There are two types of people in this world: those who appreciate raw black metal, and those who live fulfilling lives with friends and careers and family who speak to them at holiday gatherings. Since the advent of Bandcamp, the kvltest of all metal genres has become infinitely more accessible. Every year I wade through acres of tape hiss and tinny treble, looking for the half dozen or so raw black releases that rise above the buzzing tangle of cobwebs to rarified, putrid air. The following represent a cross-section of the seemingly infinite number of corpse-painted weirdos in basements the world over making music with no hope of even the smallest commercial success. This is for the fans, like me, as well as the curious. And if anyone in the comments says “This would be pretty good if the production wasn’t so shitty,” I swear I’ll slap on some messy black and white makeup, put bullet belts across my chest, find where your parents live, show up at their door and tell them we need references for the child we’re adopting together and not to worry about fulfilling other grandparent duties because we plan on selling the child to a Baphomet cult so we can buy drugs. The shitty production is the point.
Fugitive Wizard // Ultima Magus Chapters I, II, III, & IV – It would be fair to say that Fugitive Wizard is a (somewhat) more serious Old Nick, at least musically. The rollicking black metal is a bit more straight forward and the keyboards are a lot less goofy, but they’re kindred spirits. Indeed, Fugitive Wizard was one of the earliest non-Abysmal Specter bands on Grime Stone Records, though they seem to have parted ways. The four Ultima Magus EPs released in 2023 are identical in format to their previous Extorris Magus cycle, with each chapter consisting of two raw black metal tracks and an experimental synth interlude. Ultima Magus Chapter I is a slow start, but the stretch beginning with “Path of Druids” on II and ending with the stirring black metal anthem “Crimsonfrost Red Winter” on III is the band’s best work to date. The interludes can be described as “Brian Eno does dungeon synth” and all four are lovely.
Grave Pilgrim // The Bigotry of Purpose – If you read my raw black metal piece from last year, you’ll know that Grave Pilgrim was one of my favorite discoveries of 2022. They’re the only band to repeat on this year’s list, as full-length The Bigotry of Purpose expands on what I liked about the Molten Hands Reach West EP. They continue to hone a uniquely American take on black metal, with ramshackle riffs and guitar tones that veer into both rockabilly and classic rock territory, as displayed on the infectious “Prometheus Weeps.” Then, there’s that “old soul” character I noted before, this time embodied by the inclusion of “The Silver Swan,” an adaptation of 17th-century English composer Orlando Gibbons’ madrigal, as well as the remarkable guest vocals by a woman identified only as SD. Landing somewhere between opera and 19th-century parlor singing, SD lends a haunting and, frankly eyebrow-raising counterpoint/compliment to the songs “Rhiannon’s Wake” and “The Bigotry of Purpose.”
Jesum Christum // Svag Total – Longtime readers of this site may be familiar with the work of Jesum Christum’s sole member Adam Kjær Nielsen. As the drummer for Denmark’s Slægt, he’s been reviewed three times here, all quite favorably. Thanks to Italian label Canti Eretici quickly becoming one of my favorites for raw black metal, I discovered his highly melodic, atmospheric debut Svag Total. There’s a forlorn, almost cinematic sweep to the riffs that match the classical painting and etching that grace the cover art, but a nasty edge comes out here and there, especially on closing track “Herkser.” Nielsen is obviously in an exploratory phase, as he followed this up with an entirely choral 13-minute track sung in Latin and Hebrew, as well as released similar black metal in 2023 under the moniker Shrug. I hope it all coalesces into something cohesive, but even if it doesn’t this is a fine piece of raw, fiery melodicism.
Mycorrhizae // The Great Filtration – When I first stumbled upon this fungus-themed black metal duo, I knew there was a Minneapolis connection, but I didn’t realize it was the landing place of False drummer Travis Minnick after the ugly breakup of that band. Here he handles all instruments under the pseudonym Collector, along with vocalist Forager. Turns out his talents may have been wasted on drumming, because if Mycorrhizae’s debut full-length The Great Filtration was a breakfast cereal, it would be called OOPS! All Riffs, and your parents wouldn’t buy it for you because it would rot your teeth. And maybe turn you into one of those clickers from The Last of Us. Each tightly wound song runs through riff progressions like a brush fire while Forager shrieks about mycelial networks. If this is humanity’s future, I for one welcome our mushroom overlords.
