Ulver : "Neverland"

This album was released on New Year's Eve, so it will count as a 2026 release. The first track serves as an introduction, featuring a spoken word sample played over ambient sounds. Piano leads into "Elephant Trunk." So far, it seems like they are stepping away from the synth wave 80s sounds of the past couple of releases that have been really strong in terms of songwriting. Though electronic sounds are still in play in a big way, the focus is just not as retrofitted. It has also been instrumental. It sounds like drug music, so perhaps there was something to those Century Media-fueled rumors. "Weeping Stone' does feel more focused on sounds than being a hooky song. 

It is clear from "People of the Hills" that they are dedicated to this more experimental direction. At times, it sounds more like the soundtrack to a weird sci-fi movie.  But this track is more like an idea they did not build into an actual song, feeling more like an intro for "They're Coming the Birds !" which finds more of a groove. Kristofer has such a great voice; it's hard for me to imagine why they would not want to make music that is vocal-focused. But I at least appreciate the mood of this one. "Hark Hark, the Dogs do Bark" feels like an exotic pop song in how it winds around. Then things begin to sail off into the haze of ambiance.

At least there is a defined groove that develops for "Pandora's Box." If you are not going to give me vocals, I at least need that. "Quivers in the Marrow" is less defined and more free-floating floating ambiance. Sadly, "Welcome to the Jungle" is not a cover of the Guns N' Roses song, as that might have been more interesting. The last song musically feels like an instrumental take on the direction they were heading with the previous albums. I will give this album an 8.5; it sounds great, and they weave together an incredible blend of sounds, but their vocal-oriented songwriting is more my thing. 

Gothtober - Perturbator : "Age of Aquarius"

 

The new album from these French masters of dark synth wave features some interesting guest vocalists, with Kristoffer Rygg from Ulver being the first to step up to the mic on the opening track "Apocalyspe Now," which finds him crooning about a war to end all wars, which is the kind of theme I look for in music. "Lunacy" takes you on the kind of 80s-themed space roller coaster you expect from these guys. The grooves on their instrumentals always help carry the songs. The dynamic shift it takes into heavier intentions also helps keep my attention; the arrangements this time around have really been fine-tuned. 

It flows really well into "Venus," which features Tristan from Author & Punisher. His voice works really well with what they are doing here. "Gass Staircase" almost feels more like an Author & Punisher song than the previous one, as it packs more of an industrial punch. "Hangover Square" is more atmospheric, whereas the beat from "The Art of War" is more in your face. Although the vibes begin to run together a little by the time we reach "12th House," it does pack more of a HEALTH-like punch.

Greta Link offers her voice to " Lady Moon," giving it the melody needed to add more depth to the synth and beats. "Swimming Poll" is pretty much just an interlude. "Mors Ultima Ratio"  takes off, racing down a neon cyber highway. Niege from Alccest appears on the title track to close out the album. It sounds cool, but it's more about cool sounds than having the groove of a song as it basks in epic atmosphere.I will give this album a 9.5. and see how it grows on me, the choice of vocialists certainly elevates over most projects like this. 

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The Top 10 Electronic Albums of 2024

The Electronic albums list covers music that is less organic than what is on other lists, without being pop music. There is a little more button-pushing this year but balanced out by songwriting rather than just cool sounds thrown together. Also, we have a little mix of synth wave, TRIP-HOP, and new wave projects leaning albums. These are not the coolest electronic albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say. 

  After I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of 2024. 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. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and 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 Electronic albums of 2024.

