Amor Fati)
Sounds like: a completely anonymous album released with no fanfare at all that zero people paid attention to. Seriously, I saw nobody talking about it, perhaps because at first glance/listen it’s quite nondescript. However, settle in and let this noisy, hypnotic and abrasive monolith of longform depression obliterate your soul and I’m sure you’ll agree: more people should have paid attention to this shit.
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39. Pan-Amerikan Native Front – Little Turtle’s War (Les Fleurs Du Mal / Stygian Black Hand / Nuclear War Now! Productions)
Sounds like: triumph, tragedy and pure grit, passed down through tales and shamanic rituals for eternity. Kurator of War‘s second full-length was the perfect prelude to his astonishing split with Kommodus; this man is never short of a riff.
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38. Firienholt – By The Waters Of Awakening (Fólkvangr Records / Naturmacht Productions)
Sounds like: Caladan Brood, but somehow even more enjoyable. This mysterious horde of UK Tolkien fanatics knocked it out of the park on their first full-length effort. More please.
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37. Nansarunai – Ultimul Rege (Banner Of Blood / Ancient Horror Records / Black Gangrene)
Sounds like: that moment when you’re deep in a tomb filled with the corpses of ancient warriors and kings… and they all suddenly come to life and want to kill you, so you’re torn apart by undead royalty from a bygone era. Something like that. Cold, vicious and powerful raw black metal filled with yearning, this is about to cop an LP release via Black Gangrene. Grab it if you’ve missed every other version, you chump.
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36. Lionoka – Tides Of Triumph (Old Mill Productions)
Sounds like: stunning traditional acoustic instrumentation woven around furious black metal. The naturalistic sound alone of this US First Nations black folk solo project is incredible and will hit you deeper than you could ever have expected.
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35. Nazxul – Irkalla (Seance Records)
Sounds like: vibes. No, seriously – the third album of an almost thirty year expression of darkness from these legendary Australians is less of a “pay attention to the intricacies” type of deal (not that those intricate details aren’t fucking fantastic) and more a just let it wash over you and sear your soul kind of record. Irkalla is an album you FEEL, and it grew on me every time I heard it. The perfect album to have playing in the background as you go about your day – it’ll infect everything you do.
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34. Blurr Thrower – Les Voutes (Les Acteurs de l’ombre)
Sounds like: being lifted out of your corporeal form and dragging your spirit downward; sinking below in a burst of pale light like some kind of transcendent reversed rapture. As I said in my REVIEW, anyway. The kind of album that makes you enjoy it – the choice is not up to you.
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33. Burier – Cremation Of Lingering Hope (GoatowaRex)
Sounds like: MAGGOTS UNDER YOUR SKIN CONSUMING YOUR FLESH but you’re still conscious and can feel every tiny bite but it feels soothing and right and you realise you are one with the earth and this is forever now. This Australian project loves death, dying and being dead, and I love this Australian project.
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32. Lunar Spells – Where Silence Whispers (Northern Silence Productions)
Sounds like new Greek black metal that sounds like old Finnish black metal. Everyone knows I’m a huge fan of albums that make me feel like the last twenty years never happened (shut up, I have a great life) – Where Silence Whispers falls firmly into that category.
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31. Fosso – Solo Amargo (Galafoice / Death Manifestations)
Solo Amargo sounds like witnessing some strange, strange magic at work in the dizzying heat of the deepest, most clandestine forests of Brazil. The synth? Spot on. Bass? Perfection. A remarkable debut that deserves both more attention and a follow up. Stat.
Sounds like: the French pioneers once again showing everyone how it’s done. I rated this 4/5 in my REVIEW and I’d rate it even higher now. If you don’t like this you’re a coward, I don’t make the rules.
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29. Crucifixion Bell – Eternal Grip Of The Nocturnal Empire (Crown & Throne / Dybbuk Productions / Inferna Profundis Records / Black Gangrene Productions / Banner Of Blood)
Sounds like: staring into a mirror as you slice your face open, peeling and tearing back the skin until you’re standing there screaming at yourself with your own bare skull. I said in my Splits Listcrush that Crucifixion Bell is one of the premier raw black projects around today – if you’ve heard his other works and STILL need more proof than this album, there’s no hope for you.
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28. Dødsferd – Suicide And The Rest Of Your Kind Will Follow Part II (Fucking Your Creation Records)
Sounds like PURE FUCKING HATRED OF ALL HUMAN LIFE from the Greek underground legends. The title alone of this album will get you banned on social media, which ironically is just another example of how shit things are and how much we all suck. This record doesn’t suck, though. Read my REVIEW of it if you don’t believe me.
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27. Morte Incandescente – Vala Comum (Signal Rex)
Sounds like: black metal that absolutely does not give a single fuck about you, any current genre trends, or anything else at all. Portuguese legends Vulturius and Nocturnus Horrendus have been in the game since before you stopped shitting in diapers, and it shows. Killer. Bang your fucking head.
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26. Funeral Winds – Gruzelementen (New Era Productions)
This tasty slab of demoncy goes HARD. The word Gruzelementen translates to “smithereens”, and that’s exactly what will be left of your head after it’s been shattered by the sheer orthodox fury of this record – the way it maintains its horrifying hunger throughout is beyond impressive. Whilst other bands try to sound “Satanic”, Funeral Winds, the product of one Dutchman Hellchrist Xul, honour the ancients and achieve it effortlessly. Sounds like: being swallowed by the gaping maw of the dark lord.
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25. Stygian Ruin – The Blackened Temple (Independent)
I discovered this one thanks to Aesop of Agalloch, to whom I owe my gratitude – this Norwegian blend of dungeon synth and black metal surpasses all the usual results of that all-too-common marriage and becomes almost cinematic in scope and execution. Sounds like the soundtrack to the coolest movie you’ve never seen.
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24. Nigrum Pluviam – Eternal Fall Into The Abyss (Signal Rex / Asylum Tenebris)
Sounds like: the abyss staring back into YOU, as I wrote in our PREMIERE of this raw French insanity. This is probably the kind of thing that many of you would skip over in a second, but it’s exactly the type of thing that many of you SHOULD be listening to in order to plumb the wretched depths of the darkness within. You’ll feel better for it, trust me. An all-consuming vortex of primitive negative energy, older than time itself.
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23. Tyrannic – Mortuus Decadence (Seance Records / Iron Bonehead Productions)
This Australian oddity sounds like throwing your head back, howling in rabid, slavering fervour at the moon and diving headfirst in to a reeking open grave. I returned to this far more often than I originally thought I would. A criminally underappreciated band – Tyrannic operates in a space far and away from others of their ilk.
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22. Vahrzaw – The Trembling Voices Of Conquered Men (Transcending Obscurity Records)
Sounds like: me putting this in here because George said he’d break my legs if I didn’t. I kid – album kills. This is the best record these surly Australian black-death bastards have done since the last best record they did, so you should probably buy it. Word is their next one will be a complete change of direction as well… get keen for that.
Sounds like: withering Ildjarn-esque black punk with enough wrath and spite to fuck anyone up. The debut album of these Russian Pleskau Brethren members annihilates their already great first demo and split with Леший from 2020. Here’s hoping they bring the ruckus again in 2022.
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20. Ahulabrum – Daimonic Reality (Atrocity Altar)
Most people will probably hate this, but it sounds like if cryptids made tape montages of themselves terrorizing people and the resulting recorded testimonies of the victims, mashed up like audio scrapbooks. Returning (with old unreleased material, the project is laid to rest) extraterrestrial US raw black/noise/ambient project Ahulabrum quietly released one of the most fascinating and weird tapes of the year. The truth is out there.
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19. Baxaxaxa – Catacomb Cult (The Sinister Flame)
Sounds like: the continuation of a MIGHTY return. The legendary Baxaxaxa keep the flame burning strong with an album of old school purity that does everything right; I hope we get many, many more records from them now that they’re rolling again.
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18. Mork – Katedralen (Peaceville Records)
Sounds like… TRVE NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL. I said it best in the introduction to my INTERVIEW with Thomas: “Katedralen represents a more confident and honed collection of songs than Mork has ever had, at once immediately recognizable as Mork and becoming the natural evolution of the sound Thomas has been building since the inception of the project. These tracks marry a chilling aura of rising nocturnal demoncy with the storming caliginous fire of quintessential TNBM, rocking like a bastard whilst soaring with unmistakeable grandeur and grimness – the perfectly executed juxtaposition of epic, longing elements against primal neck-wrecking riffage ensure tracks ‘Arv’ or my personal favourite ‘Det Siste Gode I Meg’ (and any others really, they’re all fucking fantastic) will remain seared in your memory for an age.”
