Black Metal

Sacrificial Vein – Black Terror Genesis Review

Sacrificial Vein – Black Terror Genesis Review

“There’s that strain of black metal, straddling if not disregarding boundaries between atmospheric, post, melodic, dissonant, and second-wave, where the music, true to its occupying the less-mainstream corners of the genre, sits like a shadowy presence in peripheral vision—preoccupying itself not with Lovecraftian horrors, or overt, antagonistic portrayals of Satanism, but with terrors less far-fetched and obscure. An occultism of an introspective, existential bent, premised on the human mind. Sacrificial Vein, comprised of fragmented members of Nothingness, Aegaeon, and a mysterious JU, follow this dark trajectory.” Tapping some veins.

Hecatoncheir – Nightmare Utopia Review

Hecatoncheir – Nightmare Utopia Review

“The journey begins by following a dark silhouette, each installment describes surreal and dreamlike landscapes, strange characters, and objects—with monolithic importance attached in the strange way that dreams do. In the latter tracks, ever-vigilant eyes watch from the stars and assume a more horrific face as they emerge from the darkness as the cruel pelagic and empyrean deities and monsters among Lovecraft’s multitudes. Hecatoncheir’s uniquely dreamlike take on chthonic horror, balanced by its ambitions in liminal spaces, set one hell of a precedent for the music contained herein.” Fear and loathing in Slovakia.

Misotheist – Vessels by Which the Devil is Made Flesh Review

Misotheist – Vessels by Which the Devil is Made Flesh Review

“In the overcrowded field of black metal, it’s difficult to stand out. This is even more true when you commit to working within the confines of the genre, rather than, say, employing some gimmick like “black metal meets Barbie meets hardcore.” Yet within two albums, quietly standing out is exactly what mysterious Norwegian outfit Misotheist managed to do. Forging a path that threaded the needle between “accessible” and “dissonant as fuck.” Miso spooky!

Vltimas – EPIC Review

Vltimas – EPIC Review

“International supergroup Vltimas crashed upon the Earth early in 2015, dropping their well-received debut roughly four years later. Comprised of Morbid Angel’s very own David Vincent at the mic, Cryptopsy’s Flo Mounier manning the kit, and Aura Noir’s Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen slinging axe, the project deals in grooving, swaggering blackened death metal singing Satan’s praises and glorifying the destruction of all the world. You know, the usual.” Super epic?

Necrophobic – In the Twilight Grey Review

Necrophobic – In the Twilight Grey Review

“When I covered Necrophobic’s 2020 release, Dawn of the Damned, I spoke at length about what this band means to me as a reviewer and fan of heavy metal music. These guys singlehandedly got me into black metal, and when I hear other bands playing a similarly melodic, death metal-infused version of the genre, I can’t help but hold them up next to these guys, my personal archetype of what this style is supposed to sound like.” Necro-mongering.

Skuggor – Whispers of Ancient Spells Review

Skuggor – Whispers of Ancient Spells Review

Skuggor is exactly what you expect it will sound like. Gothic font and grainy nature photo with themes of darkness, mist, and myth? You betcher ass it’s atmospheric black metal. “But I’m sure there’s something unique here, Hollow,” I can hear you say. Have you heard atmospheric black metal? You don’t listen to this shit for the neatest thing since Deftones. You listen cuz you want to be sucked into arcane and forlorn woods of ancient magic and nature untouched by human hands. I mean, duh.” Idiots.

Volcandra – The Way of Ancients Review

Volcandra – The Way of Ancients Review

“My roommate and good friend once got to meet Kentucky melodic black metal troupe Volcandra at work while I was stuck doing something infinitely less fun, I’m sure. I know this because she, familiar with how deeply entrenched I am in the metal scene, messaged me to ask, ‘Hey, do you know this band called Volcandra?’ I, of course, responded, ‘Yeah, they’re pretty good! Why?’ She replied, to paraphrase, ‘Yeah, I just got to meet them, and they seem really cool and nice.’ Imagine my thinly veiled jealousy as I came back with, ‘Oh that’s super cool!'” Womp womp.

Isenordal – Requiem for Eirênê Review

Isenordal – Requiem for Eirênê Review

“There’s one music quality I treasure above all else: dynamism. Without conscious thought I find myself drifting towards music in the promo pool promising varied or creative music. In the case of Washington’s Isenordal, the one sheet for their third full-length release, entitled Requiem for Eirênê, described music fusing funeral doom, black metal and neofolk. Few albums pledge such dynamism so I was eager to hear their take on this blend, and discover whether it would be as exciting as the description.” Dynamism or death.

Suldusk – Anthesis Review

Suldusk – Anthesis Review

“Way back in early 2020, Suldusk played the last show I attended before fun was canceled. I was introduced by the non-suspiciously departed Emya‘s excellent TYMHM piece on one-woman debut Lunar Falls. This sort of black metal-inflected atmospheric folk is incredibly My Thing, as you can tell from where Helga landed on my list last year. So Suldusk were a pretty important fixture for me, particularly in the tough early pandemic months. The whole thing has that slight air of unreality you get with memories from around then. Now they’re back—finally—with a full band and signed to Napalm, so the stakes are high for Anthesis.” Dusk throne.