10-Master Boot Record- "HARDWAREZ" 

 11 full-lengths into this project, things are getting bigger and more polished. How could they not? The mastermind behind this project is producer Victor Love, who after playing with a live band on tour decided to use actual live guitars in the studio, rather than just over-driven synths. Sonically this album works off the themes that fans are familiar with, some of the songwriting feels more mature 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/09/master-boot-record-hardwarez.html

9-EIVØR : "ENN" 

There is a difference between exploiting and embracing your culture. This Nordic siren might sing in her native tongue of Faroese, but she is not pulling out folk instruments to play Viking. She owes more to the ethereal darkwave acts of the 80s than any neo-folk. Ironically she is on tour with Heilung who are marketing geniuses despite their primitive shtick. The ambiance is thick, though she is not just about capturing a sound, she is capable of writing songs. It's closer to the dance floor than Enya, but there is a slight new-age meditative quality, even to the more sultry moments

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/03/eivr-enn.html

 

8-Haunted Plasma- "I"

This Finnish band features members of a guest Oranssi Pazuzu and Grave Pleasures, which was enough to lure me in for a listen, Their sound broods in the realm of darker synth music but has enough melody in its drone to appeal to me. Not the kind of music you are quick to associate with Finland, but the album works to capture the  intended mood 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/haunted-plasma-i.html

 

          

7-JUSTICE- "Hyperdrama" 

This slick button-pushing take on disco is almost too happy for me. But respect what these guys do as songwriters and it made me willing to give the album a chance. Maybe this is what gay clubs are playing these days. If not it should be. Not only was this better than expected it is also one of the better electronic albums I've heard this year.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/12/justice-hyperdrama.html

 

6-Kite- "VII" 

This grandiose synth duo from Sweden has released a lot of singles but has yet to produce a full-length album despite having been an ongoing project for the past 16 years, They have assembled their singles and compiled them here into this album. They are highly skilled at grooves and big sprawling atmospheres, so those skills are showcased here. The vocals are oddly androgynous but work well on the anthemic  jams. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/gothtober-kite-vii.html

5-Ulver- "Liminal Animals" 

Rygg is back on the tip of the smooth groove, making music that comes close to the 80s homage synth-wave bands are making these days. But with a dusky winter haze cast as he coasts down the beachside highway of life, these songs are cruising. Lyrically things are getting darker and more dystopian. He has been watching the news. Took time to grow on me but sunk in. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/ulver-red-light.html

 

4-Amiture - "Mother Engine" 

It's an odd blend of 90s styles that in some ways reminds me of the  Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, as electronic beats are set against more organic melodies.  The vocals have a great deal of emotion to their croon, and the atmosphere draped around the song is thick. I like all the sounds that are in play here. This album feels dark, but not in a goth sense, it is possessed by the loneliness of a solitary road trip. If Luscious Jackson had been a depressed man who wandered the open highways of upstate New York a similar feeling would have been invoked. 

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

 

3-Underworld - "Strawberry Hotel" 

The 11th album from the British electronica icons feels like everything you expect from them. The familiar way they build their songs but then find them incorporating new sounds and dynamics into that formula, which is really all you can ever ask for from an artist like this.I appreciate their willingness to try new things even this late in their career. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/underworld-strawberry-hotel.html

 

2-Chelsea Wolfe -" She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She"

Wolfe's 8th album, yes we are counting "Mistake in Parting" finds her diving into more of a trip-hop feel. That is a trip-hop that is thicker on the trip than the hop. It is propelled by slinky electronic beats and it captures a great mood, though I did prefer the songs on this album when she presented them in her stripped-down ep "Unbound" 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/02/chelsea-wolfe-she-reaches-out-to-she.html

1-Snow Strippers -"Night Killaz 2" 

producer Graham Perez, and singer Tatiana Schwaninger. have totally killed it here, sonically it's almost like a cross between Charli XCX and Grimes, but on old-school techno drugs. This glitched-out more experimental take on electronica finds the emphasis is on the beats and soundscapes being woven here. Tatiana is not the greatest singer, but the secret to this album lies in how her voice is presented. She has her own charisma in her persona. An infectious listen that got as much playtime as faves like the Cure and Taylor Swift. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/04/snow-strippers-night-killaz-vol-2.html

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November's Top 10 Albums

It's time for November'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 and 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 next year 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 Synth wave to Doom metal so you may find your new favorite among them. Here are the Top 10 albums for  November of 2024.