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17. Sarkrista – Sworn To Profound Heresy (Purity Through Fire / Worship Tapes)
Sounds like even more Finnish black metal perfected (by German transplants). Can you tell I’m partial to classic Finnish melody? Sarkrista are one of my favourites, and for very good reason – their third full-length uses those melodies to immediately plunge into a feeling that does not waver or fail for the entire record. A marvellous achievement from a band that hasn’t fucked up yet, and seemingly never will.
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16. Black Spirit – El Sueño de la Razón Produce Monstruos (His Wounds / Infinite Night Records)
Spanish raw black solo entity Black Spirit has been a regular showing on my Listcrushes of late, but this evocative full-length based on an aquatint by the late Spanish artist Francisco Goya is the sound of main man Javi hitting next level. Just released on vinyl via His Wounds a few days ago, too – order it or hate yourself. The sleep of reason produces monsters indeed.
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15. Misotheist – For The Glory Of Your Redeemer (Terratur Possessions)
Speaking of hitting next level, these Norwegians jumped up another three or four levels with For The Glory Of Your Redeemer. Immense, sprawling, intricate, multi-latered and multi-textured – no matter how many descriptors I spew out, the fact remains that this is purely and simply one of the finest examples of mystically and spiritually resonant black metal to emanate from Scandinavian shores in some time. Oh, and the LP packaging is probably the most luscious I received all year as well. Impressive all around.
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14. Kæck – Het Zwaarte Dictat (Folter Records / Hessian Firm)
Sounds like: a fucking tank (or something equally as heavy) crushing every bone in your body to dust. I REVIEWED this beast from the Dutch destroyers and gave it 4.5/5; in hindsight it probably should have broken the rating system and stood on its own because nothing else released this year was as infused with such ULTIMATE NEGATIVITY. So overwhelmingly bleak and brutal it becomes almost beautiful to witness.
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13. Los Males Del Mundo – Descent Towards Death (Northern Silence Productions)
I first heard this album when I was in intense physical agony whilst walking at night in the rain, and it hit me in such a way that it left an indelible mark on my soul. In fact, I think it ruined every other album of similar style that was released last year – nothing else matched up and all just sounded rather boring. Ergo, I have returned to this many times since and will likely continue to for many years to come. Sounds like: the very essence of trial and tribulation.
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12. Aquilus – Bellum I (Blood Music)
Sounds like: listening to someone far too talented to be creating music within the sphere of extreme metal. Speaking in a compositional sense Australian Horace Rosenqvist is streets ahead of everyone else on this list and Bellum I, unveiled ten years after his last release, is spellbinding as he trips the light fandango through a maze of gorgeous neoclassical or progressive soundscapes and technical blackened brutality with startling ease. I even get more out of tracks like the purely piano ‘Moon Isabelline’ than anything, which is saying a lot.
“What did the music mean to you?”
“I don’t know. It is full of emotion… but it’s not happy.”
Australian black metal project Pestilential Shadows has been around for quite some time now. The masterful Balam created the project in 2003, and I can say with hand on heart – out of five previous full-length albums and a handful of splits and demos, 2021’s Revenant is, in my humblest opinion, his finest hour with this project. The type of record that needs to be sat and listened to in order to appreciate the depth and spiritual resonance within, this took me completely by surprise – and I already expected it to be good. Just sit and listen. You’ll see.
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10. Koldovstvo – Ni Tsarya, Ni Boga (Fólkvangr Records / Babylon Doom Cult Records / Extraconscious Records)
If you want to understand the magic of this mysterious (possibly Russian?) entity, listen to the second track ‘II’ from their quietly affecting debut album Ni Tsarya, Ni Boga – if the combination of catchy eastern European melodies emanating from ancient aeons past, haunting clean vocals (that somehow remind me of Garm‘s opening cleans on ‘Wintry Grey’ every time I hear them even though they sound absolutely nothing alike) and harrowing shrieks all wrapped up in a delicately crumbling production doesn’t leave your jaw on the floor, you’re either one cold motherfucker or probably dead. The rest of the album is also neat. Will we see more from this enigmatic entity? Here’s hoping.
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9. Reverorum ib Malacht – Not Here (Rubeus Obex)
Sounds like: a biblical depiction of total and complete destruction, obliterating all, from the very mouth and voice of God Himself. I’m going to take a bit of liberty here and say you NEED to also listen to the pseudo-companion piece Svag I döden that was released alongside this record as well, because in my opinion, they are best consumed as a complementary pair. Both albums are impossible to fully explain or quantify in this short paragraph… just read my REVIEW to get an idea, then listen and be blown away.
Sounds like: early Xasthur being sucked into a black hole. Or a k-hole. Or both at the same time. Australian wretch Miasmyr‘s first full-length album in over five years did not disappoint in the slightest and only becomes more and more dysphoric and dissonant the deeper you fall in; I dare you to listen to this and not completely detach from reality. Supreme atmosphere.
Sounds like: ART. Six and a half years in the making, Zwart Vierkant not only is a work of art but deals with it in its subject matter as well. It’s based upon a novel written by founding member Ruben Wijlacker which “tells the story of an early 20th century painter who becomes obsessed with the Russian art movement, Suprematism, which idealises the abstract and rejects traditional artistic concepts” and this synergistic approach seems to inspire great creativity – which includes the disregarding of any elitist-imposed boundaries to carefully construct a dazzling stream of post-modern, almost surreal wonders and ruinous black metal to tell that tale. They take that black metal and wind it around their fingers like a cat’s cradle game, seamlessly incorporating different colored threads from any genre they see fit to create startling patterns; truly genre-bending and unique in the best spirit of the form and proving once again that the Dutch scene is one of the most forward-thinking in the world. An astonishing album that I had the pleasure of PREMIERING and speaking about with its creators, this is a modern classic that made an impact.
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6. Warloghe – Three Angled Void (Northern Heritage)
Sounds like: an album recorded in the ’90s, buried in a box under six feet of soil and only unearthed last year. No matter how eclectic my tastes can be these days as an old fuck, I’ll always remain that teenage elitist deep in my heart – you know, the guy saying black metal should be disgusting. It should be dark as pitch. It should attempt to summon forces beyond our reckoning. It should be the rotting, cancerous tumour destroying the world via sheer force of hatred… it should sound something like Warloghe‘s Three Angled Void.
I didn’t know this legendary Finnish project was busting out another album, but it certainly hit an unexpected and very welcome sweet spot for me. Building on their 2017 comeback EP Lucifer Ascends whilst ironically descending to more horrifying depths than they ever have previously, it might be nothing that people who’ve been around since before the Y2K bug fizzled out haven’t heard before – but it’s probably exactly what those people wanted to hear in 2021 without even realizing it. If Kæck up above was pure negativity, then Three Angled Void is the audio manifestation of loathing personified. Magnificent, and absolutely vile.
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5. Negură Bunget – Zău (Lupus Lounge)
Stright up – I did NOT expect Zău, the final swansong of Negură Bunget and tribute to Negru, to be this damn good. The previous few Negură Bunget records didn’t particularly land with me as they should have, but as soon as I pushed play on Zău I was breathlessly captivated from beginning to end and lost within the realm created by it. I’m listening to it again right now as I type, and still cannot believe how incredible it is. Sounds like: wandering the magical caves, mountaintops and glades of an icy world so pure, crystalline and beautiful you’ll feel your very spirit reinvigorate just by breathing the air of an album so immersive you can almost feel it in your lungs. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect parting note.
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4. Antichrist Siege Machine – Purifying Blade (Profound Lore Records / Stygian Black Hand)
“But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.” – Jude 1:10
You checked out the latest offering from blasphemic US annihilators Antichrist Siege Machine yet? If not, you’re fucking up in a big way because whilst 2019’s debut full-length ‘Schism Perpetration’ was an insane achievement, they’ve outdone themselves here – against massive odds, ‘Purifying Blade’ is a step forward in every aspect. A more razor sharp production means these riffs utterly lacerate your flesh as your bones are pummeled to dust, whilst their relentless savagery is given more dynamism (meaning they can now kill you in 36 different ways before your body hits the floor). Not one track is a dud, the interludes of bible verses are spot on – is it the best war metal release of the year? Yes. Have the piss beaten out of you and witness heaven being torn asunder by the entire thing below, if you don’t believe me. Vicious shit that sounds like… a knife in the very heart of God.
