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Top 10 Black Metal Albums of the 21st Century


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18 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

Taake really are an incredible band. Their consistency and the way they capture the essence of Norwegian black metal without losing their originality should be commended. I really should buy more of their albums.

"Consistent" is a good way to describe what Taake does. I haven't heard everything the band has released, but I'm hard pressed to think of a clunker in the batch I've spent time exploring. 

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5 hours ago, Doctor_Adder said:

"Consistent" is a good way to describe what Taake does. I haven't heard everything the band has released, but I'm hard pressed to think of a clunker in the batch I've spent time exploring. 

I bought their first four albums as they were released, then I kind of let a few albums come out that I didn’t buy as I was sort of satisfied with what I had.

So I really don’t know ‘Kong Vinter’ very well, also ‘Stridens Hus’ or whatever it’s called. I guess I should check them out.

But yeah, you’re right about them being consistent. No shortcomings for me so far. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

Yeah, I had been waiting for the first massive list.

General, as always you right on point. Can't argue with a single choice there. Baptism is my favorite Finblack band, so glad to see them there. They were on the lineup for the last MDF in 2019 and cancelled at the last minute. Maybe we'll get another shot one day soon. Archgoat is on for 2022, so at least we have that to look forward to.

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I´m not going to even attempt to rank my personal top 10. So it´s going be 10 of my favorite albums in a totally random order.

Taake - Hordalands Doedskvad  - Taake will probably never make another classic like this one. All things just came together perfectly on this album and kept the flame of the Norwegian black metal alive and showed the world that the Norwegian scene is still a force to be reckoned with.

 

Evilfeast - Elegies of the Stellar Wind - Evilfeast is one of the best bands to come out of the Polish scene since the new millenium. This is probably how Burzum would have sounded if Vikernes had lived in Poland. Lot´s of beautiful and lush keyboards and hypnotic riffs which all blend together into a perfect storm. Evilfeast albums should be enjoyed in their entirety to get the full experience.

 

Darkthrone - The Underground Resistance - Unlike most people i´ve accepted that Darkthrone will never return to the sound of their first five albums. To be honest i didn´t expect anything from this album at the time, but now i count it among my favorite Darkthrone releases. They just went full steam ahead and embraced their 80´s speed metal influences on this one and it works. There isn´t one boring track on the whole album and even Fenriz his singing on "Valkyrie" sounds epic. I really wish Darkthrone would abandon their current doom phase (Artic Thunder was all i needed) and gives us another one of these.

 

Funeral Mist - Hekakomb - Just when you though you´d never hear from these guys again they return after almost 10 years to drop a bomb. Mortuus and the boys haven´t missed a step and this album just one big relentless sonic assault on your ears. No frills or fancy stuff, just pure and unadulterated black metal from beginning to end.

 

1349 - Demonoir - 1349 pretended to be groundbreaking or sophisticated, they just stuck to what they knew which is simple 90´s Norwegian black metal. On this album they did best yet also managed to include some new elements which gave it a fresh sound. As usual Frost´ drumming is just insane, but the whole album is just a great experience from front to back.

 

Myrkgrav - Trollskau, Skrømt og Kølabrenning - To be honest i know little to nothing about this band. I´m not that big on folk influenced black metal but this album just hits the spot for me. It´s hard to describe but the sound of album just paints a certain picture that i can identify with and evokes emotions within. Sometimes it´s hard to explain what makes an album stand out and you just have to experience it. This is one of those cases for me.

 

Satyricon - 2013 Self titled album - Probably my most controversial pick from the whole top 10. But regardless of how much people hate this album i´ll defend it to the end. Satyricon went back to the roots and chose for a simplistic and straight forward approach and thus gave us their probably most genuine album in years. Tracks like "Tro og Kraft", "Nekrohaven" and "Ageless Northern Spirit" can easily hold their own when compared to the early material. Maybe in time people will learn to appreciate the album for what it is.

