What we learned this year's Black Metal History month is that Totalselfhatred still rules just in a different way. That Mercyful Fate have the mood and sincerity in their music that helped make black metal what is is today. That the old classic Darkthrone might have been a ground breaking sound, but far from perfect when it comes to song writing. Writing songs that hold up as well over the years as Maiden or Mercyful Fate. Yes, I know Iron Maiden is not black metal, but the genre you are in should not dictate how well you write a song. I won't accept that's good for black metal. Be good no matter what you play. You can vomit up grind core, but make something that is your own and makes people want to hear it again.
I learned while scouring the inner webs for new black metal to cover that death doom seems to be a big trend this year, as there is a ton of it coming out and you just haven't been hit with it yet. That there are still many black metal bands coming out doing something new and interesting and some shitty ones that are just making noise. This can be said for most genres but like punk when it's ok to put out lo-fi product, people think anything works. But there is hope for black metal...we think. That hope might be challenged as bands like Taake allow themselves to be bullied by social justice warriors. While no one wants a Nazi, America continues to be intolerant of accepting the rest of the world doesn't think like they do. The whole melting pot concept for a country is still new in the grand scheme of things and rushing to defend the world might not be a good idea as we are starting to see America heading in the direction of Rome. Of course America run by collective ego refuses to see this instead they continue to run their corporation into the ground. Older countries have learned being neutral and isolating might be the way to go. Dwarin's theory is at work in the world, so why bother saving those better purged of a planer under the plight of over population. In other words to bake a cake you gotta break some eggs. But in order for that to make sense you have to accept other perspectives or it's you who is intolerant.
What does this have to do with black metal? Why did you go off on a rant? If black metal not misanthropic? Is not isolating the key of misanthropy? Here is where we see who is a poseur and who holds to their beliefs. Do we want all the balls to be taken out of metal? If black metal bands are to sing out Satan, then what would Satan do? What would Satan think of Young and In the Way who were Taake's touring mates go accused of sexual misconduct. He if he was an entity might ask...How do you want a metal band to behave? What did Led Zeppelin get accused of ? This is more than likely a groupie who go buyers remorse and had some regrets about getting gang banged by a metal band. Black Metal is about spreading the darkness , which should never be a pretty picture. If you want the world to be a pretty picture, I think we have learned it's not for you.
It is fitting to end Black Metal History Month with this band from Finland I have a lot of history with . By that I mean they are one of my favorite bands. It had been 7 years since their last album. This band from Finland had a more aggressive take on depressive black metal, so it is hard to complain about what goes down as it's so well done. My ears can not escape the fact that the first song falls neatly into the depressive black metal box, where their earlier work had more of a unhinged feral quality to it. I also don't remember synths and piano playing as big of a role as they do here. The album really needed to be played loudly in order to soak in all the layers.
The bass comes to the forefront of "Cold Numbness". The guitars kind of fall back into being guitar fuzz as the drummer pours the double bass on much thicker. I am not sure why it feels like the guitars are taking a back seat here, perhaps it's wrestling with the massive drum sound in the mix. They have not forsaken their black metal side. The groove to "Hallow" wins me over in the song's first few seconds. The guitars come up in the mix. The vocals are screamed just as manically as ever. I'll have to go back and listen to the first two albums again, but it sounds like the drummer is stepping it up in terms of a more nuanced performance. The vocals finally capture the kind of anger they use to on this song as well.
The first couple minutes of "Black Infinity" finds them riding a cloud of atmosphere before blasting back into it. The vocals trade off between the higher shriek and a lower growl. The ride the deafening pulse out til just a little past the last three minutes ebb back down again and build it back up into another dramatic blast. The last song finds them going from a more introspective tone that gets jams out into something closer to post-rock than what we have heard from these guys before. It builds from there though they hold back from getting really crushing until the last minute which shows a lot of maturity on their part. In fact maturity is one of this album's characteristics. Gone are the rock god solos, but everything is still well played and there is no doubt they are excellent musicians who have grown up to serve the song. I'll around this album up to a 10. Finds them a little more mellowed with time, but with a wider depth of emotion.
The first full length after coming from Bestial Warlust there is a darker sound than what we have heard from the band's more recent effort. The vocals are harsher and a more feral hatred possesses their rasp. They are more black metal than death metal and and over all more sinister mood hangs over what is being done here. They are not blazing fast but have a very determined march to the tempo. For 1997 this is pretty fucking heavy. The mainstream metal world at the time was pretty distracted by nu-metal at the time this was released. In America hard-core was also on the rise which would later lead to Myspace Metal.