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3. CODE – Flyblown Prince (Karisma Records / Dark Essence Records)
And thus, the mighty and malignant < c o d e > did return. The UK progressive/avant-garde black metallers finally unleashed their wonderfully wretched and weird fifth full-length Flyblown Prince last year, and all I can say is… FUCKING HELL. Coming home to the experimental black venom of their early days yet also utilising some of the same softer-textured approach of their later work when necessary, the record is quite literally astonishing from the very first listen. This dark and dissonant nightmare fantasy was a hair’s breadth from taking out my album of the year slot, and is probably on equal footing with Resplendent Grotesque as my favourite of their works. Stunning.
“We hope you enjoy the album, and that the pain and toil was worth it. You eternally indebted wayside pastors…”
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2. Plebeian Grandstand – Rien Ne Suffit (Debemur Morti Productions)
If Flyblown Prince was a “FUCKING HELL”, Rien Ne Suffit by eschatonic French maniacs Plebeian Grandstand is a “HOLY FUUUUCK”. Idiosyncratic, intense, insane, barely music at times – Rien Ne Suffit cruelly smashes avant-garde black metal, jazz, hardcore, abrasive noise and mangled electronics together into something that sounds like total, ravaging mental torture. This record alternately makes you what to tear your hair out and smash through a fucking wall. You want the most messed up album of the year? This may just be it. And after two of the most mental albums you’ll hear in your life taking up the number three and two positions, we come to…
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1. Djevel – Tanker som rir natten (Aftermath Music / Tour De Garde / Mindscrape Music / Impure Wedding Productions)
…my album of the year. I fell in love with the seventh album from these Norwegian legends from the very first notes; by the time I’d finished my first spin I knew it would be an album that would become part of my musical DNA from that moment forwards. Why? Because this is absolutely quintessential, classic TNBM executed to perfection. The type you can feel. Moonlit magic whirls from these songs and embraces your soul with yearning, the riffs are incredible, hell even the acoustic break of the title track is mesmerizing – I’m not sure if it was the addition of Kvitrim of Mare on vocals/bass that’s made a difference (I certainly enjoy his vocals more, for what it’s worth) but whilst every Djevel album to this point has been great, Tanker som rir natten sounds like a band hitting upon their ultimate, true form. I never reviewed this, but I’d be hard pressed to not give it 5 / 5 and have almost worn the tape out already… if you haven’t listened yet, or you did and it didn’t click at the time, my sincerest advice to you is to give it another try. Majestic in every possible way, and I very, very rarely say this with any degree of seriousness… a modern masterpiece. Hail Djevel.
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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.
If I can get personal for a moment – I’ve been listening to black metal for about 27 years, and over that time I’ve thought long and hard about why exactly it is that black metal calls to me. Beyond all the sound, aesthetic, spirituality, whatever – what is it really that makes it resonate so much with me at my core? Over a quarter of a century I’ve been pondering this, and over the years I’ve come to the simplest, most base level conclusion: I fucking hate humanity.
I don’t mean that in any edgelord type of way, and of course there are many, many great people out there. For the most part however, we fucking suck. Generally speaking we’re a lying, conniving, greedy, selfish, self-absorbed, destructive bunch of assholes intent on making ourselves and all other life on the planet miserable; continuously dragged down by the unfortunate majority of us who are too stupid to see a way out and too cowardly and/or arrogant to take ownership of our failings and change even if we could (and pathetically crush those who ARE intelligent and brave enough to try to change things). This is why the hatred and negativity inherent in black metal really calls to me… and this is why Greek underground legends DØDSFERDsing directly to my soul.
For twenty (!!) fucking years now Wrath of Dødsferd has felt almost exactly the same and forged his own path, cutting a black, bleeding swathe through the bullshit of the world with authenticity and honour. He knows we are fucked, he sees all the wounds we blithely bestow upon ourselves and the world, and he wants no part of it. Back in 2007 he focused this hatred into his art (well, he always does, but in particularly pointed form this time) and created a seething masterpiece of loathing, entitled Suicide And The Rest Of Your Kind Will Follow… and now, fourteen years after that original expulsion of unrestrained negativity, he does it again with Suicide And The Rest Of Your Kind Will Follow II.
Sequel records are often iffy at best and a complete waste of time at worst, but II feels like a genuine and worthwhile follow up to the work of that initial masterpiece. The album format is the same (two longform compositions allowing maximum lethal hypnosis) and the songwriting proves that Wrath has never left that original incensed headspace, even after fourteen years. His vocals are just as emotive. The subject matter flows seamlessly on as an expansion of the first… but whereas that first record possessed more of a stereotypical DSBM sound, part two has been upgraded and bestowed with a relative clearness in comparison. It’s still rawer than most polished presentations but each of the instruments has their own space to breathe, and indeed one of the best things about the album is the interplay between all elements – ‘…The Red Lake Of Your Innocence’ is especially spellbinding as the layers of acoustic, electric and bass guitars (bass in particular the work of M. Sarvok ofSarvok) dance together over the nuanced work of drummer N.D (also of LeechesandGrabalongside Wrath, plus Sørgelig, Insanity Cult, Isolert and more). Apparently Wrath locked himself away in total solitude and did not sleep at all for four days whilst he worked on the album; it’s a testament to his talent and drive that he was able to put everything together so beautifully.
If ‘…The Red Lake Of Your Innocence’ showcases great compositional skill, second half of the record ‘Servants Of Ego And Filth: The Bastard Sons Of Nature‘ aims to hit all new lows of misery. A slower tempo, near doomy track with songwriting that sounds like it could almost comfortably slot into Katatonia‘s seminal Brave Murder Day with a few tweaks, it’s quieter, more contemplative and manages to somehow be even bleaker than its predecessor as Wrath speaks of “cherishing the hidden treasure of his last breath”. It has more horns (which did also show up in the first track, but are more pronounced here). It’s also a great companion piece to ‘…The Red Lake Of Your Innocence’ and equally as hard to fault.
So, both tracks rule. Are there any downsides to this album? Well, that (once again, relatively) more vivid production does create one slight potential pitfall for the listener – if you’re not a fan of hight-pitched shrieking DSBM style vocals you may find some of the first song in particular a little hard to swallow, as Wrath‘s howls seem to be pushed more upfront than ever throughout. But! As I’ve said in previous reviews of his work, they’re less like the painfully fake and overwrought wails typical of the genre and more infused with his own frustration, rage and despair, so unless you’re totally averse to that sort of thing they shouldn’t hamper enjoyment at all. Aside from that, I’d say for me the first track is slightly more impactful than the second; but that’s my personal taste and is a little like choosing between your two kids, really. Both songs are far above average. And anyway, as I have also mentioned in previous reviews – neither Wrath nor any member of Dødsferd will give a single fuck if you don’t like anything about the record. It isn’t made for anyone but them. It’s another expulsion of the darkness and emotion within man, a torrent of frustration, antipathy and outright disgust towards the human race… which, incase you hadn’t noticed, includes you.
All in all, Suicide And The Rest Of Your Kind Will Follow II is not only another killer album from project that seems to be getting better and better, but a surprisingly vital follow up to part one. After creating your opus negativa way back in the day, when the world hasn’t gotten any better and you still have a lot to say about the state of it all, why not do it again?
If you, like I, also strongly dislike people in general, this is the album for you (and Dødsferd will likely be the band for you). If you have a generally happy disposition towards the world and the way things are, one: you must be insane, oblivious or both, and two: steer clear of this album. It will fuck you up. This is an album borne of witnessing everything wrong with the our existence and fucking hating it. It’s a strange thing to say, but if everyone else was a little more like Wrath, I daresay the world would be a much better place.
RATING: 4.1 / 5
Suicide And The Rest Of Your Kind Will Follow II is available now. CD releases November 6th via Fucking Your Creation Records.
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Purchase Suicide… II digitally via the Dødsferd Bandcamp HERE. CD forthcoming via Fucking Your Creation Records.
When Diseased Remnants Of A Dying World dropped back in 2018, I said Greek underground black metal legends DØDSFERD were in the best form of their careers. Three years later and I’m standing by that statement, but with one small addendum – they’re STILL in the best form of their careers, as evidenced by their recent two-track EP Skotos.
Those titles might be fresh in your mind. If that is the case, then first of all congratulations on your sterling memory because they both came packaged together on CD via Transcending Obscurity Records a short time ago, and second: get ready to revisit that thought because now a glorious limited tape box of both album and EP has arisen via main man Wrath‘s own label Fucking Your Creation Records. Yes, we have spoken about both releases before (we even premiered ‘Skotadi’, for those playing at home) but because one can never have too much of a good thing – and also because I know many of you slack fucks would have missed it the first time we talked about it – we’re going to dive into both once more.