 

Funeral Storm - Arcane Mysteries - Yeah, okay these guys are pure early Rotting Christ worship and probably aren´t the most original band around. But man, they nail that typical Greek black metal sound so well on this album i just can´t get enough of it. And since Rotting Christ seems to be stuck on automatic pilot nowadays i welcome Funeral Storm with open arms. Can´t wait to see what they deliver with their second album.

 

Vargrav - Netherstorm - I often catch myself wishing for the days of old and my picks probably reflect that. This band sounds like Emperor if Isahn hadn´t decided to go all proggy on our asses after "In The Nightside Eclipse". But just like Funeral Storm, Vargrav manages to fill a void that desperately needed filling. If you are like me and worship the first Emperor album then this will be right up your street. Just pure raw symphonic black metal at it´s best. The follow up album "Reign in Supreme Darkness" is probably even more of a Nightside clone but it just sounds sooooo fucking good.

 

Enslaved - Utgard - Lot´s of band always claim that their newest album is the best stuff they ever did. But with Enslaved this could actually be true. The new blood in the band really seems to have boosted their spirits (and sound) and i love how they even got more experimental on this release with small kraut rock and electronic influences. This album has been on regular rotation since it came out and i discover little new elements each time i listen to it. This could probably the best Enslaved album they have done since Isa in my opinion.

 

 

 

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23 minutes ago, Destructhor81 said:

I´m not going to even attempt to rank my personal top 10. So it´s going be 10 of my favorite albums in a totally random order.

Taake - Hordalands Doedskvad  - Taake will probably never make another classic like this one. All things just came together perfectly on this album and kept the flame of the Norwegian black metal alive and showed the world that the Norwegian scene is still a force to be reckoned with.

 

Evilfeast - Elegies of the Stellar Wind - Evilfeast is one of the best bands to come out of the Polish scene since the new millenium. This is probably how Burzum would have sounded if Vikernes had lived in Poland. Lot´s of beautiful and lush keyboards and hypnotic riffs which all blend together into a perfect storm. Evilfeast albums should be enjoyed in their entirety to get the full experience.

 

Darkthrone - The Underground Resistance - Unlike most people i´ve accepted that Darkthrone will never return to the sound of their first five albums. To be honest i didn´t expect anything from this album at the time, but now i count it among my favorite Darkthrone releases. They just went full steam ahead and embraced their 80´s speed metal influences on this one and it works. There isn´t one boring track on the whole album and even Fenriz his singing on "Valkyrie" sounds epic. I really wish Darkthrone would abandon their current doom phase (Artic Thunder was all i needed) and gives us another one of these.

 

Funeral Mist - Hekakomb - Just when you though you´d never hear from these guys again they return after almost 10 years to drop a bomb. Mortuus and the boys haven´t missed a step and this album just one big relentless sonic assault on your ears. No frills or fancy stuff, just pure and unadulterated black metal from beginning to end.

 

1349 - Demonoir - 1349 pretended to be groundbreaking or sophisticated, they just stuck to what they knew which is simple 90´s Norwegian black metal. On this album they did best yet also managed to include some new elements which gave it a fresh sound. As usual Frost´ drumming is just insane, but the whole album is just a great experience from front to back.

 

Myrkgrav - Trollskau, Skrømt og Kølabrenning - To be honest i know little to nothing about this band. I´m not that big on folk influenced black metal but this album just hits the spot for me. It´s hard to describe but the sound of album just paints a certain picture that i can identify with and evokes emotions within. Sometimes it´s hard to explain what makes an album stand out and you just have to experience it. This is one of those cases for me.

 

Satyricon - 2013 Self titled album - Probably my most controversial pick from the whole top 10. But regardless of how much people hate this album i´ll defend it to the end. Satyricon went back to the roots and chose for a simplistic and straight forward approach and thus gave us their probably most genuine album in years. Tracks like "Tro og Kraft", "Nekrohaven" and "Ageless Northern Spirit" can easily hold their own when compared to the early material. Maybe in time people will learn to appreciate the album for what it is.

