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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
>
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.
2-Infant Island- "Obsidian Wreath"
\
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.
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.
pst309