The Venom school of thrash that is similar to where the band is now , was also present here. As is the brand of thrash that has more in common with early Slayer. There is even a more pagan gallop of "Tyranny of the Inevitable". The vocals take on a lower croak here. The guitars are not as blazing on this album, making me wonder if they developed more of a coke problem later on. Sometimes the vocals here feel a little more though out than others. There is a more black metal feel to the blasting of "Six Curses of a Spiritual Wasteland". The vocals might be the best part of this song. The drums and the guitars seem to be playing against one another. I am also a fan of getting drunk on the blood of angels. the strangeness begins to creep in on "Rome Wasn't Destroyed in a Day / Unchain the Wolves" as it starts off with synth strings creating atmosphere around a spoken word drone. Once it kicks in it's more punk rock in the song's attack. It goes into a slower gallop and the mix provides enough atmospheric effects to keep things surreal.
The last actual song is "Damnation's Pride". The vocals once again take on more of a croak here. Musically it's pretty straight forward. The drums are the least interesting element to this song. I'll give this album an 8.5, it's pretty solid with interesting production choices. I like the fact it's darker than their current song even if it's not a catchy.
The opener from the new album by this Swedish band finds them leaning more toward the black metal side of the blackened death metal equation. It is doubtful they sat around and said of lets throw in the death metal here and there ,as it feels more organic than that. It is well produced and executed. The guitars and drums are at the top of their game. While I am impressed by the first song, there is the fear that this will run into the problem most bands of their ilk run into , which is blow their wad on the first song leaving you asking "Well what else can you do?" The band admitted to lifting their name from the Slayer song and lyrical they are a mish mash of vague satanic sentiments about devil's children with little in the way of actual occultism to back it up. The few passing references to the real occult elements are in such a passing way it's still the normal metal trappings.
They continue to show taste in the guitar that opens the second song. It's a cleaner tone that sets a mood rather than just running you over from the jump. This song eventually goes for a more of a thrash tinged gallop. If you are into guitar solos these guys do them well. While I am not as impressed by the second song they know what they are doing. It is not the most cvlt thing going, in that it will still appeal to fans of mainstream metal who own Amon Amarth albums. You can hear the Swedish death metal influence , perhaps more than the Dissection, which is buried under more layers until perhaps the verses of "Tsar Bomba". It's certainly a catchier song that owes more to "Reinkaos" that the "Somberlain". They return to the clean guitar that opened the song in the middle. So they get credit for trying to have a wider dynamic range. There guitar solos here almost sound like synths.
"Lamashtu" is about some kind of demon queen. The song itself indulges in a great deal of guitar flash and blast beats. This album is another example of how production alone can steer songs toward another genre. If this was more lo-fi it would fall closer to black metal. The song"Sacrosanct" chugs long the same lines as the previous so I am more impressed by "Pesta" since it has more of a dynamic range. They slow into more of a groove for "Requiem For a Dying Sun". They are back to a more series blasting on "Crown of Horns" has a more thrash like attack. They allow for more breathing room on the darkly melodic "From the Great Above" . The vocals carry more of a thrash rasp on this one. This album is very well made, preformed , and written. A little more on the Dissection based than what I need , but done in a more original manner than Cloak. I will give this one an 8.
This month we already went back and gave another listen to Darkthrone's "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" album to see if it does indeed hold up over time. All too often we regard album's as classic without giving further though to if they really are , So here comes this one which is often of as being part of a classic trilogy that also includes "Under a Funereal Moon" . Varg from Burzum, wrote the lyrics to half this album. So hipster black metal fans who are into Darkthrone , but don't like Burzum for whatever reason, well there you go is all I feel like saying. These days anymore and you get called a racist. Opening with the title track they hit you with what you have come to now think of as black metal. If you don't at least know how pure and cold this song is then you don't listen to black metal so I am not sure why you are even reading this.
"Over the Mountains and Through Thorns" just kind breezes by you in a blasting breeze. This demonstrates this album's hypnotic quality to where there is a throbbing drone to this album. "Bard of Satan's Sun" has this quality to some extent , but more metallic anger in it's attack so the intensity level is more keyed up."Castle In the Distance" has a dark pulse to it. It works off a tremolo picked guitar riff that becomes more like a wavelength when set against the crash of the cymbals. When we get into "Halls of the Tomb of the Fog Kingdom" they songs begin to blur together in their more uniform pulse. It's easy now to take this for granted since up until this point there was not much like this now every black metal band sounds like a variation of it.
"In a Hall With Meat and Mead" is a little repetitious. The best thing about the song is you can hear the bass beginning to cut through.Of the two songs that close out the album the last is the most interesting as the vocals have a little more anger to their rasp and give the feel a little more aggression where the song before it pretty much does what the others are doing . I'll give this album an 8.5 in regards to how it stands the test of time. This eliminates the it was a ahead of it's time argument, because we have already passed the time it was ahead of and now looking at how it sounds right now. Still it's a pretty decent score held back by the uniform mature that causes many of the songs to sound the same.