 

Funeral Storm - Arcane Mysteries - Yeah, okay these guys are pure early Rotting Christ worship and probably aren´t the most original band around. But man, they nail that typical Greek black metal sound so well on this album i just can´t get enough of it. And since Rotting Christ seems to be stuck on automatic pilot nowadays i welcome Funeral Storm with open arms. Can´t wait to see what they deliver with their second album.

 

Vargrav - Netherstorm - I often catch myself wishing for the days of old and my picks probably reflect that. This band sounds like Emperor if Isahn hadn´t decided to go all proggy on our asses after "In The Nightside Eclipse". But just like Funeral Storm, Vargrav manages to fill a void that desperately needed filling. If you are like me and worship the first Emperor album then this will be right up your street. Just pure raw symphonic black metal at it´s best. The follow up album "Reign in Supreme Darkness" is probably even more of a Nightside clone but it just sounds sooooo fucking good.

 

Enslaved - Utgard - Lot´s of band always claim that their newest album is the best stuff they ever did. But with Enslaved this could actually be true. The new blood in the band really seems to have boosted their spirits (and sound) and i love how they even got more experimental on this release with small kraut rock and electronic influences. This album has been on regular rotation since it came out and i discover little new elements each time i listen to it. This could probably the best Enslaved album they have done since Isa in my opinion.

 

 

 

Interesting list because I wouldn't class that Darkthrone as a Black Metal release, nor that Enslaved either.  To my ears the Darkthrone one falls into Heavy/Speed metal and Enslaved's last album was more or less entirely progressive.  Not a criticism of your list mind, just interesting to see other people's interpretation of albums.  I have picked up a couple of recs from your list, thanks for sharing.

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45 minutes ago, MacabreEternal said:

Interesting list because I wouldn't class that Darkthrone as a Black Metal release, nor that Enslaved either.  To my ears the Darkthrone one falls into Heavy/Speed metal and Enslaved's last album was more or less entirely progressive.  Not a criticism of your list mind, just interesting to see other people's interpretation of albums.  I have picked up a couple of recs from your list, thanks for sharing.

Well, you probably are right "The Underground Resistance" is probably the most non black metal album Darkthrone has done so far now that i think of it. This never even occured to me until you pointed it out. I´ve never considered Darkthrone anything other then a black metal band even with all the stylistic shifts throughout the years. So it would be fair to exclude that one i guess. If i had to substitute it i would choose Satanic Warmaster´s "Nachzehrer" which in my opinion is one of the finest Finnish black metal releases of the new millenium which combines the raw Finnish black metal sound with just enough melodic influences. The production is on point and for me personally was the highlight of his discography so far.

 

As for Enslaved i always think their black metal roots (even if they never considered themselves black metal) are still visible even though the progressive elements are more prevalent nowadays. It´s strange... as much as they have evolved throughout the years i think they haven´t changed that much whenever i listen back to "Vikingligr Veldi". The progressive elements were always there from the beginning it´s just they learned to implement and balance them better throughout the years.

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On 6/3/2021 at 12:47 PM, GoatmasterGeneral said:

I almost can't believe that I haven't stumbled across this thread yet until just this past weekend. Being a black metal maniac who generally prefers the more modern 21st century stuff over the old 20th century "classics" and also being the ultimate list making fool this thread was made for me. Anyone who thinks all the best black metal has already been made in the 90's doesn't know what the fuck they're talking about. Reading over the previous lists I can see that I have a distinctly different take on modern black metal from everyone who has posted a list here before me, so that makes it all the more compelling to take a stab at this. I'm not even gonna try to rank these in any kind of order and I won't bother trying to limit myself to just 10 because that's just a stupid random meaningless number. I'm just gonna start listing my most cherished 21st century black metal favorites off the top of my head and see where it goes until I get to 13 or 17 or 22 or 36 or however many I come up with, and then I suppose when I'm done I'll stop. There will be no black/death, no black/thrash, no blackened derivatives of any kind, I'm gonna keep this to just straight up no frills black metal.

