The Top 10 Black Metal Albums of 2024

It is not surprising that Black Metal's popularity has waned in the hipster metal scene. It's now called problematic by poseurs who were only into it for superficial reasons in the first place, as the genre has always represented misanthropic hate and nihilistic disdain for the world. These albums captured what black metal should be with very little compromise. Black metal is a sub-genre of metal that is for the true outsiders. Here are the bands captured that best. 

 After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2024. The very fact that these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album; there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day, what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list, and I have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway, here are the top 10 Black Metal albums of 2024

10-Inquisition: " Veneration of Medieval Mysticism and Cosmological Violence"

The notorious Colombian black metal duo is back to bring the darkness in a manner more in line with their 2010 album "Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm".  Many of the songs are possessed by an eerie throb while Dagon gives his best croak. It sits more forward in the mix on this album and has a drier sound to it. At times a few phrases were declared in a more spoken tone. The guitars are placed oddly in the mix, single not leads mixed to the front while the main riffs churn behind the crash of the drums. It is one of those odd mixes that creates an interesting effect that gives the overall sound of the album a unique charm. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/inquisition-veneration-of-medieval.html

 

9-Darkthrone - "It Beckons Us All" 

Thought of as one of the forefathers of second-wave black metal, it's been a minute since they conformed to any genre, and have been digging up the graves of 80s Celtic Frost for the past few albums which have done so with varying levels of nostalgia, Nordic atmosphere, and grimness. It takes what they have been going for on the past few albums and executes it in the most focused form yet. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/darkthrone-it-beckons-us-all.html

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8-Svoid- "Neptunian" 

The Hungarian back metal band pounds their sound into a dark manner respecting their signature mood. that respects the mood they are known to create. I do not remember the vocals having this much of a snarl, but here we are. They dialed in the guitar tones in a  more of a post-punk, manner, but lurch into the songs with brooding aggression that helps the focus stay firmly planted on songwriting rather than letting the momentum carry them away. This makes them a more original black metal band as they are working these elements in and doing their own thing.  There is a great deal of punk in their attack, even in the scowl of the vocals that are sometimes sung.  

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/svoid-neptunian.html

7-Silhouette -"Les Dires de l 'Ame" 

This French band is back with their brand of haunting darkness. The languid wail of the female vocals haunts the gray haze of the ghostly guitar. Black metal elements crash in with female vocals serving as a counterpoint. Their take on black metal does not try to numb you out with a bunch of blast beats. Instead, they work with the mood. The drummer is very solid when it comes to setting the stage for this. When they slow down and let the chords ring out with a creepy throb it's even more effective and gives the female vocals room to slither in.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/silhouette-les-dires-de-l-ame.html

6-1349 - "The Wolf and the King"  

Back to hammer your ears as the defenders of what true Norweigan Black Metal should be. This lineup has been intact since  2001, so they've had nothing but time to perfect their purist definition of black metal that benefits from hooky songwriting without compromising the grimness. There are more deliberate moments on this album that succeed in being aggressive and dark without hitting you with a wall of blast beats.'

        

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/07/1349-wolf-and-king.html

5-Panzerfaust-'" Suns of Perdition IV :  To Shadow Zion" 

This Canadian band brings the darkness again, ranging from a more sludge-like below to a traditional black metal rasp. The songs carry more of a throb, than the blast-beaten sound that typifies the genre. They hit you with a storm cloud of sound, and live up to the hype. If you want black metal that hits you with a tempest of apocalyptic darkness this album is for you. Out on Eisenwald. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/panzerfaust-suns-of-perdition-iv-to.html

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4-Curse Upon a Prayer - "The Worship: Orthoprax Satanism" 

The angriest band on this year's list. This band from Finland has enough balls to refrain from attacking the low-hanging fruit, Christianity, instead, they nut up and attack Islam, whose followers are fanatical enough to come after you for being critical, just ask Salaman Rushdie, who is still in hiding. Rather than just relying on this as a gimmick these guys are legit and bring black metal better than most. Their sound carries all the venom they need to spew to convince black metal fans they are not going for a wider audience here,