It's very seldom that I will take the time to review a single. How much is there to be said about one song? But when it's the first new song you have heard from one of your favorite bands in 7 years that is news worthy, and that band happens to make songs that are interesting enough and that varied and layer to find things so say about it . Here is the new single "Inter dimensional Summit" coming from the band's first album in 7 years "Eonian". They are nice enough to release it on May 4th which is my birthday. They used to be one of my favorite black metal bands and then they evolved into symphonic metal. The new trend for these guys are these spiked leather hoodies. Not the most cvlt thing to wear, and it seems they have had very elaborate costumes that are specially designed for sometime this go around they have a much more uniform look. At least Shagrath is not wearing white like last time. The sung chorus on this song that Shagrath is lip synching to sounds like something from a Therion album. Shagrath switches back from the lower croaked spoken voice what has a great deal of flanger on it to an articulated growl. Not as wide of a range as he heard from him on the song "Gateways".
Geir Bratland their keyboardist plays a much larger role and his synth riff at one part is very prominent, despite Shagrath continuing to insist that Dimmu is a 3 piece band.
The guitar tone is where we are seeing a cleaner more commercial metal crunch and less of a black metal tone. It's actually the least heavy aspect of the song aside from the sung vocals on what is the chorus.There are some riffs which are accented much differently than what we have heard from them in the past. It doesn't just work off of a static chug or gallop. No blast beats to speak of. There is a section for a guitar solo that is actually the most aggressive and thus the heaviest part of the song. I think there is some promise for the new album. Hopefully they are not going around and telling the press that old heavy metal lie of this is going to be our heaviest album yet. There is also a less satanic vibe, sure there is a begin neon pentagram in the back ground but I can also see this adorning the stage at a Weeknd concert. Don't hold your breath for "Stormblast" that is for sure. It is however fun listening and very true to the band they have evolved into being , I think we would have been bored by now if they kept re-cycling "Storm Blast". So here the wait begins, until then you can check out the song below.
Warslut is back with something is almost more like W.A.S.P than black metal, though the opener does vary in it's level of blackness from passage to passage. But I'll grandfather it in as it is as black metal as Venom...though closer to "Calm Before the Storm" than "At War With Satan". They guitar sound is dialed in. The vocals are standing on the monitors and in your face. The vocal performance is executed in more of a 80s thrash shouted style of singing . There are some black metal tinged rasps thrown in. The drumming is very animated, but where it needs to be. I think the guitar benefits more from when things are not as busy, considering the speed these guys are thrashing at.
The vocals to "Stone By Stone" remind me of "Captor of Skin" when they are more rasped. The title track is like a mix of Venom and Judas Priest. Not as catchy as the first song. It is fun. I think the rapid fire guitar parts come across as a little bright in their pyro-Technics. This ep is not as dark as the "Wildfire" album though it takes you back to the classic days of 80s metal so will appeal to those who liked that album. "Trialed By Fire" starts off with more delicate guitar and a spoken word muttering in the distance. I think it's a wise dynamic move as the first three song moved at a similar tempo so a fourth song of that kind would have started to feel like the same old same old.This song also feels the most black metal of the four to me.
These songs are really well done. My only disappointment is I was hoping for a full length so I will have to go dig up some of their older albums. I'll give this one a 9. It shows the most growth on the production end as their is a bigger sound that allows for more attention to detail and proves this band can stand shoulder to shoulder with any metal band. I look forward to catching them Watain next month.
This is the first album from this band out of Portland. They try to be so dense and intense it threatens the definition of what is music. Any where you look it says their lyrics are about sexual depravity. While that sounds great, they are screaming in English and you can not under a word they are saying. Mostly blast beats and the dual screams of lower death metal gurgle and a higher vocal that sounds like they are clearing their throat. Its a good thing their songs are short as it is really hard to take more than a couple minutes at a time as each song seems to be more chaotic than the one before. Very raw to the point of the distortion and feed back causes power violence buzz or electric fuzz. "Black Blood in Mockery" is unable to distinguish it self from the song that came before it and continues to be a blur of noise.Almost to the point of it being hard to really find any redeeming quality.
They allow a bass line to ring out and provide the first breathing room on " Perverse Divine" . This is the bands first musical moment. It shows less is more from these guys. You are of course waiting for them to take a chainsaw to it. The blast back into what they have been doing previous to this on the song that follows, which at this point is like naming your farts for me to list song names. It had more in common with dropping a washing machine down a stair well than it does Darkthrone. It is dark enough and blasting enough to qualify as black metal. They bring it back down to trying to tune their bass on the second to the last song. Yelling the vocals more than growling them. You still can't make out anything they say. The title track is more of the same that we have already gotten from these guys.
So do you like noise ? I prefer music. I'll around this album down to a 2. It might be the lowest score I have giving a band. If you like noise, I would suggest that while you can round this album up to whatever you want you are more likely to benefit from sniffing glue and beating your self win the head with a hammer.
