Over 40 years of metal’s biological urge (and a hefty lack of restraint) has resulted in some incomprehensibly large catalogs. No one should have to listen to anywhere from 13 to 15 [Luca Turilli’s] Rhapsody [of Fire] albums just to get caught up for a new release. So whenever the fancy strikes us, we’re offering a selection of prime(r)(er) cuts to get you up to speed. Without further ado, welcome to…
“As we head into October, we can look back on 2020 and collectively (and safely) state that it is one helluva dumpster-fire-on-meth of a year. If there was ever a soundtrack to properly convey the screaming rage and laser-pointed anger we’re all dealing with right now, Anaal Nathrakh is gleefully supplying it. After over 20 years and 10 albums, the Birmingham duo cemented their status as extreme metal legends, fusing elements of industrial music, the frigid coldness of black metal, the go-for-the-throat attitude of grindcore, and the downright frightening vocal range of Dave Hunt that can vary between eviscerating blackened shrieks to borderline-operatic singing and King Diamond-esque falsettos, to coalesce into a force many imitate, but precious few can even get a whiff of achieving.
With their eleventh full-length, Endarkenment, just around the corner, this would be a good time for newcomers to Nathrakh to see what all the fuss is about, and for longtime fans to revisit some classic bits of nihilistic glory. Compiling this list was a challenge, as there were moments where I thought, “Just listen to this whole album and be done with it” on quite a few of their albums, but I tried to incorporate every variation of their sound, ranging from the marginally accessible, to the absolute extreme. Could 2020 be the Year of the (phallus-eyed) Pig? Stay tuned!”
– Grymm
- The Codex Necro (2001)1
- “When Humanity is Cancer”
- “Submission is for the Weak”
- “Pandemonic Hyperblast”
- “The Codex Necro”
- Domine Non Es Dignus (2004)
- “The Oblivion Gene”
- “Do Not Speak”
- “Swallow the World
- Eschaton (2006)2
- “Between Shit and Piss We Are Born”
- “Timewave Zero”
- “The Yellow King”
- “When the Lion Devours Dragon and Child”
- Hell is Empty, and All the Devils Are Here (2007)3
- “Screaming of the Unborn”
- “Shatter the Empyrean”
- “Castigation and Betrayal”
- In the Constellation of the Black Widow (2009)4
- “In the Constellation of the Black Widow”
- “More of Fire Than Blood”
- “So Be It”
- “Blood Eagles Carved on the Backs of Innocents”
- Passion (2011)
- “Volenti Non Fit Iniuria”
- “Drug-Fucking Abomination”
- “Tod Huetet Uebel”
- Vanitas (2012)
- “Forging Towards the Sunset”
- “In Cuelo Quies, Tout Finis Ici Bas”
- “Of Fire and Fucking Pigs”
- Desideratum (2014)
- “The One Thing Needful”
- “Idol”
- “The Joystream”
- The Whole of the Law (2016)5
- “We Will Fucking Kill You”
- “…So We Can Die Happy”
- “On Being a Slave”
- “Of Horror, and the Black Shawls”
- A New Kind of Horror (2018)
- “Obscene as Cancer”
- “New Bethlehem/Mass Death Futures”
- Endarkenment (2020)
- “Endarkenment”6
Anaal Nathrakh’s 11th album, Endarkenment, will be released on October 2nd worldwide via Metal Blade Records.