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/curse-upon-prayer-worship-orthoprax.html

 

3-Vemod -"The Deepening" 

If you get stoned to a black metal album this is the one to do it to. They create an atmosphere that is very organic, jamming the songs out lush layers of hypnotic instrumentation. Not worried about being the trvest black metal band in Norway, played to their strengths as songwriters, and thus a stunning collection of songs was born. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/black-metal-history-month-vemod.html

 

2- Nachtmystium - "Blight Privilege" 

One of my favorite black metal projects is back. Blake Judd personifies inner darkness, which can create our darkness, legitimizing his work's melancholy. This new album picks up where they left off. The scathing rasp of his vocals sits back in the mix. The synths play a larger role in the overall sound which is carried by a great deal of drive, thanks to drummer Francesco Miato.  It's fine to welcome back to a band that is badly needed as the world becomes more miserable. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/nachtmystium-blight-privilege.html

1-Ellende -  "Todbringerin" 

 This explains the growth in the more melodic direction of their sound, and the pristine nature of the production that is organic enough to capture the spirit of the genre without being so polished they lose the black metal feel like say Behemoth. These Austrians are doing their own thing in the best way possible without turning off fans of the genre, as the scope of sound has changed but even with the jazzy guitar interludes nobody is going to doubt these guys are a black metal band even when they skimp on the blast beats. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/ellende-todbringerin.html

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August's Top 10 Albums

It's time for August's top 10 albums. Staying abreast of the month's highlights might help casual readers see what they missed and check these artists out. I am not writing little blurbs on them, just linking the reviews. I' am using this to organize my lists for the end of the year, by listing the genre of music the album falls under. Inclusion here does not mean that these albums have been released this month, but it is a list of new or upcoming albums I have enjoyed the most, I have albums in my in-box that are not coming out til October so I am normally way ahead of the curve in this regard. They are ranked in order of what I have listened to the most. This month there is a wide variety from Country to Black Metal so you may find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for August of 2024.

10-Curse Upon a Prayer -"The Worship: Orthoprax Satanism"

Black Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/curse-upon-prayer-worship-orthoprax.html

9-Bleed the Earth- "Shapes That Stood in Silence" 

Funeral Doom

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/bleed-this-earth-shapes-that-stood-in.html

8-Falling in Reverse - "Popular Monster" 

Nu-Metal 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/falling-in-reverse-popular-monster.html

7-DAUFØDT -"Glitter" 

Hard-Core 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/daufdt-glitter.html

6-SPEED - "Only One Mode" 

Hard-Core 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/speed-only-one-mode.html

5- Kacey Musgraves -  "Deeper Well" 

Country 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/kacey-musgraves-deeper-well.html

4-Fontaines DC- "Romance" 

Indie Pop 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/fontaines-dc-romance.html

3-GEL -"Persona" 

Punk 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/gel-persona.html

2- Amiture - "Mother Engine" 

Trip-hop 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/amiture-mother-engine.html

1-Weston Super Maim - "See You Tomorrow Baby" 

Extreme Progressive Metal  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/08/weston-super-maim-see-you-tomorrow-baby.html

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Curse Upon a Prayer : "The Worship: Orthoprax Satanism"

 One thing I admire about this band is that rather than attacking the low-hanging fruit, Christianity. They nut up and attack Islam, whose followers are fanatical enough to come after you for being critical, just ask Salaman Rushdie, who is still in hiding. Rather than just relying on this as a gimmick these guys are legit and bring black metal as good as anyone. The snarled lyrics are often set against such a razor-sharp storm of guitars that you must pay close attention to make out what they are saying. They have no shortage of anger in the hateful attack of 'Cunt God". Hateful is a word we do not use in black metal enough anymore, and that is a shame as we should make black metal hate again, as that is the essence of the genre... hate and darkness. These guys are bringing both

