The Top 10 Black Metal Albums of 2024...so far

Last year too many journalists tried to erroneously hail hot garbage as the best black metal album of the year,, forcing me to set straight, because such a claim is disrespectful to the genre, so I decided to uphold this mid-year tradition. Just sounding good from a production standpoint is not going to make the cur, since studio magic alone is not what black metal is about. Though I am not looking for something to sound like trash in the name of being cvlt either. I am also not paying homage to bands that are just press darlings for whatever social reason of the day might be. After all, Blackbraid continues to show what he got right about Native representation is being an alcoholic,. I want bands who are effective at creating darkness, so with that said here are the top 10 Black Metal Albums of 2024 ...so far.

10-Litosth-"Cesariana" 

This Black Metal project from Brazil is doing big things on its third album. They are not just hitting you with blast beats, but hitting you with a massive cinematic scope of sound, that is being used to write songs. It carries a similar orchestrated grandiosity as Dimmu Borgir. This might not be seen as cvlt enough for some, but fvck them as these songs go somewhere and have their own sense of identity.

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

9-Deadyellow- What Was Left of Them" 

This Philly-based black-gaze outfit seems to have taken notes from Deafheaven when it comes to which influences to sway their sound toward, to nest achieve the best sonic misery set to simmering glory while packing a punch. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/deadyellow-what-was-left-of-them.html

 

8-Compress - "The Final Level of Consciousness" 

This band is pretty impressive they come on strong feeling like "Show No Mercy " era Slayer, but ride a more atmospheric black metal throb. There is an eerie coldness, and while other sub-genres like crust and hardcore have an influence I feel like the darkness prevails making these guys more of a black metal band. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/compress-final-level-of-consciousness.html

7- Ihsahn- "s/t' 

The Emperor frontman returns for his 8th solo album, taking his black metal past and running it through a wild, wandering filter of progressive rock. This is not to say there is not black metal in and of itself.  There are symphonic elements but also hefty syncopated punches, as his knack of labyrinth arrangements continues to create winding passages that twist and turn in odd time signatures. He is not just hitting you with blast beats, and he still uses plenty of clean vocals to contrast his impressive snarl that has not lost any of its power. 

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

6-Selbst-" Despondency Chord Progressions" 

This album also has an edge over the average black metal band, as the production is on point. It is almost mixed like a Deathspell Omega album. There is enough tangled chaos to sit back in the shadows of the reverb, but the bulk of the instrumentation is front and center so the sound is not obscured. Some great guitar playing is found amongst this album's tangled shadows. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/05/selbst-despondency-chord-progressions.html

 

5-Borknagar -"Fall" 

The 12th album from these Norse giants hath arrived and it is hard to not think of them as the ICS Vortex band, but Arcturus might fit that description better as other singers have claimed the mic. There is the kind of bombast coloring this album that has its roots steeped in their black metal history by leading off with screamed vocals and a super aggressive slice with razor-sharp riffing to balance out the band's more progressive side. The more operatic croon of Vortex's trademark soaring bellows is also present, to bring the majestic wonderment fans know they are capable of

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

 

4-Dartkthrone - "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. The first track makes it evident they have taken their time to dial these sounds in while still being true to who they are as a band. 

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

 

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3-Vemod -"the Deepening" 

This Norweigan band is not hung up on being trve Norweigan black metal. They blend more folky sounds into the ambiance of their atmospheric tension. There is a dynamic ebb and flow to their sound that allows for atmosphere in a manner that does not pigeonhole them into being just Atmospheric black metal. 

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

2-Infant Island- "Obsidian Wreath" 

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There is more to this album than writing it off as black-gaze. It also falls on the most extreme end of screamo. Though will more than likely most appeal to fans of black metal and power violence. it builds off the shimmer of wild screaming. I wonder if he is even trying to utter lyrics at this point. Chaotic and still at times deliberate with the kind of dynamic shifts that can make something this unsettled have melodic value, which they manage to do. Even hardcore gang vocals chime in at times. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/01/infant-island-obsidian-wreath.html

1-meth- "Shame"

This band from Chicago taps into the same torment that bands like Portrayal of Guilt dig into. The riffs pound with a sludge-like deliberation, while their singer screams with the unrelenting anguish of someone being disemboweled alive. It is very dark, so much so that it becomes black metal. The chaos being invoked on this album, it feels like blackened sludgecore would be the best description if we needed to tie it down to a genre.