10-Aiwaz- "Darrkh… It Is!" 

Doom

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/november-is-doom-aiwaz-darrkh-it-is.html

9-Yersin- "THE SCYTHE IS REMORSELESS"

Crust 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/yersin-scythe-is-remorseless.html

8-Ulver -"Liminal Animals"

Synth Wave 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/ulver-red-light.html

7-Poppy-"Negative Spaces" 

Nu-pop Electronica 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/poppy-negative-spaces.html

6-Underworld -'Strawberry Hotel" 

Electronic 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/underworld-strawberry-hotel.html

5-Opeth -"The Last Will & Testament"

Prog

 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/opeth-last-will-testament.html

4- Fatima- "Eerie" 

Grunge

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/november-is-doom-fatima-eerie.html

3-Marilyn Manson - ""One Assignation Under God Chapter 1"  

Goth Rock

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/marilyn-manson-one-assignation-under.html

2-David Gilmour - 'Luck and Strange" 

Progressive Rock 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/11/david-gilmour-luck-and-strange.html

1- the Cure -"Songs of a Lost World " 

Goth 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2024/10/the-cure-songs-of-lost-world.html

post-607

Ulver : 'Liminal Animals"

Rygg is back on the tip of the smooth groove, making music that comes close to the 80s homage synth-wave bands are making these days. But with a dusky winter haze cast as he coasts down the beachside highway of life, these songs are cruising. Lyrically things are getting darker and more dystopian. He has been watching the news. "Locusts" drifts like a Tears For Fears b-side. Enough hook to keep you invested.  After an instrumental interlude, he fires back with "Hollywood Babylon' which has more of a disco feel. Lyrically it mockingly announces "Not Fuck With America".  It packs the most groove into a song thus far. 

"Forgive Us" falls back into a more Tears For Fears-influenced soulful pop ballad. This is followed by another one of the atmospheric pieces. These sound nice enough, but I am not going to count them for the purpose of this review.  "A City in the Skies" bounces with an 80s-like cadence, not as pronounced as perhaps some of the previous songs. Lyrically it upholds the bleak stage that was already set by the other songs. The elephant in the room might be the total lack of any heavier elements, and how this project might as well change its name, I get that but he has already covered such a wide range that if you are hanging on as a fan, then you have accepted this fact. 

There are two takes on "Ghost Entry" the first being the kind of chilled synth wave with the neon colored 80s groove. The second take finds robotic effects on the vocals and it is less of a song more of an outro, but there is enough going on to count it as a song for the purpose of this review. I will give this one a 9.5, as the parts that did not grab me on the first couple of listens will grow on me and they are great at what they do.

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Carpenter Brut : "Leather Terror"

 The French synth wave project comes perhaps their closest yet to making a rock album with the more aggressive percussion leading into the album. One thing that makes this album stand out are the guest vocal appearances. The first is from Gunship an artist not far removed from what this project already does so it sounds like an extension of their natural direction though the vocal melody gives this a more accessible feel, connecting modern songwriting with retro sounds. Fromer Dillinger Escape Plan singer Greg Puciato,  handles the vocals for "Imaginary Firer". It might seem like an odd pairing if you are unfamiliar with his solo work, which does fall along the lines of a surreal retrofitted new wave sound similar to this. His voice flows very well with what they are doing here.    

Ulver is my favorite guest artist when it comes to their work apart from this. But here the ballad kind of falls little flat and I was hoping for more. I was not expecting anything from their black metal past, but more along the lines of their last album. Where "Day Stalker" sounds like this band is just clocking in for business as usual, "Night Prowler" is a more driven song that reminds me a little of Lords of Acid's first album. French singer Persha helps them to create a very authentic 80s feel that works well for what they7 are going for here. This could be the theme song to an 80s sci-fi movie.  Granted a very cheesy one, "Color Me Blood" kinda of feels like they are going to the well too many times as this worked on "Night Prowler " but more of the same falls flat.  

