Primordial - To The Nameless Dead

Band: Primordial
Album: To The Nameless Dead
Genre: Folk/Black Metal
Country of Origin: Ireland
Year: 2007

Track Listing:

1. Empire Falls
2. Gallows Hymn
3. As Rome Burns
4. Failures Burden
5. Heathen Tribes
6. The Rising Tide
7. Traitors Gate
8. No Nation On This Earth

Too tired to go into a lengthy description but this album is brilliant. One of the best this year.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VHWA2QV7


Edit: I had this album listed as an '08 album, when it's actually '07. Whoops. Regardless, amazing.

Leviathan - Massive Conspiracy Against All Life

Band: Leviathan
Album: Massive Conspiracy Against All Life
Genre: Suicidal Depressive Black Metal
Country of Origin: USA
Year: 2008

Track Listing:

1. Vesture Dipped in the Blood of Morning
2. Merging With Sword, Onto Them
3. Made as the Stale Wine of Wrath
4. VI-XI-VI
5. Receive the World
6. Vulgar Asceticism
7. Noisome Ash Crown

Massive Conspiracy Against All Life continues along the same line as Wrest's earlier work; intense atmosphere, amelodic riffs, stretches of ambience, and the like. It doesn't just continue the style, but also the quality. Excellent for fans of Black Metal "untarnished" by outside influence and any Leviathan fan.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=S1EEYN3R

Nocternity - Crucify Him

Band: Nocternity
Album: Crucify Him
Genre: Ambient Black Metal
Country of Origin: Greece
Year: 2001

Track Listing:

1. Stella Tenebrarum
2. Crucify Him
3. Lunar Innuendo
4. Perdo Corporem

Crucify Him is Nocternity's second release, the first release after their En Oria, as well as their first EP. While it has beautiful acoustic passages and their trade mark ambience, Crucify Him is a lot more "brutal" (so to speak) than Nocternity's recent stuff. Makes for an interesting listen. Anyway, excellent EP, it's a good history lesson for Nocternity fans and will make for a great addition to an Ambient Black Metal fan's catalogue.

I also figured it'd be appropriate for Easter, given the title, but it probably would have made more sense had I posted it on Good Friday. I'm going to be ironic now and wish my regular visitors a Happy Easter. Long live Satan.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RFTE4L49

Darkestrah

Band: Darkestrah
Formed In: 1999
Genre: Black/Folk Metal
Country of Origin: Kyrgyzstan , Germany (Now)

Album: Sary Oy
Year: 2004

Track Listing:

1. Part I - Sary Oy
2. Part II - Jashil Oy
3. Part III - Kysil Oy

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YGF3UUJM

Album: Epos
Year: 2007

Track Listing:

1. Epos

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YIXW7I11


Darkestrah is one of the few bands lend by a female who does harsh vocals that:

1. Is not gimmicky.
2. Actually sounds good.

The first time I listened to Darkestrah I had no idea their vocalist was a girl; unlike most female harsh vocalists, who sound neutered (or should I say spayed?) or just awful, Kriegtalith's vocals are amazing and capture the feel of how Black Metal vocals often sound like. Getting away from the vocals and to the music, Darkestrah play very unique Black/Folk Metal. The Black/Folk fad has resulted in a lot of samey bands but Darkestrah put an interesting spin on it. Their riffs are atypical and they use interesting folk instruments, my favorite being the use of a jaw harp. All their songs are long and epic, Epos being a single 33 minutes long eponymous track, for example, and make for an engaging listen that doesn't get boring, even though most of the time there are no accompanying vocals. Essential stuff for lovers of Folk or Pagan Black Metal. Also, it should be known that the Anti in this band is indeed the German artist behind the Suicidal Depressive project Anti.

Lifelover

Band: Lifelover
Formed In: 2005
Genre: Depressive Black Metal/Depressive Rock with Pop Rock influences
Country of Origin: Sweden

Album: Pulver
Year: 2006

Track Listing:

1. Nackskott
2. M/S Salmonella
3. Mitt Öppna Öga
4. Kärlek - Becksvart Melankoli
5. Vardagsnytt
6. Avbrott Sex
7. Stockholm
8. Söndag
9. Herrens Hand
10. Medicinmannen
11. Nästa Gryning
12. En Sång Om Dig

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BEF0KUHA

Album: Erotik
Year: 2007

Track Listing:

1. Förspel & Intrång
2. Sweet Illness of Mine
3. I Love (To Hurt) You
4. En Man I Sina Sämsta År
5. Dödens Landsväg
6. Välkommen Till Pulvercity
7. Saltvatten (Du + Jag VS. Tellus)
8. Besatt
9. Höstdepressioner
10. Humörets Bottenvåning
11. Museum of Past Affections
12. Nitlott

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WJCHI5KI


"Depressive Black Metal/Depressive Rock with Pop Rock influences, huh? That sounds idiotic!" you might be saying to yourself, but Lifelover is fantastic. They take the depressive Black Metal style and reinvigorate it by mixing it with Depressive Rock and occassionally even Pop (see Nackskott), along with beautifully used piano and very interesting vocals: they're narrations, wails, talking, hysterical screaming. Very unlike normal Black Metal vocals. If you want something more interesting and "lighter" (though not shallower) than most Black Metal, Lifelover's a safe bet.

Code - Nouveau Gloaming

Band: Code
Album: Nouveau Gloaming
Genre: Post-Black Metal/Black Metal
Country of Origin: England/Norway
Year: 2005

Track Listing:

1. The Cotton Optic
2. Brass Dogs
3. An Enigma in Brine
4. A Cloud Formed Teardrop Asylum
5. Aeon in Cinders
6. Tyburn
7. Radium
8. Ghost Formula

Code's music is a mix of Black Metal riffs and more off the wall Post-Black Metal riffs (unsurprising, consider there were two members of Dødheimsgard in the band at the time, one of whom was in Ved Buens Ende). That aspect is further accentuated by the clean production and bizarre lyrics and the fact that ex-Dødheimsgard vocalist Kvohst adds is unique vocals to the mix. Some people dislike Code but I think they're great, I'll leave it up to you to decide for yourself.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WWZU4NDQ

Ad Hominem - Climax of Hatred

Band: Ad Hominem
Album: Climax of Hatred
Genre: National Socialist Black Metal
Country of Origin: France
Year: 2005

Track Listing:

1. Loading Genocide...
2. Climax of Hatred
3. As I Long For...
4. The Upper Art
5. Death to All
6. Join or Perish
7. My Loudest Scream of Hate
8. Achtung!
9. Crypt of Fear (Mysticum cover)
10. : D / S / R :

Ad Hominem is the solo project of one Kaisar Wodhanaz. Through this project he channels incredibly furious and hateful Black Metal. This is one of the angriest and most misanthropic albums you'll ever hear. While many Black Metal focus on atmosphere, Ad Hominem uses an almost Death Metal philosophy by packing the album full of blasting drumming and excellent and evil fast riffs. Great stuff, enjoy.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X3OAAIMD

Cor Scorpii - Monument

Band: Cor Scorpii
Album: Monument
Genre: Black/Viking Metal
Country of Origin: Norway
Year: 2008

Track Listing:

1. Ei Fane Svart
2. Endesong
3. I, the Damned
4. Our Fate, Our Curse
5. Helvetesfossen
6. Oske og Innsikt
7. Kjettar
8. Bragder I Stein

As I mentioned in the Vreid post, this is another post-Windir Black Metal band, and if you've listened to their demo, which I posted a while ago, then you know they sound much more like Windir than Vreid do. The excellent riffs that run throughout this album would make Valfar proud. They don't copy Windir, though. They create totally unique music that is similar in spirit. Absolutely amazing stuff and is even better than their amazing demo. Highly suggested!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=54M35AIR

Vreid - I Krig

Band: Vreid
Album: I Krig
Genre: Black Metal
Country of Origin: Norway
Year: 2007

Track Listing:

1. Jarnbyrd
2. Under Isen
3. I Krig
4. Væpna Lengsel
5. Svart
6. Folkefiendar
7. Dei Daude Steig Av Grav
8. Fangegard
9. Millom Hav Og Fjell

Vreid are one of the two bands (Cor Scorpii as well) that rose up from the ashes of Windir after Valfar's tragic death. They play very modern sounding Black Metal that, instead of sounding contrived and shallow, actually sounds excellent. The music is compelling and is interspersed with occassional violin parts or Thrashiness and overall feels varied in approach and structure. It doesn't sound like Windir most of the time, but the quality of the music is certainly worthy of the "post-Windir" tag. Another interesting thing that should be mentioned, "I krig" means "at war" and the album is about the Nazi invasion of Norway during WWII. Wonderful stuff, regardless.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=D2FLTK1W