Trhä // lhum’adsejja – No one, and I mean NO ONE, put out more music in 2023 than Mexico City-born, Texas-based Damián Antón Ojeda, also known as Trhä. Between 11 splits, five EPs and three full-lengths (I’m not even counting Ojeda’s other bands or solo projects), Trhä put out a wide spectrum of raw black metal and post-black experimentation, with all lyrics and titles in conlangs (made up languages) of their own invention. Some releases are sickly sweet and black-gaze-y, some icy and aggressive, all are at least interesting, many good, some very good. I listened to a solid two-thirds of Trhä’s output this year and settled on full-length lhum’adsejja as my favorite. It contains their catchiest riff craft in songs like “ovhen” and “dlhevuqshja dlhumër bem” as well as the sprawling experimental album closer “dosuar Qámrë ëlh,” which cleverly exploits the surprisingly short distance between programmed drum blast beats and EDM styles like drum’n’bass. If you want to dig deeper into Trhä’s mind-numbing 2023 output, I’d also recommend this EP and this split.
Ushangvagush // Pestmo’qon – After my oopsie-daisy in last year’s piece, I’ve become a bit more discerning about which indigenous raw black projects to promote, and Boston’s Ushangvagush appears to be well worth one’s time. A one-man Mi’kmaq wrecking ball of seething riffs and post-rock deconstruction, “D” turns his attention on sophomore full-length Pestmo’qon (“hunger” or “starvation”) to an ever-growing theme among metal bands: climate/ecological despair. The record consists of two 20-plus minute cuts that form a single piece. Part one is all barely contained rage and roiling, muscular riffs, like trying to hold a boa constrictor in a pillowcase. Part two lets some of the complex natural beauty we’re indiscriminately destroying shine through in gentler, eerier soundscapes. This isn’t a very hopeful record. The things being grieved are technically still around, but un-savable.
Vampiric Coffin // Give Your Blood to the Night & The Last Drop – As per usual, I found a lot of this year’s Grime Stone Records releases enjoyable, adding a fair number to my Bandcamp collection. Curta’n Wall made my official top ten list, but Vampiric Coffin also deserves recognition. Between two EPs totaling 12 songs and a blazing 22 minutes, this Mississippi-based project by one Count Jeffery the Vampire wraps one buzzing, infectious riff after another in cob-webby production raw enough to please any lo-fi-o-phile. Black metal is the core, but there’s loads of thrash and punk influence as well with just a sprinkling of synth here and there. The songs are highly repeatable, which is great considering they’re all about two minutes long.
Jesum Christum // Svag Total – Longtime readers of this site may be familiar with the work of Jesum Christum’s sole member Adam Kjær Nielsen. As the drummer for Denmark’s Slægt, he’s been reviewed three times here, all quite favorably. Thanks to Italian label Canti Eretici quickly becoming one of my favorites for raw black metal, I discovered his highly melodic, atmospheric debut Svag Total. There’s a forlorn, almost cinematic sweep to the riffs that match the classical painting and etching that grace the cover art, but a nasty edge comes out here and there, especially on closing track “Herkser.” Nielsen is obviously in an exploratory phase, as he followed this up with an entirely choral 13-minute track sung in Latin and Hebrew, as well as released similar black metal in 2023 under the moniker Shrug. I hope it all coalesces into something cohesive, but even if it doesn’t this is a fine piece of raw, fiery melodicism. 
Ushangvagush // Pestmo’qon – After my oopsie-daisy in last year’s piece, I’ve become a bit more discerning about which indigenous raw black projects to promote, and Boston’s Ushangvagush appears to be well worth one’s time. A one-man Mi’kmaq wrecking ball of seething riffs and post-rock deconstruction, “D” turns his attention on sophomore full-length Pestmo’qon (“hunger” or “starvation”) to an ever-growing theme among metal bands: climate/ecological despair. The record consists of two 20-plus minute cuts that form a single piece. Part one is all barely contained rage and roiling, muscular riffs, like trying to hold a boa constrictor in a pillowcase. Part two lets some of the complex natural beauty we’re indiscriminately destroying shine through in gentler, eerier soundscapes. This isn’t a very hopeful record. The things being grieved are technically still around, but un-savable. 