Sylvaine's voice works well with what they are doing on "Stabat Mate". When more electronic elements begin to pervade it works well as it brings her into their world and out of her comfort zone. This carries over into the following song. This finds them with a groove that plays more to the project's strengths without being redundant. Jonka from Tribulation joins them on the last song and adda a snarl to the proceedings. I think they should have produced his voice a little differently to blend it better, as this should be my favorite song but is not. I will give this album a 9 overall it is a great deal of fun, not perfect, but the strongest moments blanked those that did not connect with me as much. It could have been darker but I think it shines in regard to what they set out to do. 

Black Metal History Month -The Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time -46-37

We are going further into this darkness with this list of the Top 66 Black Metal Bands of All Time.  Before you get your bullet belt twisted with what is about to go down here. I am not writing commentary with each entry, instead I will cryptically foreshadow the reasoning for where these bands fall. I typically defaulted to Last Fm so this is ranked by most listened to by me. Since it is my blog it only makes sense I can think I am a huge fan of one band but if I never listen to them how good can they really be? There are bands that are supposed classics , and well they did make the list and this is the top 66 black metal bands out of hundreds. If they did not rank as high as you liked well go make your own fucking list or start your own fucking blog. 

There will not be much in the way of Raw or Beastial black metal, because they tend so sound like shit . There are many sub-genres represented here, Atmospheric, progressive , first wave , depressive, post ...so lots of ground is going to be covered. I have also included the country so we will have a clearer picture of who is exporting the best black metal. The tracks chosen are not the best , but the 6th track from my favorite album unless my favorite album does not have six songs and then I am picking the album before that one, if that one doesn't have six songs then I keep going back until I find one that does.  So here ya go 

 46-Urfaust

Country- Netherlands

 

45-Peste noire

Country- France

 

44 -Anagnorisis

Country- America 

 

 43-Sigh

Country- Japan

 

42 -The Great Old Ones 

 Country- France 

   

41-Ulver

Country- Norway

 

40- Kall

Country- Sweden

39 Kamfar

  Country- Norway

   

 38-A Pregnant Light

Country- America 

-

37-Liturgy

Country- America

Top Ten Electronic Albums of 2020

With stay at home order in place drug use is on the rise. I did not do any drugs of the recreational variety this year , but support those who do .Here is the music you should have been doing them to. Electronic here means music not organic , so hip hop, synth wave, new wave, all the waves and witch house too have been included in this discussion. I . Ok now that that is out of the way , much like in years past 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 there is only a couple new bands on this list.

The fact these artists 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 electronic albums of 2020

10- Statiqbloom- "Beneath the Whelm" 

Fade Kainer comes back darker and denser. The songs are murky funerals of cyber ambiance with trippy drum sounds abounding. His vocals are often croaked whisper under the pulse that urges you to dance in the dismal dystopia. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/10/gothtober-statiqbloom-beneath-whelm.html

9-Boot Blacks - "Thin Skies" 

I like classic Depeche Mode. These guys do too. We have that in common. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/10/gothtober-bootblacks-thin-skies.html 

 

8- Tricky - "Fall to Pieces" 

This is not Tricky's best album. But even when he dials it in he is still doing better than most. It is almost a little too happy for him so I guess he is still sober. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/08/tricky-fall-to-pieces.html

 

7-Dan Terminus-" Last Call for Al Passengers"

Almost the synth wave version of metal. For me to be able to give an instrumental album multiple listens it speaks to how well the album flows and the songs are written. 

