“Today’s dousing of rousing black metal is brought to you by the connoisseurs of battlefield chaos: Evil Warriors. In between raids, assaults, missions, sieges and skirmishes, the members of this troublesome horde forge equally manic and violent music to accompany their meddlesome missions.” The raiding life.
“From Rabid Death’s Curse to Lawless Darkness, Sweden’s Satanic three-piece, Watain, have enjoyed one of the best careers the black metal community has ever seen. With each release, the band explored more and expanded farther than the record before. The result is that 2007’s Sworn to the Dark and 2010’s Lawless Darkness are a couple of my favorite albums of all black metal. But, then, a peculiar thing happened. That thing was 2013’s The Wild Hunt.” Hunting season is over.
“It’s that time of year again where people are scrambling for gifts to buy people, malls to populate, and year-end lists to create. It’s also the time of year when I try to step outside of my blackened, doom-laden comfort zone and try my hand at less bleak, more visceral waters. In other words, I done burned myself out on black metal for a bit, and what better pick-me-up is there than Swedish death metal?” Satisfying like Swedeath Fish.
“But the ones I came back to the most were the underrated groups, like Ofermod, Svartsyn, Urgehal, and Taake. To me, this latter group has some of the best black metal ever recorded. In Taake’s case, Nattestid ser porten vid, Over Bjoergvin graater himmerik, and Hordalands doedskvad still make me dribble over my lower lip like a fucking vegetable. But, like most black metal giants, Taake’s recent material has begun to slip in quality. Their 2014 release, Stridens hus, left my throat parched and now my need for nourishment is at an all-time high. The question is: will Taake’s newest release, Kong Vinter, wet lips or will it cause them to crack and bleed?” Lip care is crucial in a frostbitten kingdom of ice.
“Blaze of Perdition is a Polish band, and Poland is a largely Catholic country. Conscious Darkness, their follow-up to the solid Near Death Revelations, is a black metal record, which in the vast majority of cases entails irreligious or fervently anti-religious content. This is black metal fused with death metal, but not blackened death; the Polish, along with the Germans, are particularly good at this!” Poles of blackened fury.
“Though initially operating in a callous, misanthropic style, Nazghor embraced a full-blown melodic bent with 2016’s Death’s Withered Chants. This turn of events, coupled with increased attention to production standards, resulted in their strongest material to date. Infernal Aphorism is the logical next step in Nazghor’s evolution: an exploration of their newfound abilities and a test of their endurance.” Black metal marathon.
“Welcome, AMG Readership, to our sanguinary sect of worship. Feel at home in our black conventicle as we anathematize all of those who oppose us. Don’t summon the Devil, don’t call the priest. If you need the strength, then conjure Germany’s Schafott, whose debut album, The Black Flame, is set to smolder the soul with classic blackened thrash.” Devotees will carve Slayer in their arm before returning to the cvlt.
“It was the gorgeous construction of Torturmantra’s ”Mishandlet” (guested by Niklas Kvarforth), that roped me in. This past encounter with Gravdal, and hearing of guest appearances from members of Satyricon, Taake, SAHG, The Ruins Of Beverast, Seven Impale and Orkan along with lyrical contributions by V`gandr (Helheim and Taake) would seem to cement Kadaverin as a “must-hear” release. But does it?” The black metal circus arrives.
“Twenty-twelve’s Thaumiel got a hell of a lot of praise from Madam X and Angry Metal Guy. And, though, that was only a four-year wait following their debut, we’ve had to endure another five years for Sol Nox. Tiamtü was a great debut, but Thaumiel topped it. And now the question remains: will Sol Nox top Thaumiel?” It’s Black Metal History Month!
“It’s no secret: I love me some black metal. But, even I, have gotten tired of every other album we review being a product of the genre. And none of it is good. So, it’s no surprise that I have to ignore a large portion of the releases that sneak by our oh-my-god-I’m-so-sick-of-black-metal filters. Again, I love the genre and still listen to way more black metal than even the sickest doctor would dare prescribe. But many of the new black metal outfits just don’t do it for me.” Feel like you’re drowning in excessive blackness?