 

Inquisition - Nefarious Dismal Orations[Import] - Amazon.com Music

Inquisition - Nefarious Dismal Orations  2007

This is not only my favorite black metal album, but it's also pretty much what I consider to be the absolute greatest metal album of all time right here, it just doesn't get any better than this for me. Doesn't strictly adhere to the classic early 90's Darkthrone template that many of my bm favorites will, but Dagon blazed his own sound and this 2007 album was where he reached the absolute pinnacle afaic. I could list several Inquisition albums here because honestly imo no one does black metal better than they do. Certainly Ominous Doctrines is deserving and really everything else they've put out since 2002 deserves to make my list on its own as well but for the sake of having an interesting and varied list I'll keep it to one album per band.

 

Murg – Varg & Björn (2019, Vinyl) - Discogs

Murg - Varg & Björn  2015

Wolf & Bear. This debut album took me by complete surprise in 2015. Probably my most played album of the last decade. I couldn't get enough of this one when it was new and it is still in heavy regular rotation along with their other two albums to this day. Since we flipped the calendar to 2020 I have often thought about making a greatest metal albums of the 2010's list. And although I have yet to make said list, unquestionably this would be my #1. 

 

In Purge There Is no Remission | ORDINANCE

Ordinance - In Purge There Is no Remission  2020

This was such an awesome gift last year, from a band who put out an incredible debut in 2014 that flew under most people's radar. Nice to see them bring the heat and manage to top it in 2020. I'd be happy to wait 6 years for any band's 2nd album if this is what they'll deliver. I loved their debut and it would have easily made this list on its own merits, but the follow-up is an absolute riff monster, this album slays from top to bottom.

 

Whore Of Bethlehem | ARCHGOAT

Archgoat - Whore of Bethlehem 2006

I guess we can call this goat metal, bestial black or black/death...whatever you wanna call the Archgoat sound, the fact is no one does what they do better. Saw them live only once at some little shithole bar in Denver, the evil power trio in the flesh and they laid waste. Would have seen them a second time a year ago at MDF but they cancelled that shit and then went ahead and cancelled it again this past weekend so who knows if I'll ever get the chance to see them again. This is by far their best album although nothing of theirs could ever be called bad.

 

 

Henbane | CULTES DES GHOULES

Cultes des Ghoules - Henbane, ...or Sonic Compendium of the Black Arts  2013

Not your typical blast beat happy tremolo picked affair, they're slower more deliberate and they give me very theatrical feeling, like everyday is Halloween. And they have a thick crunchy nasty guitar tone to die for. Definitely one of a kind, no one sounds quite like these Poles and this is their pinnacle. My buddy says he likes 2016's Coven a little more I think but it's like 2 hours long I either have to go do something else or I'll fall asleep before it's over. This was their masterpiece, the one that put them on the map.

 

 

Martwa Aura – Morbus Animus (2020, CD) - Discogs

Martwa Aura - Morbus Animus  2020

Not sure why nobody talks about these Polish black metal badasses. Lot of cool Poilish black metal has come out since the turn of the century, they have become a black metal hotspot and these dudes are deffo one of the better ones. Better than Mgla, better than Deus Mortem, better than Batushka and better than most of the rest as well imo. 

 

 

Megiddo – The Devil And The Whore (2002, CD) - Discogs

Megiddo - The Devil and the Whore  2000

This 2000 debut album just makes the millennial cutoff, one of those one man band deals by a raspy voiced Canadian who goes by Chorazaim. All his stuff is very good, just 3 full lengths and a few splits and demos in over 20 years, but this is the best one. Nothing fancy going on here, not a challenging listen or anything, just straightforward mostly mid-paced stripped down black metal with the guitar tone from hell. Works for me.