All to often Finnish black metal is very raw, to capture a legit sound of days past. This album is well produced almost like mid-period Dimmu to some extent. "Sulphurserpent" is perhaps not as inspired as the previous songs as it leans too far into the fast blasting and is more chaos than songwriting, but for the more typical vision of what black metal is they succeed in what they were going for. I just prefer the more nuanced songwriting that can be found on "Blood Poetry" which is one of the year's best black metal songs so far. It works off a bass groove that everything breaks down to creep around before shifting the dynamics into something bigger. 

When they build momentum on this album with songs like " A Heav'n of Hell" it's very apparent that their sound shifts towards a more epic symphonic landscape. They have grown into this grandiosity well. "I Enthrone You" rages with a more rabid pace.  They join in a triumphant chant for the chorus, serving as an effective battle cry. Then things begin to open up more for melody and dynamics. Just because you are hateful it does not mean there should not be a wide range of sonic moods to this anger. After all, anger is expressed in many different ways, some more violent than others. "Black Venus Erotica' lays on a tense buzzing of thrashing guitars, that gives them a little more room to build upon rather than just blasting. 

"He That Eateth My Flesh" feels like one of the interlude segments from a King Diamond album. It takes half of the song before it modulates from the more droning main section of the song. Sounds creepy but is a very slow burn. When it comes to the ten-and-a-half-minute sprawl of the first "Worship" song, I can understand why some black metal fans might find it too accessible for their liking as it does parade around in a very majestic fashion not unlike some of the pomp and circumstance a band like Behemoth is known to indulge in, but for what it is the composition is impressive and it's growth for this band, and I won't fault them for that.  Even though I am less impressed with the "Ignis" past of "Worship" that closes the album,, it carries all the venom they need to spew to convince black metal fans they are not going for a wider audience here,. This is an improvement over "Infidel" so I will give it a 9.5, all fans of black metal should take notice. 

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The Top 10 Black Metal Albums of 2020

In todays world we need the hateful nature of black metal more than ever. Here is the best of the  current crop. As with years past I sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. I know many of you are ready for 2020 to be over with. Hate to break it to you but nothing is getting better next year. As far as 2020 goes for black metal  there is  only1 new band on this years list . It's been a year for the tried and true though none of the standard veterans from the first run of the second wave. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Sure you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However I listen to five new albums a day so yes I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No I do not care what you think about it .I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 Black Metal  albums of 2020

10--Autumn For Cripple Children- "All Fell Silent, All Went quiet"

For 11 years years this band from the Netherlands has been brining it with very little fanfare from the metal press. They have dipped in and out of varied incarnations of post- rock and shoe gaze, but this album finds them shifting their the haze to get their snarl back. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/04/an-autumn-for-crippled-all-fell-silent.html

9- Curse Upon A Prayer - " Infidel" 

This band from Finland is back to make black metal hate again. They make no bones about going after Islam and I respect the hell out of that. This album finds both their range of sonics and songwriting expand. These guys are not a gimmick and serious song writing willing to rip your face off. It is this need to hate that gave them the edge to grab the number 9 spot. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/02/black-metal-history-month-curse-upon.html

8- Uada- "Djinn" 

This album finds the Portland band excelling at both songwriting and in the sounds they have crafted here, as the band continues to expand their sound. It had drawn some unfounded post punk comparisons. The riffing is very metal, though it is dark and has a fair amount of tension to it. Their songwriting was refined enough to put them at number 8. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/08/uada-djinn.html

7-Kall- "Brand" 

The boys from Lifelover are back. They have not brought any sunshine this time either. The amount of growth since their 2014 debut is off the charts. They jam the songs out as elements of jazz dance around the depressive tapestry of sound. They command more sonic range than UADA , giving them the number 7 spot.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/08/kall-brand.html