This project out of France seems to confuse people on multiple levels. People don't know who else is in the band aside from Kaiser. Lyrically it has been implied that the lyrics are political despite Kaiser say thing otherwise, this may or may not be due to the fact it implicates them as being National Socialist.Kaiser said this is untrue due to the fact the songs don't deal with the Aryan race but a distaste for all humans.He wrote the songs so I guess he would know best. Though the inner webs will tel you it happened on the album "the Planet Zog". I am really only paying attention to the album at hand and it is a mean fucking ripping son of a bitch. There is a slight German hint to some of the vocals on the song "I Am Love". Double bass buries you on the song, "Consecrate the Abomination", before the find a convincing groove.
These songs a very compact, almost punk influenced in their wild aggression that goes for the throat in a very straight forward manner. The first song where they throw a ton of blast beats at you is the title track. The drumming on this album is fan-fucking-tastic. It would be all the more impressive if Kaiser did indeed play everything on this album. There is more of a Shining feel to the black n roll of "Goatfucker". Despite some of the song titles they seems very serious about what they are doing. Sure "Cult is Alive" punk Darkthrone could be a reference point , but there is a bigger more militant sound to what is going down here. With this being the case it is worth noting that these songs sound pretty solid from a production stand point. It doesn't sound like the amps are blown out and I would not say this is raw, but it is aggressive. While they don't drone, they do play off of a riff for what sometimes seems like a long time. It is not until "Imperial Massacre" that there straight forward nature begins to wear on me.
"Bomb the Earth" is just a blast fest like all the other blast fests. When double bass is added to pound the point into your head its clear there is a fair level of conviction behind it. There is a little more atmosphere leading into "You Are My Slut". The vocals alternate between a low spoken word approach on the verses and then building up into a distorted rasp. They close the album with "Vatican Gay" that has a more pronounced thrash chug to it that is accented by gang vocals. I'll give this album an 8.5. It's possible like the new Ilsa the more straight forward songs will grow on me. These guys are certainly worth checking out if you want black metal with a dense punk tinged thrashing to it.
This album is being released on April 13th by Osmose Records.
This German band is not what I expect from Fallen Empire as they are way more melodic. There is plenty of atmosphere. They use keyboards well and combine traditional black metal with sweeping sonics that encompass a sound of their own making. The vocals are crazed growls. They are not afraid to really get metal and gallop. There is even a breakdown in this song that shows a powerful sense of dynamics. The drums on "Vertigo" slow down as the band hits a more throbbing groove. The vocals are a throaty mid range. I can begin to hear the German influence when they hit a marching beat.
The title track almost starts like a Metallica song.It throbs more than Metallica, though the harmony guitar melodies sound like a marginally more depressed take on classic metal. It does go into more of a traditional black metal blast beat here. When they keep the going to storm into "anima sola" the sound more like everyone else and I hear less of their distinctive voice that we got earlier in the album. When it gets to what would be the chorus they slow into more of a thrashing section. This reminds me more of Possessed. The chanting that is sampled in towards the song's second act helps re-establish the needed atmosphere they had begun to forsake.
"Nachtfall" finds the band slowing down going into the song. This gives them the breathing room they need and you can actually hear the bass. Before the minute mark they are back into the blast. This makes them sound more or less like the bulk of other black metal bands. There is a sweeping gallop to it and the drummer prefers double bass to blast beats most of the time which certainly helps. There is a cool unexpected shift into more of a groove about five minutes in which is what the song needed and sets them apart. They need more of that. They close the album with something slower than the pace most of the album has been at the song fades into the back ground so nothing to make me look away from the computer to take notice, but from what I did key in on the guitar melodies are on point and it doesn't suck. I'll give this album an 8 , if you like black metal that is straight forward metal, but still adds a spin of it's own then this is worth a listen.
This band goes back all the way to the early 90s . They are mentioned in some detail in the book "Lords of Chaos". Metallum suggests that Hendrik Mobus is the only original member of the band, other accounts say this band is spearheaded by his brother. I am not going to get into the band's colored history, despite this being Black Metal History month as that is an article unto itself. So I am judging this album just on the merits of it's music. More black metal than some of the previous music I have heard from these guys they still lean heavily on punk to the point of almost eclipsing the more metallic core of the sound. There are more melodic than I remembered them being. The drumming is pretty decent and the montone rasp of the vocals proves to be one of their weaker points. German metal often strikes me as being stiff and these guys give their songs a little more breathing room often due to the guitar solos. They solos are not stellar but they work with what they are doing.
"Die Galgenbruder" has the first riff I am really sold on. It has more of a groove to it. The vocals don't do much in terms of complimenting , and go off into more of a rant. But lets face it with half the extreme metal out there the vocals are a static layer that never seem to really be given a ton of thought. This is not to say this is an excusable direction this kind of music has reverted to but it is a fact. They do enough to escape my rule of "cool riffs alone do not a good song make" by layering it with some melodic guitar solos that contribute to the mood rather than just wanking. "Strum Bricht Los" has more of a rock n roll feel, though there is a slight pagan slant in the way it swings like a viking drinking song. Another thing this album has going for it is the fact the songs are fairly concise and don't go off on long sprawling drones. They are not a droning band but cut from a cloth closer to rock n roll than early Darkthrone.