Lurker of Chalice - Lurker of Chalice

Band: Lurker of Chalice
Album: Lurker of Chalice
Genre: Ambient Black Metal
Country of Origin: USA
Year: 2005

Track Listing:

1. I
2. Piercing Where They Might
3. Spectre As Valkerie Is
4. Minions
5. Paramnesia
6. This Blood Falls As Mortal Part III
7. Granite
8. Vortex Chalice
9. Fastened To The Five Points

It's 6 in the fucking morning so I'm too tired to say much, damn insomnia. To make it short and succinct, Lurker of Chalice is a project by Wrest, the man behind Leviathan, and consists of ambience, atmospheric Black Metal that's in many ways beautiful, use of unusual song structures and practically no growls; most of the lyrics are deep rumbling or chanting/singing and the first half of "This Blood Falls As Mortal Part III" is a woman narrating over Ambient music. Great stuff, enjoy.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X2V1LG1W

Blacklodge - SolarKult

Band: Blacklodge
Album: SolarKult
Genre: Industrial Black Metal
Country of Origin: France
Year: 2006

Track Listing:

1. ftp://SolarKult.NeXus
2. Mission
3. Iron Icon
4. PsychoActive SataN
5. 11rd Eye Chemistry
6. Drugz Mysticism [#A:Vision]
7. TeknoShaman 666
8. Luxifer Meme
9. Prequel to the Kult
10. Angels Refinery [C21H23NO5 MiX]
11. Martyr Complex
12. Forge=PhoeniX
13. Templars

Blacklodge are yet another band that infuse Electronica sounds into their music. However, unlike many bands, they do not play Post-Black Metal. They take a more traditional form of Black Metal, riff-wise, and put it into a bizarre setting. There are some odd riffs here and there, but for the most put it's straight Black Metal, infused with techno beats and sounds. While there is occassionally the use of synthesized drum sounds, for the most part the procussion section consists of Electronic beats and various synth effects. Their vocalist is also atypical. It's hard to describe what is vocals sound like so you'd have to listen but needless to say, they're rather odd. It all blends together into a very bizarre yet awesome sound. Definately stuff for a fan of bands like Aborym and Dødheimsgard (at least their later works).

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QG9X202P

Kriegsmaschine - Altered States of Divinity

Band: Kriegsmascgine
Album: Altered States of Divinity
Genre: Black Metal
Country of Origin: Poland
Year: 2005

Track Listing:

1. Ma'aseh Bereshit
2. Altered States Of Divinity
3. Through The Eyes Of The Blind
4. Beyond The Veil
5. Prism
6. Nihilation
7. Kerigma

Kriegsmaschine ("war machine" in German; remember: Black Metal ist krieg!) is another banding riding that wave of "Orthodox" Black Metal that takes a more intelligent, religious approach to Black Metal, a notable example being France's Deathspell Omega. Kriegsmaschine show both unspeakable fury and ritualistic yet demented "calmness." Their music breathes a malevolent intelligence. It's evil yet calculated rather than wanton. They represent the aspect of Satan not as a bloody thirsty killing machine like many Black Metal bands, but rather as the tempter and cruel planner, as the tempter of Jesus in the desert or of Eve in Eden. The album is full of excellent, dark riffs and notably, amazing and audible basslines. It's no surprise that this album is brilliant, though, as it contains both members of Poland's astoundingly brilliant Mgła (I really should post some of their stuff here); M. from Mgła is Kriegsmaschine's main vocalist and he adds brilliantly. He sounds deranged and sinister, like a priest of Satan enraptured in fervor and shrieking in pained tongues. Anyway, enough analogies. Just download the album.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PG2JR7OG

Bathory

Band: Bathory

Formed In: 1983
Genre: Black/Thrash Metal (Thrash and Viking later)
Country of Origin: Sweden


Album: Under the Sign of the Black Mark
Year: 1987

Track Listing:

1. Nocturnal Obeisance
2. Massacre
3. Woman of Dark Desires
4. Call from the Grave
5. Equimanthorn
6. Enter the Eternal Fire
7. Chariots of Fire
8. 13 Candles
9. Of Doom...
10. Outro

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UTCJ2Z17

Album: Blood Fire Death
Year: 1988

Track Listing:

1. Odens Ride over Nordland
2. A Fine Day to Die
3. The Golden Walls of Heaven
4. Pace 'till Death
5. Holocaust
6. For All Those Who Died
7. Dies Irae
8. Blood Fire Death
9. Outro

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4MRT4M70


Bathory is the Possessed of Black Metal. Bathory took Thrash Metal and evolved it into some of the earliest specimen of Black Metal ever. When you listen to the riffing on these albums you'll immediately hear how much Black Metal owes Quorthon. Under the Sign of the Black Mark and Blood Fire Death are two of the most influential and important Black Metal albums to ever be released. In a recent review with Metal Maniacs, one of Vreid's members said that Vreid owed Bathory for their existence, and hopefully all Black Metal bands realize that as well, because they do, too. Under the Sign... and Blood Fire Death also happen to be amazing, down to the bone Black Metal albums. They manage to display both the aggressive and epic capabilities of Black Metal. Epic tracks like "Enter The Eternal Fire" and "A Fine Day To Day" are practically blue prints for a quality epic Black Metal song. I'll stop the fellation now. I just had the sudden urge to listen to these albums today, and while I should hope most of the people who use my blog have listened to them, I wanted to share them anyway. Enjoy. Oh, and R.I.P. Quorthon, etc.

Unholy Updates, Batman!

I feel like I've neglected this blog and thus the people who were kind enough to regularly utilize it. I feel this way because I have, which is why I dropped 7 Black Metal albums on all your heads. Take it as an apology. I'll try to update more frequently. I swear!

Wolves in the Throne Room

Band: Wolves in the Throne Room
Formed In: 2004
Genre: Black Metal
Country of Origin: USA

Album: Diadem of Twelve Stars
Year: 2006

1. Queen of the Borrowed Light
2. Face in a Night Time Mirror, Part 1
3. Face in a Night Time Mirror, Part 2
4. (A Shimmering Radiance) Diadem of 12 Stars

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=275LRPYK

Album: Two Hunters
Year: 2007

Track Listing:

1. Dea Artio
2. Vastness and Sorrow
3. Cleansing
4. I Will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PG8IVQUI


Wolves in the Throne Room are unique as far as Black Metal bands go, and not just because of their music. To quote Metal Archives: "The band’s ideology is quite different from many Black Metal bands. In interviews Wolves in the Throne Room have shown respect for left wing politics, radical environmentalism and “eco feminism”." Not only that, but some (possibly all, I can't recall, I read the review quite a while ago) of the band members live on a farm and farm their own food, making themselves almost entirely autonomous. Their rustic, focused and environmentally friendly outlook goes so far as to seep into their music: the music is incredibly organic. It feels like a product grown from nature itself. With the exception of "Dea Artio" from Two Hunters, all of the songs on their two full lengths are exceptionally long and make use of the time to explore Black Metal's capability for unorthodox song structure. The songs are as sprawling as a forest, rolling through many emotions and utilizing both harsh and beautiful riffs to create interesting and expressive walls of sound; their music forms a tapestry, so to speak. One thing I particularly like about them is the ocassional use of female vocals on both albums, which I find particularly stunning in "Cleansing" from Two Hunters. To come up for air and wrap this clogged paragraph up, I'll just say this: Wolves are a fantastic band who've created original, artistic Black Metal. So listen. Or you suck.

Enslaved - Frost

Band: Enslaved
Album: Frost
Genre: Black Metal
Country of Origin: Norway
Year: 1994

Track Listing:

1. Frost
2. Loke
3. Fenris
4. Svarte Vidder
5. Yggdrasil
6. Jotunblod
7. Gylfaginning
8. Wotan
9. Isöders dronning

Frost is a well known yet in a way oft overlooked second wave Black Metal album. When you say Norway people are more likely to mention early Mayhem, Burzum, Emperor or Darkthrone, but Enslaved are equally important and Frost is certainly a formidable album. Before mixing their Black Metal heavily with Progressive and Viking Metal, Enslaved played pure, somewhat raw Black Metal. Though Frost isn't as raw as their earlier material, it still has that thick-yet-thin Black Metal production that characterizes raw Black Metal. The riffs are fantastic and their influence on future bands can easily be seen. The music is mostly break neck, but offers nice variation and occassional, well placed synths. "Yggdrasil" is a particularly interesting song, it being slower and including acoustic guitars and some jaw harp, with chanting replacing the usual harsh growls. Frost is great as both an album and a history lesson and any fan of original Norwegian Black Metal should give it a shot.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OBBU08IY

