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Black metal black metal black metal! I’ve made my Top 100 black metal releases, and the first two parts are out, from number 100 tot 35, from Firestarter to Kostnatění. I hope you like it, please leave a comment.
“A diseased concept of unalienable rights / A distorted view of sexuality / A plague upon evolution”
🌶️ Impure Wilhemina
Post, Switzerland (Season of Mist)
FFO: Foscor, Year of No Light, E-L-R
I’ve been saying it for a while: use your own language. I know everyone thinks they can still make it in the US, UK, Canada, Rwanda, Barbados and Australia, but it’s 2026. We have Rosalía, Arooj Aftab and Burna Boy who fill stadiums world wide. English is difficult (tell me about it), lyrics are difficult, I really think they get more beautiful or powerful in your own language. Plus I don’t like that so many singers say they can express themselves better in English. No, it’s just a little easier to get away with clichés and predictable nonsense that you and your listeners don’t fully understand because it’s not their first language either. Rant over, sorry. Impure Wilhelmina is Swiss so language is a mess anyway, but they decided to drown their doomy, dreary post-metal in one of their own this time, French. It works really well.
🌶️ Downfall of Nur
Atmospheric black, Argentina (Avantgarde Music)
FFO: Wolves in the Throne Room, Agalloch, Panopticon
I don’t know who Nur is, but I’d watch my back. This Argentina one-man band is back with a second album, after over ten years of relative silence (just a split). There’s enough of it now: an hour and twenty minutes of cascading atmospheric black metal. Good stuff.
There’s more: Dimmu Borgir (symphonic black, Norway), Opera IX (symphonic black/gothic, Italy), As The Sun Falls (melodic death, Switzerland), Psyclops (prog, USA),Desecresy (death, Finland), Haemoth (black, France) and Barren Canyon (🌶️ atmospheric black, Canada). The rest is in the playlist!
🌶️ Left To Die (death, USA - members of Death and Gruesome playing obscure Death songs. I wanted to dislike this because we already have Gruesome and I can just spin my old Death records, but fuck it, it’s good)
🌶️ Sojourner (epic black, New Zealand/Sweden)
🌶️ Big|Brave (experimental drone, Canada)
🌶️ Einherjer (black, Norway)
🌶️ Goetia (death, USA)
🌶️ Haken (prog, UK)
🌶️ Together to the Stars (post-black, Sweden)
🌶️ Sallow Moth (prog death, USA)
Not-so-heavy album of the week: Maria José Llergo (flamenco pop, Spain)
Next week: Elder, Monolord, Trelldom, Devin Townsend, Funebrarum, Deafkids, Dauþuz, The Fifth Alliance, Pharmacist & Sarcasm.
What is your favourite? What did I miss? Let me know!
And check out the first two parts of the black metal special. Third part is coming in a few days.
🌶️ To The Teeth special: The 100 Best Black Metal Releases Of All Time part I (100-67)
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May 20
Here we are. Black metal ist list! The first third (I’m going to publish it in three parts) of my list of favourite black metal albums ever, inspired by Neill Jameson’s excellent list. Mine is, like I said before, going to be quite different. Not surprising: when he was already blazing around with the first Krieg material, I was still mourning Kurt Coba…
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