It must be said, straight off the bat, that Diseased Remnants Of A Dying World‘s epic opener ‘My Father, My Wrath’ is quite simply one of the most powerful tracks in the entire Dødsferd catalogue. Recently bestowed with a suitably haunting lyric and visualizer video (see above), the rolling acoustic resonance of it all hits home harder then almost anything else – Wrath‘s clean-sung cries are the sound of all the struggles and rage in man, the refusal to back down, the defiance and triumph. It ended up being one of my favourite tracks of the year back then and still receives regular spins throughout the BMD crytps.
The next thing that must be said, is a question: how the fuck do you follow such an incredible song with the rest of an entire album? Well, Diseased Remnants Of A Dying World makes a pretty good fist of it, kicking off with dynamic second track ‘An Existence Without Purpose’. Going in a different direction to that incredible opener is a smart move, allowing contrast and not diluting any lingering intensity. Beginning as a blaster before tracking through mellifluous melancholia and commanding rhythmic pulse, this track sets the scene for the rest of them to follow suit as Wrath allows his natural grasp of melodic riffs (and songwriting skill) to flow free – the space that this track exists in is indicative of how the album at large feels.
Of course, there are further key moments as the lengthy title track (over sixteen minutes long) paints a picture of wandering the decrepit ruins of a world that humanity has destroyed; a waltz for the endtimes. Or, the KILLER solo in ‘Loyal To the Black Oath’. Overall however, the album is remarkably consistent in maintaining an exquisitely positioned balance between bleakness and rage. You sense this is exactly how Wrath feels inside, existing in a duopoly of loathing and hopelessness… and that sense is only made stronger by the final track. ‘Back To My Homeland… My Last Breath’ is the sound of time ticking by as a man reaches his breaking point; almost more performance art than music as clocks and cello weave mysteries under the impassioned howls, screams and spoken word of Wrath, it’s definitely a lingering look inside the mind of its creator and a poignant way to end a remarkable album.
But wait! That’s not all, lest thou forget – Skotos also comes packaged in this deal. In our previous premiere, we said that “there is a deep mystery within the driving onslaught of ‘Skotadi’; 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.” Although the track itself is more furious and direct than much of the Diseased Remnants Of A Dying World album it flows perfectly on from it, continuing the personal energy it exudes despite three years having passed. The second EP composition ‘Cursed To Die At First Light’ is more of the same, but injected with an ever more anxious fervour – yet both also come from deep within the artist; an open stream of passionate hatred sent screaming into the light, to spit venom on the world around us.
That’s the real strength of Dødsferd‘s work – an honest, no bullshit, no frills or filters expulsion of the darkness inside, perfectly relatable to those of us who feel it too. It has always been this way across their twenty year existence and throughout multiple stylistic convictions, and this current iteration of the project is doing it better than ever. The only real negative to the whole release is that with such an immensely powerful opener in ‘My Father, My Wrath’ the rest of the material is cursed to play catch up; and although they are all still fucking great songs, they don’t quite reach the soaring heights of that opener. But that is in no way an indictment on them and says more about that stunning opening song than anything else… which is a very good problem to have, isn’t it?
Remember: that glorious limited tape box set is ONLY available from Wrath himself at Fucking Your Creation Records. Order your copy via the email link below before they all vanish, or grab an LP/CD via Transcending Obscurity Records – either way, if you somehow fuck about and miss this a second time around, it’s on you. Hails.
RATING: 4.1 / 5
Diseased Remnants Of A Dying World / Skotos is available now via Fucking Your Creation Records and Transcending Obscurity Records.
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Purchase Diseased Remnants Of A Dying World / Skotos on limited cassette box from Fucking Your Creation Records by emailing wrath_dodsferd@yahoo.gr, or on various other formats from Transcending Obscurity RecordsHERE or the Dødsferd Bandcamp HERE.
This, the plague year of 2021, marks the 20th anniversary of the misanthropic force of nature known as DØDSFERD. Rarely has a project been so driven; cleaving through the deepest underground for decades and countless releases, with singular unfailing purpose and their complete disregard and loathing for all seething across the globe. We’ve supported Dødsferd many, many times on these stained pages, and with good reason – the Greek masters of malevolence are the epitome of pure hatred for humankind. The beating heart of black metal, and embodiment of the scene. So, it is an honour once again to assist in spreading their darkness ever further and present to you the opening track from their latest EP – ‘Skotadi’, from the up upcoming Skotos.
Founder Wrath has crafted Skotos to be a very personal release. Everything apart from the unstoppable ND‘s drumming (and a surprising deviation from the norm regarding the writing of lyrics) is handled solely by the man himself, and the result is… well, for those familiar with Dødsferd‘s work, when listening to our exclusive premiere today it will be immediately clear that this is some of their best. For there is a deep mystery within the driving onslaught of ‘Skotadi’; 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.
In order to lift the veil a little further, Wrath had these declarations to share about ‘Skotadi’ and this special release:
“Skotos EP was composed and recorded after I moved from the big city of Athens, to my homeland, Ierapetra, in the island of Crete! I spent a lot of weeks isolated in the mountains of Crete, away from all these disturbing human beings, in order to calm the demons in my head and through this EP I managed to externalize the litanies I made in order to ease the anger of their voices!!!
“It’s the first time somebody else is writing lyrics for my band! But this man would be no other than my brother Bacchus (Grab)! He listened to the songs and sent me his lyrics! He listened to the songs and created the artwork of Skotos. He is part of my band, a part of my world! A part of the legacy of this journey!!! He is the only one who can understand and translate the voices in my head into art and for the first time in these forbidden lyrics!!!
“‘Skotadi’ speaks about the tragic end of humankind, burned completely and only ashes will remain!!! The sun won’t rise again, permitting darkness to cover the whole planet earth!!! No human legacy, no human leftovers will have the privilege and opportunity to leave their parasitic mark on this tired planet again; on this beautiful planet full of remarkable non-human species and refreshing nature, which has awakened and seeks for revenge!!!
“20 years since the birth of my band and these voices are still there!!!!”
– Wrath –
Unleashing in a variety of formats (7″ vinyl and and a CD packaged with the superb 2018 full-length Diseased Remnants Of A Dying World) and killer merch via the mighty Transcending ObscurityRecords, Skotos will also be revealed in in 100 hand numbered box cassettes of black and red under the banner of Wrath‘s own Fucking Your CreationRecords. Grab a copy of this imperious statement of intent while you can; for Skotos is Dødsferd at their most personal, yet most vital. A sure sign their torch will never burn out… that they will be desecrating the spirit of life for another twenty years. Hails.
Skotos releases 14th May via Transcending Obscurity Records and Fucking Your Creation Records.
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Pre-order Skotos on CD, LP or digital from the Transcending Obscurity Bandcamp HERE, or on cassette by emailing FYC Records at wrath_dodsferd@yahoo.gr.
“Death Shall Purify the Wounds of Your Fragile Mortality compilation album contains songs from different periods of my life, since the birth of my band; a world pure and ideal for the noble ones, the worthy servants of my Father. Grieve and mourn for the end of this world, you wasted sub humans! For me and my kind though offers only joy and a vital chance to create something new from the ashes of the old! My songs are everlasting, as also my hate and disgust for your parasitical behavior upon mother earth!”
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but my output for BMD has waned somewhat in the last month or so. This is due to one simple reason: I’ve been having an absolute cunt of a time and have barely had the energy or space to spend writing. My loved ones have been sick to the point of being hospitalized, my day job has blown up and I’ve been moved to a new location… the kind of stuff that piles on, drags you down and makes you feel like spitting in the face of the world. So, it’s rather fitting then that the first release I’ve sat down to write about in quite some time is a compilation of only the most depressive tracks from the most dedicated longtime purveyors of pure Greek darkness; Death Shall Purify the Wounds of Your Fragile Morality, from BMD favourites DØDSFERD. I still don’t have much time to write (things will look up soon, hopefully) but I simply had to draw your attention to this monolithic black hole of negativity – because it perfectly encapsulates all the loathing I feel for everything right now.