The guitar players care about what is going on here, it's like the vocalist came into the studio drunk and just did whatever half the time. Ironically this album is much like the new "Black Panther" it's pretty mediocre, though I am going to guess will appeal to people wanting to believe in it's supposed message , which is more veiled in some cases than others. To me the drunken pirate vocals are something to be endured rather than enjoyed. They come close to working on certain song. Sometimes they are more sung than others. They are more punk than a metal growl. The drummer drinks his coffee and throws in some double after a while. The guitars are typical metal at this point, though when they try to go a tremolo picked/ blast beat path they come across more punk so they are better off sticking to the guitar harmonies. Their gallops also work for me, though I think many fans of pagan metal are going to be too far into the woods to hear this album, so if a tree falls? By the time it closes with the more fast and furious "Wolfsblut" I am pretty much done with the vocals so the more straight forward punk sound isn't doing it for me. Due to the vocals I'll round this down to a 6.5, if you are into these guys it might not phase you.
While this band from Brooklyn often intersects death metal into their brand of black metal I think they are more interesting than your average blast fest. There is a more Dissection like thrash stomp to the verses of the opening song. They are able to lash out with a mean spirited attack while keeping the arrangements varied. The second song is a little more straight forward and doesn't grab me with the same urgency the album opened with. There is an odd almost disco like beat three minutes which is followed by an interesting break down. But the rule is cool riffs alone do not make a good song. They begin to remind me a little of Sigh in the almost rock n roll feel to "Vision of the Merkabah"The song sounds like it wants to go in a direction where the vocals are more sung than growled but this doesn't happen.
"False"falls out of the previous song with more of a majestic gallop in it's step. The vocals feel a little less purposeful on this one. They do lock back in towards the end of the song and things feel a little Dissection like. The filler comes when the band begins to rely on speed more than the sense of songwriting that draws up in on both "Second Death" and "Upon Funeral Stone" . "the Hope" is a little more balanced with a melodic interlude interjected. Things take a on a more regal march with the last song that returns to a more Dissection flavored affair when not blasting off. To the band's credit that do not sound like they are hipsters from Brooklyn and seem like they have an honest affinity for metal that some of the bands from that region seem to have or have lost.
This album is largely enjoyable and I think a non discriminating fan of black metal will be less picky on points that I hold to greater scrutiny. It's like if Mutilation Rites was influenced by Dissection. I love Dissection, and already own those albums and while they do not rip them off like say Cloak, it would impair the chances of me needing to own this album since I already have all the Dissection and will just listen to those if I want to hear that kind of thing. Regardless it is well done so I'll give it an 8.5.
Everyone loves top 10 lists so here we are in the top 10 of the top 50 Black Metal Albums of All Time. Most of these are ranked in accordance to how much I have listened to them, sometimes this has been altered if say one band influenced another then they would typically have to be ranked higher. Though black metal may be hard and fast, there are not hard and fast rules in how these are ranked, sometimes I had to make tough calls, but that is why I get paid the big bucks , to be the gatekeeper of black at least in this little corner of the inner webs, there is the chance you do not see your favorite album on this list, if that is the case I suggest killing yourself. It is the most black metal option.
10-Burzum- "Belus"
Varg needed the 11 year break to bring new sense of sonic depth. It has more of a throb than his earlier work. Still very black metal it sheds the bulk of the blast beats. This is an album I can leave on and let play all afternoon. Yes, another from the 2010 club.
9 Mayhem - "Deathcrush"
This one was tough, this 1987 ep was the first recording from what become the Norwegian black metal scene. If I was doing more than one album by each artist I would have liked an Atilla album on here , since I think he is a better vocalist than the spastic Dead, but it is what it is and wanted to get this done rather than torture myself in this debate.
8- Gorgoroth - "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam "
This is their 7th album which was released in 2006, so they had shit dialed in and this is the sound of a band at the top of their game. I like all of their stuff but really need Gaahl to be fronting the band for it to feel like Gorgoroth to me. I think this album captures both excellent songwriting and the fiery anger that embodies black metal.
7-Dimmu Borgir- "In Sorte Diaboli"
Production Value stepped up while this could fight with the other ICS Vortex albums for the top spot in their discography, I think these songs hook you in more. This in many ways feels like an angrier album than they have had since "Stormblast". Hell Hammer's drumming is the shit on this and it would also be in the top 50 metal albums of all time not just the top 50 black metal albums , though I guess that could be said about all the albums in the top ten.
6-Agalloch-"Ashes Against the Grain"
The post-rock elements begin to edge out their older folk influence on this, but the songs are their best. Sonically powerful with all the metal punches in the right places. The mix of clean vocals to harsh vocals is the right balance.Pretty much you name it and they got it right on their 2006 album.