Abysmal Hymns: Gothtober -Dan Terminus : "Last Call For All Passengers"

6-Carpenter Brut -" Blood Machines Soundtrack" 

This soundtrack pretty much helped make this movie. Synth wave has not been my thing but this had a great deal of drive and set the mood in a memorable manner . 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/06/report-to-dance-floor-carpenter-brut.html

 

5-Ghostemane- "Anti Icon"

Not purely and industrial album, and not just a hip hop album either so that is what it belong right here. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/10/gothtober-ghostemane-anti-icon.html

 

4-Puscifer - " Existential Reckoning" 

A somewhat more subdued groove to this album, but it sounds great, the best produced album on this list for sure and Maynard doing what he does in the most refined fashion this side of A Perfect Circle. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/puscifer-existential-reckoning.html

 

4- Aesop Rock - "Spirit World Field Guide"

 To say he continues to experiment is redundant because by nature that is what is does. He throws his words around better than any rapper out . Where some hip hop albums , made the pop list, there is nothing poppy about what he is doing here. Yet the songs are catchy. If you know what he does then him being on here should not surprise you.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/11/aesop-rock-spirit-world-field-guide.html

3-SALEM- "Fires In Heaven" 

It had been far too long, yes they are missing a key member for this album, but they are witch house even without their witch. This album is more about a feeling than the kind of songs to bump in your car to have a good time, unless that good time include hard drugs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/10/gothtober-salem-fires-in-heaven.html

2-Grimes -"Miss Anthropocene" 

The goth sugar baby went above and beyond to put her vibes to music. This album sounds great, if you were to shoot MDMA to come out of a depressive binge while riding in your 5g satellite then this is what it would sound like. Pop music for your lizard brain.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/02/grimes-miss-anthropocene.html

 

2- Grimes -"Miss Anthropocene"
https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/02/grimes-miss-anthropocene.html

1- Ulver - " Flowers of Evil" 

This was a tough call. Here the band fully commits to going in a smooth new wave like direction, it feels like a synth wave version of Roxy Music. This album edged out Grimes , because while she wallows in her weird , this album stayed more focused on songs. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2020/08/ulver-flowers-of-evil.html

Soundtrack for the week : the Dragon -con that wan't there edition

Well it would have been Dragon -Con. But alas they are having to do a virtual convention ,which unless they have one on Second Life it is unlikely I will tune in for as it sound more like a weekend of podcasts and Youtube channels which just doesn''t compare. I am not the only one  having a rough time with the weekend, but Dragon con and and Frolicon are the two times of the times of the year where I feel. can just blend in . Not sure I would go as far and say 'they are my people though I do have friends from the conventions that are like family. Perhaps I am more bonded to the Frolicon crew, but it's stil hard after going 20 years in a row . Some people had begun to ask for playlists on Facebook so here is one.  A playlist for the con that was not there but in the spirit of the con.


Demons & Wizards - "Diabolic"

 



Marilyn Manson- "We Are Chaos"



 


Dunwich - "Solitude"



 





Mushroomhead- "the Heresy"




 




Sound VVitch- "Transformative Fire"




 Igorrr- "Parpaing"



 




 Palaye Royale - "Lonely"



 


Corlyx- "Porcelin Skin"


 


 Ulver - "Nostalgia"

 


 Blaqk Audio -" Bird Sister"


 

Ulver : " Flowers of Evil"

 I have not heard any of the singles leading up to this. With these guys it could go anywhere. This is almost like synth wave with Rygg's  vocal over it. It almost sounds like Japan or Roxy Music when the beat kicks in . That is ok with me ! " Russian Doll" finds more of the smooth 80s synths flowing under the vocal melodies. This song is however not as strong meody wise as the opening track. It knicks nicely when the beat drops. Are these words we thought we woud have been using in regards to this band 20 years ago ? Ok most of you did not know who this was 20 years ago and were stil listening to Korn in that case this is not going to be too much of a reach for you.

There is actually a litte guitar on " Machines Guns and Peacock Feathers".  This song puts it's beat to good use. "Hour of the Wolf" backs off into thicker atmosphere . This does incude guitars sitting back in the mix.  We head out on the dance floor for " Apocalypse 1993". It is not as hooky of a song despite some nice harmonized vocals. Rygg reminds me a little a of George Micheal on this one. "Little Boy" was the first single from this album. It would not be totally out of place on today's alternative pop radio. Lyrically it's more dense . The use of guitar on this also works well. "Nostalgia" continues down a souful poppy path . It doesn't grip me as solidlyu as some of the album's other songs, but has a great guitar tone.