 

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

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SELBST : " Despondency Chord Progressions"

 This Chilean Black Metal band's 2020 album scored a respectable 8.5, which did not place it in the upper tier of black metal released that year, so fell short of our Top 10 Black Metal albums of 2020, which found  Chrome Waves taking the top spot. Chrome Waves was not the heaviest or angriest band on the list, they just wrote better songs, This is also the barometer we are measuring this album by after all you can play the fastest blast beats but that is not enough to make someone want to listen to that album years later.. How music stands the test of time is how it is weighed here. This band starts off the album with blast beats set against eerie guitar cascading rather than just holding the buzz of tremolo fury giving them a slight sonic edge over the status quo.

This album also has an edge over the average black metal band, as the production is on point. It is almost mixed like a Deathspell Omega album. There is enough tangled chaos to sit back in the shadows of the reverb, but the bulk of the instrumentation is front and center so the sound is not obscured. Some great guitar playing opens up "When True Loneliness is Experienced".  This is cool as black metal albums are not normally known for ripping solos. This is coming from a guy who gets bored easily with shredding for the sake of it, so it is tasteful almost blues-based playing. It crashes into a darker cascade of dissonance smoothed out with melody. I was not expecting the clean singing, so that means it is effective. 

"Third World Wretchedness" is more of a straightforward black metal affair, while the emphasis is placed on driving forward with a flurry of double bass under it there is still plenty of nuance. "Chant of Self Confrontation" is more nuanced in its construction even though it hits hard and then expands the sounds they are building this from. A more King Diamond-like crooner emerges at one point in the song. Things get dramatically more melodic going into the more contemplative "The One Who Blackens Everything" . The vocals have more of a throat bellow, and guitar heroics eventually emerge. 

More stellar guitar playing unfolds on "Between Seclusion and Obsession". There is a slight Latin underpinning to the almost flamenco guitar. The sung vocals sound great though this song feels like it wants to be an instrumental. The vocals make it feel like it wants to be Ihsahn. Things blast off a little more here which given the breadth of what this album does feels like it's an obligatory gesture to check off all the black metal boxes. I will give this album a 9, it's pretty impressive and an improvement over what I last heard from this project, Out on Debemur Morti Productions. 

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Selbst : " Relatos De Angustia"

Any metal that comes from south of the equator without being somevariation of bestial war metal , is a feat. This band from Chile has a darkness to their throb. At first it feels more like sludge. The snarl of the vocals is the first element that owes anything to black metal. The first track is an instrumental. They have a great tone . The first acutal song, takes some twists and turns to stay more interesting than the bands that just blast at you. Their sound might not be wildly original, but it is nuanced. When they do go into the more blasty moments that can be found onb songs like "the Depths of Selfishness" they being ot sound like every one else.

They drop back and create a more hypnotic and brooding tone going into " Silent Soul Throes" . Once it gains momentum itbegins to lose this more chilling quallty. I appreciate the fact that the bass doesn't get lost in the mix as it's rumble makes things heavier. The vocals stay in a dry mid range rasp . Like many harsh vocals they serve as a narrative at best, an obligatory layer at worst. I would not say they totally fall into the trap of being more of a sound than they are song writers., There is a fairly melodic guitar solo that adds a nice melodic atmosphere to things. "the Weight of Breathing" has a more majestic classic metal feel, but the way it starts makes it feel like it is a very dynamic ending to the previous song. It does include sung vocals and when it builds in intensity makes blast beats make sense. If you are a regular reader here , you might think since I complain about blast beats that I hate them. This is not ture I think too many black metal bands just rey on them and become one trick ponies due to this reliance.

We are half way into "Scuplting the Dirtiness of It's Existence" before things get interesting, I prefer the darker more sinister mood that they summon for "Let the Pain Run Through " to close the album. Thevocals have almost a sung quality to them. This means they serve at least some form and function over the throbe of this song. There are many subtle layers to this song making it more well thought out than most .I will give this album an 8.5, it doesn't fall into as many black metal tropes as some album that have come out this year, though not quite on the same tier as the new Kall or Vous Autres. Out on Debemur Morti.