At first glance, drawing from almost two decades of work and twenty-nine releases for a compilation only seven tracks long might suggest a disjointed result – however Death Shall Purify the Wounds of Your Fragile Morality is far from that. Every track, although from a different era of the band, sits perfectly amongst its ilk and creates a remarkably cohesive experience of MISERY and HATRED (yes, capital letters are necessary). Assisting with that consistency from a sonic/production perspective is the fact that the oldest tracks have been taken from their 2015 re-recordings instead of the originals, but it is the particular wellspring of wretchedness that Wrath draws from that makes it timeless.
Why? Because it sounds REAL. His tortured howls on opener ‘Staring At The Forthcoming Chaos’ immediately set the tone and aren’t irritating or exaggerated like many DSBM vocalists; his delivery is just genuine emotion and feeling, devastatingly personal and relatable… which sums up the rest of the release, too. Not one element is neither polished too much and overdone, nor lacking. It all sits at optimum level for complete melancholic immersion. Nothing pulls you out of the experience. It’s so artfully composed, aware of itself, and when the time is exactly right to draw a feeling out it isn’t afraid to do so and allow the listener to languish in it; the lengthier tracks like the scathing (and my personal favourite) ‘Suicide And The Rest Of Your Kind Will Follow’ or the utterly immense ‘Million Deaths Inside’ only serve to flatten out the listener and drag them down into a near catatonic state. It KNOWS what you’re feeling, and wraps you up in it evermore.
And then, once all the compiled odes are sung, we come to the final throes – a fresh and original composition featuring the line-up of Wrath, ND of Sørgelig and m.Sarvok that proves these talented gentlemen don’t need to rely on the more typical strains of black metal to obliterate the listener. ‘Deterioration’ is an impassioned and lysergic crawl through mental torments that achieves pure darkness with largely clean(ish) singing and guitars – an unexpected and truly spectacular conclusion to an already ruinous odyssey, and the ultimate way to conclude the record.
Honestly, if you played this compilation for someone unfamiliar with the project they’d probably assume it to be a well-crafted full-length album. Given what I stated earlier, it’s perhaps no surprise that the rating I’m giving this compilation reflects not only the fact that it is put together in a near flawless manner, but is also a very personal rating too – because it resonates perfectly with me at this particular time in my life. You might find yourself in a similar space, or you might just be curious to check out another side of this incredible band. Either way, listen deeply. Let it purify your wounds… for it is a great pleasure to be miserable with Dødsferd.
As everyone with any shred of integrity should be well aware, the underground is always the place you’ll find the best stuff – and perhaps no man knows that more than Wrath. The man has been busy in the Greek underground with projects such as Dødsferd since around the turn of the century and has operated in the shadows, for the shadows the entire time. So it’s only natural that he’s now finally started his own label focused on true subterranean DIY ethics – FUCKING YOUR CREATION RECORDS & DISTRO.
Titled after the Dødsferd album of the same name, F Y C Records (as it’s abbreviated to) seems set to be equally as savage as that record, with a killer triumvirate of releases already out and infecting the world: a reissue of eighth Dødsferd album TheParasitic Survival of the Human Race, the debut self-titled Leeches demo that’s one of the best of the year and if you haven’t heard it yet you’ve been fucking up hard, and for one completely out of left-field, 2TheBone‘s debut EP of rock/punk entitled Bliss. All superb… and all sold out by now besides the Parasitic repress. However, you can check out the other excellent records and merch on stock at the label Facebook Page and hit up wrath_dodsferd@yahoo.gr to place your order – this label deserves your support and I can’t fucking wait to see what’s in store for the future.
Luckily, to enlighten us as to what exactly that may be we’ve scored the honour of having a chat with the man himself, Wrath! So read on below, have a listen to those three initial releases scattered throughout the interview… and hail F Y C RECORDS!
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Greetings Wrath, and congratulations for the formation of Fucking Your Creation Records & Distro! For those who don’t know, you have been active for around 20 years with Dødsferd, Grab, Nadiwrath and more… was starting a label something you always wanted to do? Why do you feel the time is right for it now?
– Thank you very much Aaron for your support and the chance you are giving me to present my label Fucking Your Creation Records and my way of thinking; the philosophy behind this label and my points of view on this self destructed scene. Rock ’n roll is not for everyone, especially for the ignorant masses!!! All these years working as a musician with labels, I understood that things have changed and they have managed to follow the worst case scenario for the underground scene. I was fed up with all this bullshit and I decided to create my own label, in which I could revive the underground philosophy and work with musicians and bands, which during these difficult periods for the underground music, they managed to stay loyal and faced this shitty culture of the masses with dignity and self respect. With the same respect, passion and devotion they will create with me a new era for the underground scene. I work only with individuals and bands that I knew from the past; these are the ones who have the will and guts to follow with me, not the easy path of fame, money and sold out of music identity, but the path that only true and honorable underground heroes follow. They care to protect and spread their philosophy, but with respect and dignity to the underground scene! Now that the scene is full with parasites who think they can become rock stars, only by spending money for their image and other vital stuff, that the nowadays labels have created, I decided to create my own label; a label only for the few, like my bands!!!
The label’s first three releases are superb – a reissue of the ripping eighth Dødsferd album The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race, the debut Leeches demo, and 2TheBone‘s debut EP of rock/punk entitled Bliss. Three unique releases, yet similar in a kind of punk ethos – is this an indication of the style of releases we will see on the label going forward?
– Thank you very, very much for your words!!! All of my bands are dedicated to the underground scene and their ethos is what my label seeks for in order to welcome them and be a significant part of FYC Records. Expect different kinds of genres but with the same philosophy and attitude towards nowadays’ fucked up scene!!! If I want to work with a band / musician that his / her style of music is pop / alternative or something completely different from what I have done all these years but it’s underground and loyal to his / her beliefs, I would sign them. I care only for my opinion and judgment!!! I don’t follow trends and who is going to sell more, or have more followers on his/her site.
2TheBone‘s EP Bliss is a particularly interesting addition to the label. What’s the story behind their signing?
– George Rigas, the man, the legend behind this band, is a real tough motherfucker!!! I knew him for more than 15 years. We had shared the stage with our bands, when I was still in Drunk Motherfuckers. We had also arranged a tour in the past. That was fucking underground!!! He is real and loyal to the underground propaganda!!! There was always a mutual respect and support and when I created this label, he was the first one to speak in order to release his work with his uncompromising band, 2thebone!!!! I released his EP in 50 hand numbered copies. It was sold out very quickly!!!! Now he is working on his debut full album that I am going to release in Digi CD format!!! True unstoppable rock’n’roll motherfucker!!!!
I must admit – I fucking LOVE the Leeches debut! It’s one of my surprise favorites of the year. How did this vicious stab into the heart of life itself come into being? Will there be a follow up?
– I like it too!!! The founder, drummer/guitarist of Leeches, N.D. is also the drummer of
Dødsferd and Grab! We know each other for more than 6 years and the last two years we have done so many things. One of it was the Leeches project!!! He just recorded the music and sent me the songs to record vocals!!! The result was the birth of this unholy project!!! And of course there will be a follow up!!! He is unstoppable too. He has already recorded some new songs and they are totally killer!!!!
The reissue of Dødsferd‘s great The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race contains ‘Stachtes’ – an extra track, freshly recorded for this release! Why did you decide to record another song?
– The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race is an album that was a fist in the face of the corrupted governments, their useless followers and their provocative laws, which the ignorant and brainless masses approved and followed blindly!!! They are trying to impose their deadly laws, in order to feed more and more their fat bellies and satisfy their thirst for more money and misery all over the world!!! Things got worse since then, so I wanted to re-issue this album, with a new song ‘Stachtes’, which means ‘Ashes’ and was suitable for this period of my life and this era. It’s totally dedicated to their fucked up measures and their parasitic way of living. They want to create puppets, crawling worms that could easily crash them whenever they disobey to their rules!!! Fuck ’em!!!! We will fight till the end and this world will be left in ashes, till we rebuilt it again with our values of justice and respect!!!
Stylistically speaking, The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race was markedly different to the two albums that follow it, and seven years has passed since its creation. Did you find it difficult to slot back into the energy of that album during the writing/recording of ‘Stachtes’?
– Not at all!!! I work for my band on full engines!!! I never do something if I don’t feel it!!!! ‘Stachtes’ is different from the rest of the album, ‘cause I am different!!! I record music, according to the demands of the demons in my head!!! It has its own energy and passion in a different way!!! It’s more violent and straight to the point! If you check also the official video for this song, on the official YouTube channel of my band, then you will understand how the feelings of total hatred and frustration drove me to create this song!!!