The abum ends with the more ballad like love song " a Thousand Cuts". There are familar 80s pop sound on this one. It coud have come from the Miami Vice sound track. But there is a odd melancholy that haunts it. Lyrics like " victims of a satanic church" certainly winks at where they came from. I will round this one up to a 10 as it will continue to grow on me. I am fine with them growing out of metal if they continue to temper their experimentation with great song writing as they have done here.

Gothtober's Weekly Play List - Darkest Folk Metal

Folk metal came up in a discussion I had last week, so I decided for Gothober to find the darkest folk metal, which since I always have to make things harder for myself when it comes to these things also has a Halloween like theme in it's lyrics. So this forced me to think out of the box. Some songs like Ulver who got there start as a folk black metal band, maybe not be going by the numbers on their song as it comes from a period when they had begun to branch out though the influence is still there is the melodies of the vocals. Tiamat is another who dipped into folk metal way back in the 90s before it became a thing like it is today, and the song that was chosen due to it's lyrical theme, also deviates into more of a straightforward metal, but there is not a ton of folk metal out there that meets the strict rules I orginally set down and when I begin something like this is can get stuck as a draft unless I force it past my OCD and allow myself to rework the rules since I am the one who orignally made them in the first place, If you  read my work for Cvlt Nation, you know my battle with mental health and can see how it even effects the writing I do here. So now have a listen .



Ruins of Beverast - " I Raised this Stone as a Ghastly Memorial"


 


 Agalloch - "In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion"



 


Graveland "Chamber of Wicked Tears"

 


 Empyrium - "The Days Before the Fall"



 


 Tiamat- "Sympathy for the Devil"



 


 Bathory- "The Ravens"

 


Solstafir - "Ghosts of Light"

 


Ulver- "Proverbs of Hell"


 


 Primordial - Coffin Ships


 

Black Metal History Month -the Top 50 Black Metal Albums of All Time-40 to 31

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.

32 - Moonsorrow-"Varjoina_kuljemme_kuolleiden_maassa" .

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.


 

Ulver :"ATGCLVSSCAP"

It's safe to say at the point in time you never know what kind of album Ulver is going to put out. It's also a safe guess that they will never be a black metal band again. The album opens with a swell of atmosphere is is almost hard to call a song, if I passed out on my synth and became a restless sleeper I'm sure the results would be similar. They do pull it together and write "Glammer Hammer " that is very cinematic, it's instrumental world music mixed with electronic and with a few hits of heavy guitar. It is a powerful piece of music and good to here hints of a heavier dynamic incorporated. There is an almost King Crimson meets the Labyrinth soundtrack feel to "Moody Stix" , it morphs into more of a march, not as compelling as the previous song, but not bad for the soundtrack to a fantasy game perhaps. "Cromagnosis"  has a bass line merge from the buzz of electronic noise. A guitar part begins to form around it as it swirls into something with more of smoothed out Cure like post-punk groove before escalating into tribal drumming.

I like the fact that they are involving a darker current to the songs this time around.They do continue to litter the album with atmospheric interludes, that Brian Eno already did better. A whispered vocal finally surfaces on "Om Hanumate Namah" which carries an exotic Middle Eastern that spirals through it in places. The guitar tone is great and the song is dynamic for something meant to drone. Yeah , I'm not sure why there are sound effects of frogs opening the song "Desert/Dawn" since there are no frogs in the desert. This one falls closer into krautrock and is very electronic and drones in the same vein for most of the song only adding more layers of synth.  "Gold Beach" is a more stagnant and less dynamic take on krautrock. "Nowhere ( Sweet sixteen) redeems this one with actual singing that is very influenced by Depeche Mode. Distorted guitar comes in over a baritone chant of "nowhere...catastrophe" . The guitar tone is a echoing hollow body that is pretty chilling. There is a slight Faith No More feel to this song as well, but dipped in 80s pop like Tears For Fears.