 

 

Armagedda – Only True Believers (2011, Vinyl) - Discogs

Armagedda - Only True Believers 2003

I tend to like my black metal angry, caustic, melodic, riffy and headbanging. These Swedes deliver here on all counts in spades and this has been a long time favorite album of mine. This is the only album of theirs that I can say I truly love but at least we got this one.

 

 

Blodsrit – Helveteshymner (2004, CD) - Discogs

Blodsrit - Helveteshymner  2004

Another Swedish band, this is an absolute bm classic every black metaller should own. As the story goes the album was written by the dude Yxmander after he was fired from a teaching posiition (for being in this band ironically) and understandably in the aftermath he was pissed off at the world, felt life was hell and he was near suicidal. Glad he decided to keep on living and write this album and then 4 more.

 

 

Morrigan - Celts | Releases, Reviews, Credits | Discogs

Morrigan - Celts  2003

I LOVE this German band, everything they've ever done has been from fucking great to motherfucking monumental...right up until their final full length in 2013 which totally sucked ass so I pretend t doesn't exist. Unfortunate for a band to go out on a bum note like that but at least we have the first 6 stellar full lengths. Formed out of the ashes of Mayhemic Truth (which is an album worth tracking down) This is the best Bathory worship I have ever heard, they mix the early black metal period with the later viking period and it just works so fucking well, absolutely incredible, I like these dudes even more than Bathory hands down. 

 

 

 

Schrat – Schattenwahn (2012, CD) - Discogs

Schrat - Schattenwahn 2011

Discovered these guys a few years ago in 2018 when their latest Alptraumgänger came out, and that album is great. But I did some digging and it turned out this one from 2011 might be even better. I do like the German take on black metal, vicious, riffy and infectious. Patiently waiting for their next album.

 

 

Magoth – Anti Terrestrial Black Metal (2017, CD) - Discogs

Magoth - Anti Terrestrial Black Metal  2017

This album is just as good to me now as it was in 2017. Sadly their 2018 follow up was not as good. But they're young yet so I have faith they can bounce back and give me another Ani Terrestrial.

 

 

Totenwache – Der Schwarze Hort (2019, CD) - Discogs

Totenwache - Der Schwarze Hort  2019

Another younger German band, this their debut was immensely good, the EP last year not as good, but still I remain hopeful for what might come next.

 

 

 

Eternity – Funeral Mass (2007, CD) - Discogs

Eternity - Funeral Mass  2007

Another largely unknown German band, these guys have been "on hold" since 2012 but this the second of their 3 full lengths from '07 is stunning. A must have for any black metal collection.

 

 

Graven - Reborn Misanthropic Spirit CD - Undercover - Records - Shop, 10,50  €

Graven - Perished And Forgotten  2002

Guess I might as well just get all of the Germans out of the way in one shot here. This band is listed as "active" but they put out two full lengths in '02 & '05, this being the former and better of the two, and then they were never heard from again. Perished and Forgotten indeed.

 

 

Rienaus | Wiki | Black Metal Amino

Rienaus - Saatanalle 2017

Finland strikes again. Rienaus is Finnish for Blasphemy. If someone were to ask me what is the sound I look for in my black metal I might refer them to this record as a good example. Riffy, melodic and harsh as fuck as only the Finns can do it. Mavrofos' vocals are perfect here. This is only their second full length, I hope there will be many more.

 

 

Kludde – In De Kwelm (2019, Vinyl) - Discogs

Kludde - In de Kwelm  2019

Funny how with a little distance and a little perspective the albums that end up sticking with you from a given year can be very different from what you might've thought they'd be at the time. This is one of those albums that's grown on me quite a bit over the last 2 years. They released an album in 2008 and then the follow up was 2019. A strange blend of black metal and stoner sludge that somehow works. But don't let that description fool you, they're most definitely a black metal band. 