Given the style of your first three releases plus the fact that it is named after the savage Dødsferd album Fucking Your Creation, I see you have not mellowed in your approach! If F Y C Records were to have a “mission statement” for the future, what would that be?
– That alive or dead, young or old, alone or with my kind, I will still fucking his useless creation from all the corners of the earth, wherever I am and I will be!!!
The label was started shortly before the beginnings of the worldwide pandemic we have now found ourselves in the grip of. How have you navigated the label through these troubling times, has it affected your operations and plans at all?
– Nothing can affect me, except of my own self!!! If I want to do something, I will do it! I don’t gain money from my music, or my label!!! If I had to wait, I would wait, doing something else that would ease the demons in my head! So even if the world collapses, I will find a way to fulfill my vision! Only Wrath can kill Wrath!!! I can easily destroy all the things I have created and rebuilt them whenever I want, stronger and dedicated to my beliefs!!!
As a side note, you have created some incredibly misanthropic music over the years – you even have a song entitled ‘…And Disease Was Spread in a Matter Of Seconds’, which seems especially portentous now. What are your thoughts on current world events? How are you personally coping with it all?
– I feel anger, frustration and total disgust on nowadays world’s evolution!!! That is not progress!!! This is stupidity!!! People die every day because capitalists want to gain more money than they have!!! They convince them that this is life and they must accept it!!! Ignorant and useless masses fight each other, just to make these parasites richer!!! Corruption, cruelty over animals and nature, poverty, disrespect are some of the characteristics of the world we are living!!! These conditions are getting worst each day that passes by and all these maggots get away with the consent of the fucking masses! But nature will eventually wake as also all the worthy people who are struggling to survive and it will be destructive for the whole human race! Fuck humanity and celebrate the destruction of the masses!!! I managed to get away from the big city and isolate myself on my homeland, on the island of Crete. Closer to nature and animals I discovered the meaning of life! People and their parasitical behavior have destroyed all the values and beauties of this world! Away from them, I could start to breathe again and be more creative!!!
Pandemic aside, what have you found the most challenging aspect of running the label has been?
– To find the right persons to work with!!! It was very important for me to cooperate with people who would respect my vision and don’t bring me difficulties, obstacles on the path I have chosen!!!
As suggested in the title, the label also functions as a distro. What sort of titles will we find in there, and how do you select which albums you would like to stock?
– All the other titles I have on my distro come from the trades I had made with people from bands, labels, distro I also knew for years from the underground scene. I don’t contact with labels I don’t know, or with people I don’t trust, in order to bring stuff from them and satisfy my own “customers”. I am not into this kind of shit!!! I bring stuff only from people I know and when time is right, just to support each other!
Something I’m sure everyone will want to know – are you accepting demo submissions? If so, where can they be submitted?
– Of course I accept demo submissions. They have sent me great stuff so far, but I am really full for the next two years with releases from bands and individuals I admired and knew all these years in the underground scene and now is the time to support them and spread their propaganda!!! I have an obligation to stay loyal to the oath I had given, before I create this label.
Aside from music, you are also releasing merch and have several excellent shirts and patches available. Why did you also decide to release merch? Is it something you will continue to do?
– With my label, I have no restrictions. If I want to do something, I will do it! I was thinking also to publish books. I have a lot of things on my mind!!! In the future you will see more things from my label!!!
Someone approaches you and says they are thinking of starting their own label. What advice would you give them?
– I am not the one who will give any directions, advice on how to do something!!! I never asked for advice! I just did it!!! Whatever they need to know, they can easily find it! As long as they are true and dedicated to their vision!
Before this interview ends, I simply must sneak in an inquiry as to the status of your various other musical projects. What is happening with Dødsferd and all the rest? Any news or upcoming releases we should look out for?
– As I mentioned isolating myself from the big city to my homeland, the island of Crete has only benefited me!!! I have been more creative with my main band and I have created more projects different and unique for me!!!
With Dødsferd I just finished the recordings for the second part of Suicide and the Rest of Your Kind Will Follow album. Mixing and mastering has already started. In the meantime I am in the middle of recordings of another full album that returns to the first roots of the band! That will be ready till the end of this year. But I am not in a hurry! Transcending Obscurity is going to release later this year a new 7” EP that is called Skotos. I am also going to release through my label, a compilation album of the depressive era of the band, with a new song included. It will be released on digi cd format, limited tape format, plus merch. It is called, Death Shall Purify the Wounds of Your Fragile Mortality. Moribund Records will also release a compilation album, with the title …and Ashes Will be the Reminder of your Existence, with all my songs from the 7”eps and bonus tracks, plus two new unreleased songs and rare stuff from the first era.
With Grab, we are a full band since 2019 and we have already finished the recordings of our second full album. Till the end of the month it will be ready and I am going to announce more details soon about it on the facebook page of the band. I really can’t wait for this album to be released!!!!
With Leeches, I am just waiting for the CD and LP version of our first EP, to be released and in the end of the year we are going to start the recordings of the new songs. Maybe a limited t-shirt will be released by my label.
I have reactivated Drunk Motherfuckers. We are recording a new EP that will be released through my label.
I have formed a new project with m. Sarvok that is called G.N.L.S. (“Geometric Nictation of Lament’s Space”) and the debut album of this unique project will also be released by my label till the end of the year. You can check the first single of this project, ‘Vulnerable Secret’ on the official YouTube channel of Dødsferd.
Last, I have created Gin Lane, a project more into the post alternative indie sound. Till the end of the year I will start the recording of the debut album of it.
And finally – what lies in the future for Fucking Your Creation? Do you have any forthcoming releases lined up?
– I am going to release till the end of the year the Dødsferd’s compilation on digi cd, tape format and merch, as also the debut album of G.N.L.S on tape format and the debut EP, of a unique musician, m. Sarvok on tape format too. I have signed Gomgoma, a Greek doom death band and in the beginning of 2021 I am going to release their first demos on limited tape format and their debut album on digi CD and tape format, plus merch. Also, 2thebone will enter the studio to record their debut album, which I am going to release. A Nadiwrath compilation is also on my future plans. And more to come!!!
Sincerest thanks for your time, Wrath. All three best with the label! Total support. Any final words or wisdom for us all?
– Thank you very much Aaron for your great interview and your valuable support on my vision through my bands and label. Support the underground and never stop fighting for your freedom with dignity and inner strength!!! Respect nature and animals and stop following retarded masses and useless imposters!!!
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Deck the hails, we’re back again with PartTwo of ourLISTCRUSH series. You know the drill – a whole heap of BMD‘s favourite artists, labels and contributors all share their thoughts on which releases clawed their way scratching and howling to the top of the heap in 2018. The only rule they were given was: no rules. No genre restrictions, list as many or as few as they liked, in any format they chose.
As you can imagine there’s some seriously great selections to be found below (if you missed PartOne, check that out here) and some surprising choices; all of which give you great insight into the minds behind some of our favourite releases. So grab yourself another glass of eggnog or whatever and read on... there’s plenty more to come yet.
Svartidaudi – Revelations of the Red Sword Essenz – Manes Impetus Hissing – Permanent Destitution Abigor – Hollenzwang (Chronicles of Perdition) Urfaust –The Constellatory Practice Chapel Of Disease – And As We Have Seen The Storm, We Have Embraced The Eye Mare – Ebony Tower Ascension – Under Ether Spectral Wound – Infernal Decadence Funeral Mist – Hekatomb
Best Australian releases:
Golgothan Remains –Perverse Offerings to the Void Ploughshare – In Offal, Salvation Graveir – Cenotaph Encircling Sea – Hearken Convulsing – Grievous Nocturnal Graves – Titan Grave Upheaval – Untitled
1: Archgoat – The Luciferian Crown 2: Funeral Mist – Hekatomb 3: Master – Vindinctive Miscreant 4: Craft – White Noise And Black Metal 5: Harakiri For The Sky – Arson 6: Sathanas – Necrohymns 7: At The Gates – To Drink From The Night Itself 8: High On Fire – Electric Messiah 9: Fu Manchu – Clone Of The Universe 10: The Pineapple Thief – Dissolution
When I pick my favorite black metal albums of the year I run them through three categories:
1. How it makes me feel 2. Production 3. Musical skill
Feel is the most important because I can forgive bad production and skill if the band has the ability to make me feel something strongly. If all of these categories are met then I determine if every single song on the album is great and it doesn’t have any filler. The more filler that I think is in an album, the lower it is on the list. The majority of these barely have any filler though. These are my top 50 based on that criteria.
Honorable mention for In the Woods… – Cease The Day since it technically is not black metal but has black metal roots. Awesome album.