6- Forgotten Tomb- "Nihilistic Estrangement"

Dark and melodic, while not sacrificing the venom to their hell fire. They really stepped up on all levels and gave the songs more grounded and urban feel than the bulk of black metal out today securing them here at number 6. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/05/forgotten-tomb-nihilistic-estrangement.html

 

5-Vous Autres -"Sel de Pierre" 

This French band continues to lay to waste with a surreal blend of atmosphere and emotionally crushing  riffs to terrorize your ears. All done with the most monstrous beauty.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/08/vous-autres-sel-de-pierre.html

 

4-Svnth "Spring in Blue"

One reason I like doing these end-of-the-year lists is how they make me go back and listen to albums that I liked earlier in the year and forgot about. This was one of those. I did tell myself I was going to download this and just now got around to downloading it. That is how 2020 is though. It is everything a thinking man might want from modern black metal. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/08/svnth-spring-in-blue.html 

3- Tombs - "Under Sullen Skies"

 Yeah it is a tough year for black metal when these guys do not take the top spot. That is not a slight on this album. In fact it is the heaviest of the top 3. They do delve into their more gothy side at time, but for the most part it is hammering and in your face. Mike Hill is pissed and that makes me happy.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/tombs-under-sullen-skies.html

2- Wayfarer - " Romance With Violence" 

These guys are not content with just being heavy anymore. This is sound track to a western in hell. The range of dynamic here is stunning., It was a tough call between this one and the album that took the top spot, it just came down to which one I listened to more. This album is not just one of the best black metal albums to come out this year it is one of the best albums of any genre. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/wayfarer-romance-with-violence.html

1- Chrome Waves - "Where We Live" 

This is the least black metal album of the 3, but it is the best. They ride the line between shoegazing and black metal so hard that I have to listen through the entire album and compare it song by song to see where it fell, it was a 60/ 40 mix. Making it still more black metal than most Deafheaven albums. Not just the best black metal albums of the year but in the top 10 best albums overall. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/09/chrome-waves-where-we-live.html

Black Metal History Month - Curse Upon a Prayer :"Infidel"

I was excited to find this one in my in-box. I loved their last ep. These guys are what black metal needs. Black metal needs more hatred. Last year I brought up how someone needs to make black metal hate again and these guys can do it. I also said last time I reviewed this band that while I did not find lyrics raging against Islam to resonate with me culturally, where I prefer satanic music that blasphemes Christianity, I have an ever deepening respect for how passionate these guys are about what they do especially in today's culture. Black Metal should not politically correct. Black metal band that try to play it safe or are social justice warriors are neutered. You get where I am going so let's talk about what matters the most, the music. There is a denser more complex and melodic sound this time around. The only problem as I hear it is the first three songs kind of run together. They are blazing fast so I had to give them a second listen before proceeding. The vocals are a nasty sneer that carries a bitter screech to it. They are layered with lowered growls that come in as accents.

The first song is vicious enough to stun you, so by the second song I have to ask the question I ask every band "You are Heavy but can you write songs?" The vocals are spewed in a similar manner,. This is what creates a somewhat uniform sound along with the temp they play at. Thankfully going into the solo section midway into the second song they slow down and give me the nuance I need without losing much momentum. "Haram" is even faster. At a minute and a half they begin to craft more of song than just anger alone. You can make black metal hate again , but it also needs to have dynamics and depth. They begin to bring that midway into the song with a darker more experimental ritualistic side. This makes the build back up more intense. The vocals begin to sound more demonic at this point. There is an acoustic interlude after this song that I think could have been better served worked into a song.