There are spoken word vocals that sound like something from post-prison Burzum on "Ecclesiastes" . The song it self if a minimalist drone for the first four minutes until actual singing returns and its the soulful almost George Michael style of singing .It makes me think of what it might sound like if Tears For Fears covered "Planet Caravan" .  Of the 12 songs on this album only 8 of those are real songs the others are ambient interludes some of those I did not even care to acknowledge in this review. So when you trim the fat, this album gets an 8 when it comes down to the actual songs. More vocals would have been nice , but the cinematic quality is pretty captivating at times.

they've cracked down on everything from Youtube to Bandcamp on this ,will post audio when it surfaces.

6.4/8

Borknagar : "Winter Thrice"

Over the years the band's evolution away from their black metal beginning to an elaborate sprawl of viking folk metal has always seemed like the next logical step in their growth.  Despite ICS Vortex only lending his golden pipes to one song, "Universal" has always been my favorite album by these guys, so this album joins "Urd" as having some big snow shoes to fill. lThey have not dialed back their grandiose nature , every thing is done to excess while still serving the song which is what separates them from many prog metal bands who show up to shred with little regard for the finer points of song writing.

The title track scales things back in places to create a more intimate space between the vocals and the listener. This is not to say they fore go all metal aspirations to create this as this song has it's more venomous moments which come much closer to black metal than the opener. The clean vocals have a very relaxed Pink Floydish croon to them that bands such as Opeth and Enslaved have also implemented in the past. They get meaner for the more snarling "Cold Runs the River" which is first song that makes me to the casual head bang at my desk...it's a more rhythmic nod of approval. The clean vocals also have balls to them. The song pretty much has everything you could want form a more melodic form of metal as it even ebbs down to a more introspective section  towards the end.

Not as wacky as something Arcturus might do ,  "Panorama" still indulges heavier in their more flowery prog impulses. When bands dip this deeply into fantasy land in a way that frolics like this it always makes me think of Spinal Tap's "Stonehenge". "When Chaos Calls" makes me think of what Dimmu might have sounded like if the "In Sorte Diaboli" line up had stayed intact, but but decided to go in a much more melodic direction. If it was not for the rasped vocals to balance things out they would have gone in an almost power-metal turn on the slowed paced of "Erodent". Then two and a half minutes in some blast beats take the intensity up a notch before they swing back into the dramatic melody and then the song weaves it way around these dynamics. I suppose you could call "Noctilucent" a viking metal power ballad. The guitar solo in this one really made my ears perk up.

Form the title alone I knew "Terminus" was going to be heavier. It's pretty much a rule in metal if the song title sounds like it could also be the name of a super villain you gotta get heavier with it. Two minutes in they begin bookending the heavy sections with more melodic portions. They throw a lot at you here and it takes a few listens to fully digest it. They close the album on the proggy side of folk metal with "Dominant Winds" . Rasped vocals do come in to chant the song 's title in the lyrics, but over all this song seems to be lighter in tone than most of the album, though this album never feels all that dark to me to begin with. There is a wide range of vocals colors Ulver main-man Garm guests on two songs to add to this spectrum. Overall I'll give this a 9.5 due to the talent employed in it's construction, though remain unsure if this is something I can really heard my self listening to on days that it doesn't snow.

This album comes out January 22nd on Century Media .

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Myrkur : " M"

If you were hoping Chelsea Wolfe's new album would have been more metal, then this Norse singer's black metal project might be what you were looking for. Her first ep sent the world of black metal a buzz as she blends very pure folk vocals with atmospheric black metal. Her full length ties her to the upper tier of second wave black metal as its produced by Garm from Ulver and features members of Mayhem and Nidingr helping out with some of the instrumentation . Since the songs are in Norse I'll go ahead and translate them for you as we jump into this one.This first song alone covers more ground than most black metal albums do in their entirety. Her singing voice can go up into a soprano range with fluid ease, and while many singers claim to be classically trained, you would expect her to be. She holds off on the raw blasting until the second song. The angelic folk is more of  a decorative accent than the focal point of this song that slows into a drearier paced offering. "Evil Born" almost feels like the more melodic extension of the previous. Her dreamy vocals float like the Cocteau Twins of the metallic pulse.  Vocal interlude that flirts with chamber music leads into the doomy "I am God, I am Servant".