1. Eneferens – The Bleakness of our Constant (Atmospheric/Folk Black Metal) 2. Wilt – Ruin (Black/Doom Metal) 3. Drudkh – They Often See Dreams About The Spring (Atmospheric Black Metal) 4. Spectral Wound – Infernal Decadence (Traditional Black Metal) 5. Krahnholm – Granting Death (Atmospheric Black Metal) 6. Paths – In Lands Thought Lost (Atmospheric Black Metal) 7. Cosmic Autumn – Cosmic Autumn (Atmospheric Black Metal) 8. The Nightly Disease – Smell of Burning Wood (Atmospheric/Folk Black Metal) 9. Wayfarer – Worlds Blood (Atmospheric/Folk Black Metal) 10. Elderwind – The Colder the Night (Epic/Atmospheric Black Metal) 11. Avslut – Deceptis (Traditional Black Metal) 12. Dewfall – Hermeticus (Melodic Black Metal) 13. Trna – Earthcult (Atmospheric/Post Black Metal) 14. Midnartiis – With Reverence and Will… (Atmospheric/Folk Black Metal) 15. Pure Wrath – Sempiternal Wisdom (Atmospheric Black Metal) 16. Runespell – Order of Vengeance (Traditional Black Metal) 17. Infernal Coil – Within A World Forgotten (Blackened Deathgrind) 18. Soul Dissolution – Stardust (Atmospheric Black Metal) 19. Dauþuz – Des Zwerges Fluch (Traditional Black Metal) 20. Cân Bardd – Nature Stays Silent (Atmospheric/Epic Black Metal) 21. A Flock Named Murder – An Appointed Time (Black/Sludge Metal) 22. Ungfell – Mythen, Mären, Pestilenz (Folk Black Metal) 23. Mourning by Morning – Mourning by Morning (Atmospheric Black Metal) 24. Deus Vermin – Monument to Decay (Black/Death Metal) 25. Realm of Wolves – Oblivion (Atmospheric/Post Black Metal) 26. Cantique Lépreux – Paysages Polaires (Atmospheric Black Metal) 27. Rebel Wizard – Voluptuous Worship of Rapture and Response (Black/Heavy Metal) 28. Choria – Black Secret Beyond of Nature (Atmospheric Black Metal) 29. Morrow – The Weight of These Feathers (Atmospheric/Post Black Metal) 30. Sargeist – Unbound (Traditional Black Metal) 31. Firtan – Okeanos (Pagan Black Metal) 32. Convulsing – Grievous (Black/Death Metal) 33. Windswept – Visionaire (Atmospheric Black Metal) 34. Nachteule – Bergdorf (Atmospheric Black Metal) 35. Oubliette – The Passage (Melodic Black Metal) 36. Antlers – Beneath Below Behold (Atmospheric Black Metal) 37. Archgoat – The Luciferian Crown (Black/Death Metal) 38. Panopticon – The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness (Atmospheric/Folk Black Metal) 39. Windfaerer – Alma (Atmospheric/Folk Black Metal) 40. Afsky – Sorg (Depressive Black Metal) 41. Verheerer – Maltrér (Traditional Black Metal) 42. Solitvdo – Militia (Melodic Black Metal) 43. Immortal – Northern Chaos Gods (Traditional Black Metal) 44. Black Reaper – Celestial Descension (Melodic Black Metal) 45. Czort – Czarna Ewangelia (Traditional Black Metal) 46. Anicon – Entropy Mantra (Progressive Black Metal) 47. Uada – Cult of a Dying Sun (Melodic Black Metal) 48. Wild Hunt – Afterdream of the Reveller (Post Black Metal) 49. Untamed Land – Between the Winds (Epic Black Metal) 50. Октябрь – Октябрь (Atmospheric/Folk Black Metal)
At first I just wanted to pick 10 albums, but I couldn’t decide so I ended up with 40. Also most of the positions are rather random after a while, since I suck at making “best of” lists. I’ve mostly listened to non-metal music this year and I think it shows in this list (especially for the first place!). Many thanks to Aaron for reaching out and giving me the opportunity to write this article, it means a lot.
40: HISSING – Permanent Destitution (experimental black/death metal) – Profound Lore Records – hissingseattle.bandcamp.com/album/permanent-destitution Chaotic and swirling riffs, like a noise band gone death metal.
39: SELVANS – Faunalia (atmospheric black metal/progressive rock) – Avantgarde Music –
selvans.bandcamp.com/album/faunalia A huge step forward from Lupercalia. It sounds like a Morricone movie soundtrack mixed with progressive/atmospheric black metal, in the best way possible.
38: PORTAL – Ion (experimental black/death metal) – Profound Lore Records – profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/ion An improvement over Vexovoid, although Swarth is unbeatable. Actually, I want a Portal album made entirely of songs that sound like the 7th track on here, Spores. This track shows that Portal has the potential to excel in raw black metal too.
37: TIM HECKER – Konoyo (experimental/electro/ambient) – Kranky – timhecker.bandcamp.com/album/konoyo Not as good as 2016’s Love Streams, sadly, but Tim is a man of absolute talent and it shows even when he’s slightly less inspired.
36: AEVANGELIST – Matricide in the Temple of Omega (experimental black/death metal) – I, Voidhanger Records – i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/matricide-in-the-temple-of-omega Honorable mentions to their other 2018’s full length Heralds of Nightmare Descending, their compilation of re-recorded songs Veneration of Profane Antiquity and the reworked version of their debut Oracle of Infinite Despair, it has been a very productive year for the duo, both quantity and quality-wise. It was difficult picking between Heralds and Matricide… actually.
35: CONVULSING – Grievous (experimental black/death metal) – self-released – convulsing.bandcamp.com/album/grievous Unexpected and much awaited follow up to Errata, and an excellent one too. A desperate and dark black/death metal emotional rollercoaster.
34: MALTHUSIAN – Across Deaths (black/death metal) – Invictus Productions – malthusian.bandcamp.com/album/across-deaths If Antediluvian (Haasiophis did the cover art by the way) is “prehistoric chaos”, this is the equivalent of Earth cracking open and swallowing everything at the end of the world.
33: AKSUMITE – Vinegar Perimeter (punk/black metal) – Colloquial Sound Recordings – colloquialsoundrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/vinegar-perimeter Furious punk metal. I love Colloquial Sound Recordings’ output and it’s a bit of a shame they slowed down with the amount of releases over the years, they have many interesting oddballs in their roster. Honorable mention to DM‘s main project A Pregnant Light‘s compilation Lucky All My Life/Devotion Unlaced.
32: SVARTIDAUDI – Revelations of the Red Sword (black/death metal) – Vàn Records – svartidaudi.bandcamp.com/album/revelations-of-the-red-sword Excellent follow up to Flesh Cathedral. The melodic leads and passages in the riffing are superb on this.
31: DAGGER LUST – Siege Bondage Averse to the Godhead (black/death metal) – VRASUBATLAT/Invictus Productions – vrasubatlat.bandcamp.com/album/vt-xix-siege-bondage-adverse-to-the-godhead Notable mentions for the other VRASUBATLAT material out in 2018 as well: Utzalu, Pissblood, Filth Column, Adzalaan and Serum Dreg, but Dagger Lust‘s album was the one that impressed me the most. Furious primitive black/death metal, as brutal as its title.
30: PANDISCORDIAN NECROGENESIS – Outer Supernal (experimental black metal) – Gilead Media – gileadmedia.bandcamp.com/album/outer-supernal Improvised black metal played all simultaneously, courtesy of Ephemeral Domignostika (also a member of Mastery and Pale Chalice). And it almost sounds like a full band! Notable mention to PN‘s EP Eigenwelt, also out in 2018.
29: MAMALEEK – Out of Time (experimental rock) – The Flenser – mamaleek.bandcamp.com/album/out-of-time Mamaleek has become something similar to an experimental rock band by now, but I really appreciated their progression during their career and this album is so damn weird and uncategorizable.
28: ALTAR OF PERVERSION – Intra Naos (raw black metal) – The Ajna Offensive – altarofperversion.bandcamp.com/ Three hours of black metal are a tad too much to endure in the long run, but this album is so damn ambitious and grandiose.
27: DAVID GARLAND – Verdancy (experimental folk) – Tall Owl Audio – davidgarland.bandcamp.com/album/verdancy This is four hours long experimental record, but’s a damn beautiful experience. Absolutely check out the different versions of the CD packaging, great choice of colors and “verdant” aesthetics.