 

 

Hallucinogen | Blut Aus Nord

Blut aus Nord - Hallucinogen  2019

I probably would have gone with The Work Which Transforms God to represent BAN, but then in 2019 they dropped this gem. This has been a real grower for me. It wasn't even in my top 10 when I made my best of 2019 black metal list, in fact it came in at #24. But if I were to make that list over again now it would be top 3. Love the trippy lead work and it's catchy as fuck, nothing else sounds quite like this album in their catalog, I probably still play it a couple times a month at least.  

 

 

Forteresse – Thèmes Pour La Rébellion (2016, CD) - Discogs

Forteresse - Thèmes Pour la Rébellion  2016

What can I say about these French Canadians? Nothing else they've done prior to this has hit me in quite the same way but this 2016 album was absolutely breathtaking. Majestic as fuck, this album kills. It's been 5 years now, patiently waiting for these Quebecois to put out a follow-up.

 

 

Spectral Wound – Infernal Decadence (2018, White, Vinyl) - Discogs

Spectral Wound - Infernal Decadence  2018

Could have chosen the new one as it's still my frontrunner for album of the year this year but their last one is just as good and I'm more familiar with it. Solid Quebecois Noir.

 

 

Monarque – Ad Nauseam (2009, CD) - Discogs

Monarque - Ad Nauseam  2009

Another one of my favorite Quebecois Noir bands. They can have a bit of a melancholy lilt to them at times but they still bring the heat. This is their best album but all their stuff is good.

 

 

 

Aegrus – Devotion For The Devil (2018, Vinyl) - Discogs

Aegrus - Devotion for the Devil  2015

Yeah, we're back to Finland again, can't help it they just have too many killer bands. This is so damn good, better than anything they've done since. Every band can't be heavyweight sluggers like Darkthrone or Inquisition and hit a home run every time at bat. But if every band has at least one really special album in them well this is theirs.

 

 

Havulinnaan by Havukruunu (Album; Naturmacht; NP061R): Reviews, Ratings,  Credits, Song list - Rate Your Music

Havukruunu - Havulinnaan  2015

If you haven't heard this debut album yet you've been missing out. Came blowing into town like a chilly Finnish breath of fresh air in 2015, nothing else sounds quite like it and nothing else they've ever done has been up to the standard they set with this one. So OK looks like we won't get an actual part 2 but god damn this record smokes. 

 

 

 

Odious Devotion – Odious Devotion (2018, Digipak, CD) - Discogs

Odious Devotion - Odious Devotion 2018

Masterpiece of Finnish black metal. Can't get enough of this one since the first time I heard it. Has an atmospheric track in the middle which I think adds to it, if only they could have shit canned the pointelss 2:45 minutes of static they used as an intro track and just started right in with the metal this album could have been 100/100. 

 

 

 

Diaboli - Wiking Division (full album) - video Dailymotion

Diaboli - Wiking Division  2015

Love this band, which is really just one lone Finn ex-con named Pete, I find it nearly impossible to pick a definitive favorite Diaboli release as they're all so damn good. I think this one is probably my favorite more often than it's not, although ask me tomorrow or next week and I'll probably have a different title for you, maybe The Antichrist or Kirous. Doesn't matter, any way you look at it you'll need to get them all anyway.

 

 

Tsjuder – Desert Northern Hell (2013, CD) - Discogs

Tsjuder - Desert Northern Hell 2004

Big, slick, mainstreamy, riffy and OTT but I love this album. The fact that their drummer looks a bit like Krusty the Clown doesn't even deter me from loving this. This album always sounds quintessentially Swedish to me but they're actually Norweigian. DNH never falls too far out of rotation either, hard to believe this record's 17 years old now.