5-Watain "Lawless Darkness" Sure by this point these guys were still carrying a major torch for Dissection. However some a song writing perspective these tight anthems are so well written this fact almost becomes a mute point. Of all their albums I have gotten heavier play time out of this one that really found them coming into their own as song writers thus allowing on further releases their overall sound to expand from there. Yet another member of the 2010 club.
4-Dissection-"Storm of the Lights Bane" This 1995 album was way ahead of it's time. Sure bands like Mayhem were already doing their thing in Norway. But Jon and the boys took the classic metal / thrash sound and amped it up into these mean anthems to primordial darkness and black dragons swallowing the universe.Jon would later go on to prove how seriously passionate he was about his beliefs as a further reminder that they were never playing around and you can hear that in these songs.
3-Darkthrone- "the Cult is Alive " While the earlier blast beaten albums are great, I enjoyed hearing this band's evolution. They go down a rawer punk road for this album and at the end of the day the songs benefited from it as they hold a more rock n roll structure rather than just being interchangeable drones. Another 2006 album which is looking to be another big year for black metal.
2-Emperor- "Anthems to the Welkin At Dusk" A beautiful album that is as well recorded , performed and orchestrated as any Iron Maiden album. These guys are a helluva lot angrier and darker than Maiden owing more to King Diamond in the romantic cinematic mood this album carries. They prove black metal can be played by musicians with chops that hold up against any other bands.
1- Mercyful Fate- "Don't Break the Oath" The first real satanist I became aware of as a kid.I think this is important as the conviction in ones beliefs is what sometimes drives an artist to a more isolationist. This creates the spirit of black metal. King Diamond shaped black metal in more ways than his corpse paint and there will be few black metal bands who won't claim his profound impact on the genre and those who do are too young to know what they hell they are talking about. This came out in 1984, so if you want to hear what black metal sounded like in 1984 this is the answer.This might also be in the 1 spot for greatest metal albums of all time as it stands next to 'Number of the Beast" and "Reign in Blood".
Now we are cracking the top 20 of our Top 50 Black Metal Albums of All Time list. It's interesting to notice the trends in release dates and regions these albums are coming out of as we work our way down the list. Most are ranked according to how much I have listened to these albums, with a few exceptions when it comes to certain albums that many of these releases owe their existence to. If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know blast beats alone do not fly with me. These are not just musicians who made great black metal albums , these are musicians ho made great music that happened to be called black metal. Some of these albums even came before black metal as we know it today. So here you go ...
20-Liturgy -"Aesthethica"
This band has gotten a lot of shit due to Hunter's ramblings, but the bottom line is with their 2011 album these Brooklyn hipsters took black metal somewhere very different. It's bright rather than dark. Normally this is something I would not be down for , but somehow they made it work due to the jarring sonic dissonance and how they took things like blast beats and almost gave them a jazz like spin.
19- An Autumn For Crippled Children- "Lost"
This band from the Netherlands not only does post-black metal, but they do it with a more convincing nastiness and gaze out into sprawling beauty. The eventually began to rein it in, with the vocals sometimes being the heaviest component . This 2010 album finds them at the peak of their powers and making beautiful music with feral abandon.
18-Bathory-"Hammerheart"
I don't like this project's earlier work because of the lo-fi punk like quality. Once the production improved and a bigger viking like sound came then he caught my ear. The earlier stuff if more popular with a more hipster crowd for the very reason I do not like it.This 1990 album has more actual singing on it and it came down to me trying to decide between this one and "Twilight of the Gods". What it came down to was this album is black metal , while "Twilight of the Gods" is more epic pagan metal. "Hammerheart" might not be as refined, but it is darker and meaner.
17-Enslaved -"Isa"
While their earlier work might be more traditionally black metal, this album came ten years into their career and finds them at the cross roads of who they were and what they became. The sung vocals are not as dominant here. The pagan sensibility it blended with a more post-rock or even rock n roll sense in the song writing and they had not yet gone out into total Opeth territory.
16- Tombs- "the Path of Totality"
This 2011 album finds Mike Hill and friends getting darker and more sonic. While I like all of their albums this was the first one I got into and I think it still holds up even against the more goth tinged stuff, which having grown up a poor goth child I would normally be more inclined to favor. This album is equal parts aggression and atmosphere thanks to the incredibly smart song writing and the band working as a machine.
15-Totalselfhatred- "Apocalypse in Your Heart"
I keep returning to this album time and time again. They prove black metal can have stellar guitar and doesn't have to stick to static tremolo picking. This 2011 album is a classic when it comes to depressive black metal. It doesn't wallow in it's emotion but is like depression turned inwards and becomes aggression. I keep forgetting these guys are from Finland as that is not what comes to mind when I heard them, but it does invoke alcohol fueled depression.