"Northern Lights" is another interlude consisting of voice and piano that serves as the intro to the classic metal chug of "Murder" which is the most straight forward song on the album with the vocals sounding like a possessed honey badger attacking. This is also the only song that I had second thoughts  about . Going back and giving it a harder listen , there is the darker section that provides some dynamic atmosphere midway into it and goes into a more tribal drum section before speeding back up into the blasting and fades out.  "Byssan Lull" fades back into a classical folk piece that is once again just piano and voice. "Deep in the Forest" has a slight post-punk feeling to the opening guitar riff as her vocals glide over it. It hovers on that more shoe gazing metal feel leaving no corner of black metal unturned on this album. There is a harsher turn following this one up on "Skadi" which finds the guitars creating a beautifully ugly dissonance before the more melodic elements are layer onto the song. The song goes into more of a gallop when her graceful vocals return to haunt the din. The album ends with the delicate piano piece "Norn"

Its albums like this one that further my upset that I can't find my iPod and make me eager to replace it if it has indeed fallen into the abyss as this is music that I need on hand at all times especially as we head into the fall. This album shows you can make dark icy black metal without having to compromise melody and resort to blast beats all the time. In fact it makes the more raw and feral parts that much more effective for providing a broader range of dynamics. She is one of the best female metal singers in the game and that goes for all the frilly symphonic bands that want to be Night Wish as well. This is an album I can just leave on and not get enough of so it deserves at least a 10, maybe even a 10.5 for going above and beyond we what have begun to expect from not only black metal but metal of any genre.If you are fan of dark metal black or otherwise this needs to be heard.



This album comes out August 21st on Relapse.

Arcturus : "Arcturian"

ICS Vortex was one of my favorite things about the classic line up of my guilty pleasure... Dimmu Borgir. His long running side project, which is his long running main project now, aside from the iffy solo album he released, is what I would suggest if you asked me what steam punk metal should sound like. Similar to Borknagar but much more theatrical, they balance the power prog cheese with a darker and heavier element that doesn't not require twenty sided dice in pocket, though they wouldn't hurt. The first album in ten years There is a Nightwish folk metal feel to "Crashland", but the exotic scales and intervals his vocals employ give it a darker current. Of course when your band has three ex-members of Ulver you can expect some folk elements. His vocals don't sound quite as powerful in fact they have more of the strained tenor to them that Roger Waters voice carries , could just be a stylistic choice . He doesn't each for the skies with the same epic flare he did when soaring into Dimmu songs.

At the opening song they employed some electronic elements that  gave the sound a more modern touch. They return to that on "Warp". They also succeeded in doing this by embracing more black metal moments on "Angst"  though some of the blasting makes the song feel rushed. They back off into a more Pink Floydian elegance on "Game Over". Hellhammer's drumming is stellar as always I enjoy him playing something other than black metal to here how those chops are applied to other styles.  "Demon" has a dense and discordant sound and industrial undertones. I like it's dark, it just not the most layered song on the album.

Vortex's get back to a more epic place on "Pale".The  more trippy introspective side of the band returns on "the Journey" which is filled with cool sounds , but feels more like an intro or interlude than a song unto it's self. "Archer" has big Phantom of the Opera keyboards, but the other Andrew Lyod Weber staples step aside in favor of big-top prog.This song does take more dynamic dips than the others. "Bane" closes the album on a dark synth slathered note, they tend take you on a roller-coaster of double bass that spill you out into another carnival like frolic. Over all an enjoyable listen , but they played it a little safe, I'll give it an 8, but fans of cheese drenched prog metal, who probably take it too seriously to think of it that way should round it up. Worth a listen from fans of any of the bands the members of Arcturus have played with...yes, Emperor  fans too.