26: SLUGDGE – Esoteric Malacology (melodic/progressive death metal) – Willowtip Inc. – slugdge.bandcamp.com/album/esoteric-malacology Surprisingly good melodic death metal with clean vocals. It’s also about SLUGS!
25: JUTE GYTE/SPECTRAL LORE – Helian (experimental black metal) – I, Voidhanger Records – i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/helian It’s more of a collaborative album than a standard split for its ambition. Jute turns all he touches into mictrotonal gold.
24: CALIBRO 35 – Decade (funk/jazz) – Record Kicks – calibro35rk.bandcamp.com/album/decade Their music is inspired by Italian ’70s crime movies, their most recent albums have some space-rock elements as well. You should absolutely check them out.
23: BARST – The Endeavour (drone/experimental rock) – Consouling Sounds – barst1.bandcamp.com/album/the-endeavour Layered, multi-formed and ever transforming during the course of its 43 minutes, while keeping its “drone jam” quality.
22: BODIES ON EVEREST – A National Day of Mourning (experimental/industrial rock) – Third-I-Rex – bodiesoneverest.bandcamp.com/album/a-national-day-of-mourning The description on their Bandcamp reads “Dedicated to a car park in Sarasota FL, a wall in Harrisburg, PA, a chlorine tank, a photograph of a fishing net, a fire extinguisher, a lawyer at a railway station, a section of the pacific ocean near the coast of Chile” and the album is the experimental/industrial equivalent of these evocative vignettes.
21: HIMELVARUWE – Hemelpoort (raw black metal) – self-released/The Throat – himelvaruwe.bandcamp.com/album/hemelpoort Notable mentions to his two EPs also out in 2018 as well: Zwaluwenvesting and Het Okenbare. This is a project of the mastermind behind Kaffaljidhma, with an unique aesthetic and a weird approach on raw black metal.
20: SOLAR TEMPLE – Fertile Descent (atmospheric black metal) – Haeresis Noviomagi/Eisenwald – solartemplehn.bandcamp.com/album/fertile-descent Notable mentions to Haeresis Noviomagi‘s other two major outputs this year: Iskandr‘s Euprosopon and Fluisteraars/Turia – De Oord. All of them are great but I think I like Solar Temple‘s “sunny” take on atmospheric black metal the most.
19: EHNAHRE and HADEAN – Rites for Winter (freeform/experimental rock) – self-released – ehnahremetal.bandcamp.com/album/rites-for-winter Collaborative mini album, with lyrics adapted from the eponymous poem by Weldon Kees. A continuation of the recent Ehnahre dissonant jazzy style like on The Marrow, which I loved last year.
18: SUMAC & Keiji Haino – Keep Facing Sideways, You’re Too Hideous To Look At Face On (noise rock) – Thrill Jockey – sumac.bandcamp.com/album/american-dollar-bill-keep-facing-sideways-youre-too-hideous-to-look-at-face-on Notable mention to SUMAC‘s Love in Shadow, also out this year. It was hard picking between these two, but I think I like Keiji Haino‘s crazy noise input a bit more.
17: HERE LIES MAN – You Will Know Nothing (psychedelic rock/afrobeat) – RidingEasy Records – hereliesman.bandcamp.com/album/you-will-know-nothing-2 Afrobeat mixed with psychedelic rock. Weird, but I’ve never heard something like this before. These guys are criminally overlooked.
16: ASSUMPTION – Absconditus (funeral doom metal) – Sentient Ruin Laboratories/Everlasting Spew Records – everlastingspewrecords.bandcamp.com/album/absconditus A proggy and even more atmospheric take on dISEMBOWELMENT, which I love, so I like anything inspired by them almost by default. Best Italian metal album this year.
15: ANICON – Entropy Mantra (melodic black metal) – Vendetta Records – anicon.bandcamp.com/album/entropy-mantra Impeccable mixture of melody and technicality in black metal. Great drumming by Krallice‘s Lev Weinstein.
14: S U R F I N G – INCUBO (vaporwave) – self-released – surfing.100percentelectronica.com/album/incubo Vaporwave did its time by now, but I wasn’t expecting a comeback album from S U R F I N G. They mostly work with original material without relying on samples and manage to avoid vaporwave’s usual trappings, so this doesn’t feel like a “meme” album at all, quite the opposite.
13: SLEEPWALKER – 一期一会 (experimental rock/metal) – Sentient Ruin Laboratories/Annapurna Production – sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/- New Sleep? More like new SLEEPWALKER! This is the real deal, an insane fusion of psychedelia, progressive/kraut-rock, jazzy passages and dISEMBOWELMENT. Many things I love condensed into 24 minutes.
12: DAUGHTERS – You Won’t Get What You Want (industrial/noise rock) – Ipecac Recordings – daughters.bandcamp.com/album/you-wont-get-what-you-want- Everyone is talking about it and rightfully so, it’s that good.
11: DEATH GRIPS – Year of the Snitch (experimental hip-hop) – Third Worlds/Harvest Records – youtube.com/watch?v=rX3rmlHG4XM Another unpredictable album by the guys. This time they even throw in a dose of krautrock for a change.
10: ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER – Age Of (experimental/electro) – Warp Records – youtube.com/watch?v=tN4mV_jB-y0 Sadly it’s a huge step back from Garden of Delete and it’s not some of his best material, but it’s slowly growing on me and when it works, it’s stellar.
9: SAINTE MARIE DES LOUPS – s/t (raw black metal) – Fallen Empire Records – saintemariedesloups.bandcamp.com/album/sainte-marie-des-loups Raw black metal album of the year hands down. The ending of Sermons Sanglants might go on forever for all I care.
8: ZEAL AND ARDOR – Stranger Fruit (r’n’b/spirituals/metal) – MVKA Music – zealandardor.bandcamp.com/album/stranger-fruitManuel Gagneux really knows how to make a catchy chorus and make the improbable mix of metal and spirituals/r’n’b work.
7: TETHERS – It Bows By Day (guitar ambient) – Lurker Bias – tethers.bandcamp.com/album/it-bows-by-day These guys deserve more credit and exposure. Their guitar-ambient perfectly recreates the melancholic serenity and desolation on the cover artwork.
6: KNELT ROTE – Alterity (grindcore/black/death metal) – Nuclear War Now! Productions – youtube.com/watch?v=2NHO41PQa9Q An ultraviolent equivalent of a brick to the teeth. A shame these guys split up (the album is posthumous, actually), but that’s an excellent way to end your career on a high note. It’s probably going to be a landmark on the subgenre for years to come.
5: RANDALL DUNN – Beloved (electro/ambient) – Figureight – randalldunn.bandcamp.com/album/beloved Beautifully soothing album. Plus it has Zola Jesus and Frank Fisher from Algiers as guests, what’s not to love?
4: IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT – Vile Luxury (jazz/black/deathmetal) – Gilead Media/The Alchemy Lab Records – imperialtriumphant.bandcamp.com/album/vile-luxury Oh man I love jazz mixed with extreme metal, A swirling mix of black/death metal and saxophone madness. Their Metropolis-influenced imagery of vintage New York goes along perfectly with the music.
3: TOBY DRIVER – They Are The Shield (experimental/ambient rock) – Blood Music – blood-music.bandcamp.com/album/they-are-the-shield I really like the direction Toby has taken both with his solo project and the most recent Kayo Dot albums. Delicate yet intricate. Notable mention for his darksynth side project Piggy Black Cross‘s Always out of R.E.A.C.H. with Bridget Bellavia.
2: CHAOS ECHOES – Mouvement (jazz/black/death metal) – Nuclear War Now! Productions – chaosechoes.bandcamp.com/album/mouvement An instrumental black/death metal album that plays like a free-jazz jam. Ornette Coleman goes blasting. Notable mentions for their collaboration EP with Mats Gustafsson and OCRE‘s s/t 7″, a collaboration between bassist Stefan Thanneur and Michel Langevin from Voivod.
1: CLARENCE CLARITY – Think: PEACE (experimental pop/r’n’b) – Deluxe Pain – youtube.com/watch?v=C8Z_arswO4w Same as 2015, the first position belongs to him. While probably not as good as No Now, and also less layered and more accessible, Think: PEACE is a super catchy, yet complex pop album. Clarence Clarity is once again the absolute master of choruses, every single one got stuck into my brain for days. It’s nice to hear mini-suites, guitar solos and prog-rock-like reprises in r’n’b.
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… Parts One and Two down. Stay tuned for part Three.Hails.
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