14-Nachtmystium - "Addicts : Black Meddle Part 2
It was hard to pick between this one and "Assassins" what made my mind up was listening to it again and here how gritty and real the anguish is as Blake Judd was obviously having a hard time with his addiction and this album is a raw honest look at that. You don't get that personal in most black metal which is why it almost feels like depressive black metal. 13- Immortal- "All Shall Fall"
This 2009 album would be the band from Norway's last. It is big and if the word epic was ever going to be used to describe something this would be the time. The guitars are just massive on this album which is why I chose this over "Sons of Northern Darkness" Blizzard Beasts"
12- Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion"
When this album came out in 1985, black metal had yet to come to fruition. Black metal as just an album by a punk fueled metal band in the growing thrash scene. This scene found Tom Warrior and friends clawing at it with a more dynamic and darkly romantic offering that is "To Mega Therion".
11-Shining- "the Eerie Cold"
This band from Sweden has something in common with Celtic Frost as they both went through a cock rock phase. Here is the sound of the band in the thick of what they did best and a another example of depressive black metal going beyond crying in another failed suicide attempt set to music. The atmosphere of this album is very dark to the point of creating a beautiful oppression. It has the cold chilling feel you expect from black metal.
Here we go mid-way into Black Metal History month and midway into our top 50 black metal albums of all time. Now we get into the thick of things. Continuing to draw from every corner of the genre and globe. If you are just jumping in now I am only using one album by each artist. Most of the time they are ranked by what I have listened to the most , in some cases if an album would not exist if not for another album, the album that came first is ranked higher, since it is obviously of more importance. So here we go before entering into the top 20, which won't come til this weekend.
30-Samael- "Ceremony of Opposites"
Released in 94 this one crosses the first wave of black metal over into the second. There is a lot of groove to this album that influenced bands like Behemoth later on. The guitar sound on this album is mean as fuck. For when this came out it was one of the darkest and most sinister things going.
29- Deathspell Omega- Paracletus
An amazing album by a band that has made some amazing albums. This one is darker , dissonant and more angular than the other in a way that finds everything clicking in place perfectly. This is one of those class of 2010 albums. The took what Blut Aus Nord had done for French metal and added Emperor's ear for technicality and then raised the bar once again for French metal.
28- Sigh- "Scenes From Hell"
2010 was also the year my daughter was born which might be an ill sign considering how this explosion of incredible black metal came about then. This album takes the progressive slant they had given their sound and turned it on it's head.Defying the idea that the best black metal has to come from Scandinavia, this Japanese band really slays it with the odd blend of gypsy tinged progressive black metal that shows no trace of their heritage.
27-Taake- "Noregs vaapen"
It's mindblowing to think all this came from Hoest. The very fact this is a black metal album with banjo on it earns it's place here. Norweigan black metal that gives you all the frost ridden anger you expect , but not being content with blast beats alone. Even Hoest's raspy croak sets itself apart from the pack. At end of the day it's the song writing that makes this an album I can still put on seven years later and it sounds just as vital.
26- Negura Bunget-Vîrstele pămîntului
And yet again 2010 proves to really be the number of the beast. This time from Romania as this folk tinged black metal band comes across as almost a Dead Can Dance of metal in the way they crafted this exotic masterpiece. Don't get me wrong "Om" is a great album as well, this one just finds every nuance touching the right place. They display an excellent use of clean vocals in a way that doesn't come across as a good cop / bad cop trick.
25- Carpathian Forest- "Defending the Throne of Evil"
This album blends death metal and black n roll into something ugly, perverse and powerfully catchy. The songs work smoothly as classic metal. The vocals are nasty and every thing is dark as hell. These guys were always consistent and I going back to listen to this album makes me wish they would put out a new one as this embodies all things black metal should be with blast beat far and few between.
This 2013 album was sadly the Irish band's last. It blends pounding blackened math rock in the vein of Russian Circles with industrial. The dissonance and darkness to this album help to give it a black metal feel. There are a few blast beats sprinkled in but they typically keep you guessing in a way few other black metal bands were doing at the time. Oppressive in it's anguish, they crush on this one here their other albums droned.
23 Primordial- "the Gathering Wilderness"
This Irish band has always retained a strong sense of themselves on all of their albums, so this one weighs heavily on the fact that it has my favorite song by these guys "the Coffin Ships" on it. Nemtheanga's voice is particularly strong on this album, and proves actual singing can still work on a black metal album.
22- Deafheaven - "Roads to Judah"
The Van Halen of black metal, with "Sunbather" this band took the genre and made it easier for Americans to digest. Their 2011 album was actually black metal with whats sounds to be genuine anger and emotion to it. So much so that it is able to compensate for not having the kind of darkness black metal is known for. So for hipsters who wanted to get into black metal at this time it served as an easy entry point. Few stuck around as trends shifted, though if you go to a Deafheaven show it looks like you are at a Mumford and Sons concert.
21-Weakling- "Dead as Dreams"
Here is a clear cut has of an album that needed to be here, because if it wasn't for this album Deafheaven would not exist. These guys are more depressive than shoe-gazing they came out with this back in 2000. So all American black metal bands pretty much have to bow down to this one.