 

 

Darkthrone – Sardonic Wrath (2004, CD) - Discogs

Darkthrone - Sardonic Wrath 2004

Couldn't not have a Darkthrone album on my list, that'd be unthinkable. Even though I probably like their newer stuff just a wee little better the problem is I really don't really consider what they do to be black metal anymore since about 2006's awesome The Cult is Alive. I do love Darkthrone's much maligned and sadly unappreciated "middle period" as much as any of their phases though. I'd say the middle period consists of everything from '96 Total Death up to this one in 2004. Hard to pick a clear favorite, I do like Ravishing Grimness and Plaguewielder quite a bit too but for my money this is probably the best one from that era.

 

 

 

Owl's Blood – Cold Night Of Meditation (2014, Vinyl) - Discogs

Owl's Blood - Cold Night of Meditation  2014

A sleeper from out of nowhere, sounds like it's straight from the icy fjords of...Basque Country? You don't hear much about these Spaniards they seemed to have fallen off the map but this album is fucking awesome and I play it a lot still. Sounds so Nordic, I often wonder if they squint real hard if they can almost see the aurora borealis from Bilbao? 

 

 

 

Saatanan Myrsky Yllä Pyhän Maan [Explicit] by The Oath on Amazon Music -  Amazon.com

Oath - Saatanan Myrsky Yllä Pyhän Maan  2014

Both of these dudes were in multiple Finnblack projects and they've since disbanded back in '16 after their 2nd album. But this one, their first album, is fire. Love how they get that fuzzy distant production. I know a lot of people like to complain about the intentional fuzzy production a lot of black metal bands employ, but I say fuck 'em if they don't get it. 

 

 

Azaghal – Omega (2018, CD) - Discogs

Azaghal - Omega  2008

These Finns have a ton of albums out, one of my most listened to bm bands over the years. This is probably their best effort, I go back and forth between this one and the following one from '09 Teraphim. Finnish black metal is the sweet spot for me in case you haven't noticed, no other country balances melodicism with causticity and brutality better than the Finns.

 

 

Horna – Sanojesi Äärelle (2008, Cardsleeve, CDr) - Discogs

Horna - Sanojesi Äärelle 2009

Another legendary favorite Finnish band, formed in '94 they have a shit ton of records out too. Not gonna count up all the splits n shit but altogether probably more than Azaghal. Hard to pick a single favorite as they have so many really good ones. Gun to head I'll pick this one as it's 14 tracks, 85 minutes of catchy badassery, every track a headbanger it just never quits.
 

 

 

Baptism - Grim Arts Of Melancholy | Releases | Discogs

Baptism - Grim Arts of Melancholy  2008

Yeah it probably seems like this list is becoming a virtual who's who of Finnish black metal but I can't help it that the Finns are so fucking good at black metal. This band is one of the best to hail from that vodka swilling, sauna sweating, church burning, goat humping land (I'm sure the Laplanders hump their fair share of reindeer too) and this record is fucking sick. The first 3 full lengths really and the Wisdom & Hate EP are all fucking sick, just do yourself a favor, bite the bullet and collect the whole damn set.

 

 

Goatcraft Torment | Urgehal | Agonia Records

Urgehal - Goatcraft Torment  2006

Always forget that these guys were Norwegian, for some reason I always wanna think they were German. I've always loved this album's opening battle cry: This is Satanic black metal! before they lay waste to my earholes. As previously mentioned here on the board a few weeks ago it all fell apart when Trondr Nefas (guitar vox) died tragically in his sleep in 2012 just two weeks shy of his 35th birthday. Much too young to be taken from us but we still have his music.

 

 

Preludes To Death | Krypt | Agonia Records

Krypt - Preludes to Death  2008

One and done classic black metal album from these Norwegians. M-A has them listed as active still, but 13 years later we haven't heard another peep from them.

 

 

HOVMOD - Doedsformasjon - Amazon.com Music

Hovmod - Doedsformasjon  2019

A younger Norwegian band this is their first and only release so far, and they fucking killed it. Shows me there is still hope that young black metal bands can pick up the torch and keep the black arts going strong for the next generation.