They really deliver what I want on "Al-masih ad Dajjal" which works with more of a pulsing throb. The verse slows down more like Incantation. Who is also a fair point of reference to who one of their influences might be as they are often in the same sonic zip code. They return to furious speed on "Prophetic Poison". It is not just a blur of blast beat and some thought was put into the song writing. That is not to say there are not blast beats, the song just doesn't rely on them alone. The slower more death metal touches to "Fitna" are welcome to break up the blitz that can wear you out over time. They close the album with an acoustic outro, which once again  I feel moments moments like these would be better invested in working into the actual songs to give them more range. If Tom Waits wrote a song for the demons in the Exorcist the result might be the same. I will give this album a 9, I think it shows they are to be taken seriously musically as it is not all just hate, but rather a good balance . This is coming out on Saturnal; Records in April.  

the Top 10 Black Metal Albums of 2018

It is that time again. Black Metal is in a weird place this year. There is no lack of it, as the sub-genre has left it's stain on almost all forms of metal, it is the attitude that finds it's self being compromised and watered down. Hateful was one of the best days once used to described it's sound and now that is being apologized for due to the current political climate.So here are some band's who help make black metal hate again. The score from my reviews to help determine the ranking , but also how many times Last FM told me I listened to each album.An album can have all the critical acclaim in the world but if it does not inspire multiple listens then how good can it actually be ?

While the top ten lists for other genres leaned more heavily on the side of  new blood for black metal is was the  more well established acts who put out the greatest quality albums .  Rather than posting media of a track from each band I am leaving a link to the review, which will contain Bandcamp or Full Album Streams. Ok enough talking about it, the time has come to dig into the top 10 black metal albums of 2018.

10-Mutilation Rites - "Chasm"

 Many of New York's black metal bands come from the hipster circles of Brooklyn. They bring elements of punk, post-rock and avant garde indie rock into the mix. Mutilation Rites separates themselves by only bringing more metal into the equation. Most of the improvements come from the production end, as they might weigh in on more of the death metal side of  their sound, but the identity of the band is firmly intact even with line up changes.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/07/mutilation-rites-chasm.html

9- Hegemone- "We Disappear" 


 While this album originally scored lower than Mutilation Rites , it grew on me and I listened to it more. It's woeful blackened Sludge that throbs against scathing screamed vocals . Occasionally the vocals drop down into a lower growl. There is a weird almost industrial pounding breaking down mixed with post- rock , so these guys are not afraid to step out and experiment. They have the dark sonic intensity that I am on the look out for in heavy music.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/08/hegemone-we-disappear.html

8-Curse Upon a Prayer -"Three Woes"


 Make Black Metal hate again.This band from Finland has the balls to not give a fuck and this album lashes out at Islam. Now there is a political slant since aside from the hippies in Sweden, the rest of Scandinavia tries to be fairly isolationist.Thundering double bass, blast beats and tremolo picked guitar all do their part to make this black metal as fuck.Their are hints of melody in the guitar. They passion with which they throw themselves into their music compensates for anytime they might not be the most original band on the planet.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/05/curse-upon-prayer-three-woes.html

7-Cultes des ghoules-"Sinister" 

 The fourth album from the Polish black metal band finds , an almost more Urfaust sound . The vocals are more sung in a resonate bellow on the first song , than howled or screamed manically. They continue to get darker , though perhaps not heavier.It's a mature effort on their part and finds a balance between making fans of true black metal happy as their grim souls can be, without getting stale and embracing experimentation.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/09/cultes-des-ghoules-sinister.html

6-Mol- "Jord"

This album came out in April and almost breezed by under the radar which would've been a damn shame. They hammer into their songs with a meaner sneer than the bulk of the so called "black gaze' bands despite being not far removed from Deafheaven sonically. Most of the songs are strong and they take what could be a tired bandwagon and freshen it up.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/06/mol-jord.html

5- Nachtmystium- "Resilient"

 These guys are one of my favorite black metal projects. They are not all blast beats. In fact it's just a dark tortured pulse. Very similar to depressive suicidal black metal, though Judd is just not being melodramatic about it and has tried to kill himself in other ways than the most obvious , which I think is also a metaphor for his music. Better than most black metal acts have mustered since it is not at all redundant.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/12/nachymystium-resilient.html