Enochian Crescent - Black Church

Band: Enochian Crescent
Album: Black Church
Genre: Black Metal
Country of Origin: Finland
Year: 2006

Track Listing:

1. Tatan
2. Tango Absinto
3. Chalk Face
4. Thousand Shadows
5. Ghost Of Saturn
6. The Imperfect Vision
7. Hendekagrammaton
8. Tridents Clash
9. Black Church

Enochian Crescent are a very interesting band. They play melodic Black Metal that is more technical than most BM and their use of three vocalists results in some very cool and wild vocal tracks. Their music is interspersed with moments of cleaner guitar work, crafting a delicate balance between the harsh and graceful. The clean vocals on "Thousand Shadows" are another example of wonderful juxtaposition the band is capable of, switching from the harsh vocals to the more epic clean ones. Their lyrics, despite being Engrishy due to it being a second language for the band members, are more intelligent than what most bands muster and feel very arcane and esoteric in an indescribable way. One particularly impressive song lyrically is "Ghost of Saturn" (whose music video is here and worth it for the dancing nuns alone) which tackles the concept of old age. Overall, the album is fantastic and original and doesn't feature any weak spot; unless your a Black Metal "purist" who won't listen to anything that sounds better than Under a Funeral Moon, I'm sure you'll, at the very least, respect Enochian Crescent after listening to this album. I wholly recommend it.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6TPH991U

Blut Aus Nord - Ultima Thulée

Band: Blut Aus Nord
Album: Ultima Thulée
Genre: Black Metal
Country of Origin: France
Year: 1995

Track Listing:

1. The Son of Hoarfrost
2. The Plain of Ida
3. From Hlidskjalf
4. My Prayer Beyond Ginnungagap
5. Till I Perceive Bifrost
6. On The Way to Vigrid
7. Rigsthula
8. The Last Journey of Ringhorn

Before Blut Aus Nord were making whacky Post-Black stuff like The Work Which Transforms God, they were a raw Black Metal band whose lyrics and music focused on Nordic mythology (hence the name, das typo and all). After changing their name from Vlad to Blut Aus Nord, they released Ultima Thulée, their first full length. "Ultima Thule" was a concept in the middle ages that denoted any land beyond the known reaches of the world and Blut Aus Nord utilize this concept, taking you far beyond into a frigid land by wrapping you up in frigid, raw riffs. The rawness really creates an atmosphere beyond what most raw Black Metal accomplishes. It's thick and encompassing while still leaving the riffs comprehensible. The ambience is further accented by echoing vocals and beautiful ambient electronics that are interspersed in all the right places without overstaying their welcome, in a way it reminds me of Varg's tactful synth use in Filosofem. The brilliance of the synths is best seen on the two ambient tracks, the haunting and reverent "My Prayer Beyond Ginnungagap" and gorgeous and ethereal "Rigsthula." This is a must have for any fan of raw Black Metal and any fan of Blut Aus Nord who is interested in what they sounded like in their early years.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=C3KVDK2I

Bosse-de-Nage - Demo I

Band: Bosse-de-Nage
Album: Demo I
Genre: Black Metal
Country of Origin: USA
Year: 2006

Track Listing:

1. Untitled

Technically this is a 5 song demo, but whoever ripped the tape left it as one, long track. Either way, it's excellent and worth a listen. It's incredibly raw and while it doesn't tread any new ground it manages its particular style of Black Metal very well and compellingly, making it a treat for the ears for any fan of raw Black Metal.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HVMVPY2S

December Wolves - Blasterpiece Theatre

Band: December Wolves
Album: Blasterpiece Theatre
Genre: Industrial influenced Post-Black Metal
Country of Origin: USA
Year: 2002

Track Listing:

1. Warning
2. Desperately Seeking Satan
3. April Fools Day
4. Do Not Entry
5. Kolobos
6. Porn Again Christian
7. Public Aquarian Freebase
8. Solid Gold Beating
9. Sharing Needles
10. Disclaimer
11. To Kill... Again

December Wolves play incredibly chaotic, harsh yet clearly produced Post-Black Metal with Industrial overtones. They make use of some amazing sound clips too, my personal favorite being the soliloquy by the paranoic psychopath at the beginning of "Public Aquarian Freebace." I wholly suggest to people who like music that kicks them in the ass and grates against their ears.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=D0SQCJWK