Here we go further into the countdown of the top 50 black metal albums of all time. Before I sat down at my computer I confessed to someone that I do not know why I continue to subjecting myself to the work that goes into making these lists. You my faithful reader seem to like them as the numbers don't lie so in honor of Black Metal History month I will press on. Obviously when ranking these I am looking for what I have listened to the most. Many of these I owned long before I had a Last Fm page to help track what I listened to and going with my gut. Best is not the fastest. Best is not even the most satanic though that gets these bands more points than just relying on speed. What has stood the test of time and I continue to return to are the most important qualifications. So here we go...
40-Inquisition- "Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm"
My rule is when in doubt go with the album that got you into the band in the first place.Aside from the weird production choices on this album this rule stands pretty solid with these guys. It also is yet another black metal album from 2010. This album they kept the SATAN up front, they come across as an evil version of Immortal. Granted with the production on this album they are not as big and thundering as Immortal or as big and thundering as the albums that follow, but there is just something about these songs that earns it this spot.
39-Wolves in the Throne Room - "Black Cascade"
Here is another one where I have to go with my gut. The more organic guitar sound of this album, elevates it above the others. These guys have been known to get distracted by the atmosphere and wander away from their camp fire. There is atmosphere to this album and I think it occurs in the most natural way possible.
38-Ulver-Nattens Madrigal -
Ulver might not be a black metal band now, but they once were. I prefer their mid-period where the two sides of the band were balanced, they also have many albums from this era where half the album is instrumental so picking what is best can be tricky, so with these guys there are a couple of album's I might have listened to more, but this is the black metal album I have listened to the most. For black metal the guitar solos on this one prove solos can work on a black metal album.
37- Blut Aus Nord- "the Work Which Transforms God"
These guys are similar to Ulver in the fact that they might have album's I am listened to more, but those album's are not black metal. So the rule is just because a band starts off as black metal doesn't grandfather later albums in by default. I think as far as their black metal albums goes this one is the best because it is so dark it borders on being depressive suicidal black metal. Their tendencies towards atmospheric experimentation are still firmly intact for this 2003 album and they set the bar for French black to follow them.
36- Hail Spirit Noir-" Oi magoi"
This Greek band takes a progressive approach to bringing their brand of darkness. The execution is flawless and they refuse to play by the rules.They do have the occasional blast beat, but sound like they are just as influenced by Deep Purple as they are Darkthrone. There are sections where it feels like they are wandering off into a jam, which is something you never hear in black metal.For a genre that is all about freedom and being a non-conformist, black metal all too often adhere to closely to playing in the confinements of being true rather than taking risks and this album celebrates the risks they take.
35- Lifelover-"Sjukdom"
The band broke up after this album was released due to the overdose of their guitarist. They were not always black metal in the strictest sense by the time this album rolled around. I think the mood and the other influences brought to the table expanded what black metal could be. Like most of the depressive black metal, the emphasis is on an emotional heaviness. Sometimes this translates over into a metallic heaviness. Not burdened by an overabundance of blast beats, they sometimes veer into a more black n roll realm. I think this is a fitting picture of their full realized musical vision.
34-Twilight- "Monument to Time End"
This supergroup made an astounding album of forward thinking black metal, when they tried to mess with the formula and bring Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth into the fold, things went sour. But this album is a monument before that time ended. The guitars on here bring a indie rock sensibility and layers of melody. It is an album that is as heavy sonically as it is metal.
33 Arckanum-"Helvítismyrkr"
One of the amazing things about this album is it was created by one person. While this is less uncommon in black metal due to the misanthropic nature of the artists who play it, this album feels very organic like it is four guys jamming in a room. The drums are just as well played as the guitar parts to there is not the uneven feel of programmed drums that sound too thin for black metal. This doesn't follow the blue print of most Swedish black metal and owes little to Dissection.
This 2011 album is so epic even the band themselves could not touch it when they tried to follow it up five years later. While it could also be on the top 50 pagan or viking metal albums list...if I ever get around to doing it or am even able to think of 50 albums worth a damn from those sub-genres. This album is dark enough to earn it's place here. Epic has become an overused term when it comes to metal, but if I had to pick one album on this list to use it for it describes the cinematic quality of what is going on here. Often the vocals are the most black metal element on the battle field, but I think this incredible album pushes the boundaries of what black metal can be. The folk elements are very well done and add to the over all sound rather than being a Middle Earthen distraction.
31-Marduk- "Plague Angel"
When mentioning bands from the second wave of black metal these guys are in the big 4 along side Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor and Burzum. Sure they might have albums that are more cvlt, but the songs are what matter and here they come off of some of the more spastic bursts of aggression to throb with a darkness that carries a more convincing feeling.A little more of an intimate feel to this album than what would happen on "Wormwood" and everything that follows.