4-Craft - "White Noise and Black Metal" 

 Right from the smoother guitar tone of the first song it's obvious things are now very different for this band. The sonic sprawl of their sound allows them to get away with more blast beats than before It is however not as hateful as I hope which took at period of adjustment for me, but in the end it did grow on me. It's less confrontational and more mature, a phrase that might not seem to be praise in many black metal circles , but here it works for what they are doing.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/06/craft-white-noise-and-black-metal.html

3-Wayfarer "World's Blood" 

 This band from Colorado creates some dark brooding metal that makes you forget they are from the States. The vocals are a lower growl that leans more in the death metal direction. When they pick up the pace there is the shadowy feeling looming with a more black metal influence. So regardless of genre there is a great mood and atmosphere coating this album. Some songs ebb and flow into clean passages like more kinetic version old Agalloch. This album grew on me in the best ways possible thanks to it's well balanced sense of dynamics and a great dark guitar tone.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/08/wayfarer-worlds-blood.html

2-Watain-"Trident Wolf Eclipse"



Watain are back with a renewed venom on their 6th album. They hit you with a thundering combative thrashing dialed way up. There is more of a blasting fury colored feral rawness yet retaining the more nuanced accents of their songwriting. In tone compared to "the Wild Hunt" proves this to be a much more straightforward black metal album, as they return to their more mean spirited roots. They band could have easily said "This album is going to be a return to our heavier more punishing sound, and they would not have been lying.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/12/watain-trident-wolfe-eclipse.html

1-Totalselfhatred - "Solitude" 


7 years since their last album, they once has a more aggressive take on depressive black metal,but 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. Maturity is one of this album's characteristics. Gone are the rock god solos, but everything well played, with no doubt they are excellent musicians who have grown up to serve the song. They are little more mellowed with time, but with a wider depth of emotion.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/02/black-metal-history-month.html

Curse Upon a Prayer : "the Three Woes"

People will never be satisfied, so there is no point in pleasing them and that should not be metal's goal to be safe. When the debate rises about satanic metal someone always says "You guys don't have the balls to pick on Islam". Then when it happens, people shit their pants and say it's racist. Nothing should be sacred. Why is it o.k to attack one religion and not another? This band from Finland has the balls to not give a fuck and this album lashes out at Islam. Now there is a political slant since aside from the hippies in Sweden, the rest of Scandinavia tries to be fairly isolationist.  Americans are quick to call this racist, because in their intolerance of intolerance  it never dawns on them at other countries have other ways of doing things. In fact who every said America's way was that great to begin in the first place as it doesn't seem to working that great for them at present. But enough of the politics, at the end of the day it boils down to what are these guys doing different that I have not heard other black metal bands do a hundred times?

The first song tell me not a lot aside from being really aggressive and hateful in their sound which certainly helps to get their message across. Thundering double bass, blast beats and tremolo picked guitar all do their part to make this black metal as fuck.Their are hints of melody in the guitar. They passion with which they throw themselves into their music compensates for anytime they might not be the most original band on the planet. "Thou Shalt Be Cursed" opens with a little more atmosphere but races off. The vocals are at a mid range snarl. There is a lower more death metal vocals that joins in. The melodic touches that come in by the two minute mark help give the dynamics needed to keep things from becoming one blur.

The croak almost moves into more of a sung tone for a few words on "Woe ! Woe ! Woe!" . There is more of an icy ambient coating the rapid thrashing. This makes this song darker. I appreciate the mood and melodic touches. The vocals modulating through a range or croaks and snarls. I think lyrically since I have more of a resentment against Christianity the lyric would resonate with more if they were railing against Christ even though he is such an easy target.Not wildly original these guys have put every ounce of their hateful hearts into this and it paid off I'll give it a 9 and look forward to hearing the full length. Congrats to Saturnal Records for having the balls to put this out.
2.7