 

 

Nattefrost – Blood & Vomit (2004, Vinyl) - Discogs

Nattefrost - Blood & Vomit  2004

Only just dicovered this one a few years ago but holy shit does it fucking rip. This is not progressive or complex or innovative in any way like I'm sure lots of you are probably looking for in your music. It's pretty simple and basic really but it makes my list for pure unbridled fury alone. The unrestrained hateful aggression is a big part of why I love black metal so much, I find it very cathartic. Good for my mental health.

 

 

Hate Forest – Purity (CD) - Discogs

Hate Forest - Purity  2003

Right from the opening track Domination this one lays it down. These Ukrainians sound like they're pissed off and they mean business. Main man Roman Saenko also went on to form some other Ukranian bands you might have heard of, Drudkh, Rattenfanger, Blood of Kingu...but none of them could ever top Hate Forest.

 

Alright I reckon that's enough for now, I could easily list another 25 albums but I bet no one's even still reading this anymore all the way down here.  But I had fun compiling this list and that's all that matters to me.


 

You call that a list?

 

Nah, just having a lend of you.  An encyclopaedia of BM.  The unworthy can read it and weep.

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On 6/3/2021 at 3:47 AM, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Alright I reckon that's enough for now, I could easily list another 25 albums but I bet no one's even still reading this anymore all the way down here.  But I had fun compiling this list and that's all that matters to me.


 

I actually read the whole list and wrote down most of the list in my journal to check out at some point.  Keep your lists coming.

Great to see love for Henbane which is one of my favourite releases over all genres in the 2010's.  Oddly, as someone who has most of Inquisition's releases I don't have Nefarious Dismal... and I can't remember why, so that's getting a listen through later.  I have numerous Horna releases but haven't gotten round to Sanojesi... yet probably because I am still banging the shit out of their split with Behexen for my go to Horna fix.

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  • 3 weeks later...

 

MOD EDIT - several unlabelled YouTube videos removed.  Please label all YouTube videos then if (and usually when) they break we can add them back in on our repair sessions.

....just to add on to WhiteNoise's list....here are few that I quite enjoyed over years....

...the bulk of these are from within the last 5 years....

...MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY and HAIL SPIRIT NOIR are at the top of my list of BM from the last 10 years...

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Well, I made it through those records on Goatmaster's list that I could find on bandcamp over the past few days. It's like a satanic candy store.

Mostly just listened to each one long enough to decide how much I liked it, or in other words, bailed when I decided it was a "not for me" record. Of the new ones to me, Schrat, Hovmod and Magoth were really great - instabuys on bc. I already knew about and like Havukruunu, Ordinance and Murg.

Fun times!

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Obviously my lists are going to reflect my personal specific taste, and I do have quite specific tastes when it comes to my black metal. I do exactly what you described, I listen to a little bit of a lot of different things and I usually know pretty quick if something's not for me. And a lot of stuff is not. Stuff that passes that first hurdle and might be for me takes a bit longer to decide how good I think it is. So yeah, I can't imagine too many people being able to go right down one of my lists and absolutely love every single thing like I do, but I'm always glad to get the feedback that anyone was able to find something new to enjoy. So thanks.

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On 7/2/2021 at 9:55 AM, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Obviously my lists are going to reflect my personal specific taste, and I do have quite specific tastes when it comes to my black metal. I do exactly what you described, I listen to a little bit of a lot of different things and I usually know pretty quick if something's not for me. And a lot of stuff is not. Stuff that passes that first hurdle and might be for me takes a bit longer to decide how good I think it is. So yeah, I can't imagine too many people being able to go right down one of my lists and absolutely love every single thing like I do, but I'm always glad to get the feedback that anyone was able to find something new to enjoy. So thanks.

....WhiteNoise....you and I have similar tastes in BM, in as much as the music you like...however I tend to like a wider range of styles within the genre....and I also seem to be more fond of avant garde/experimental BM than you....this may be a result of my tastes outside of metal; post punk, experimental/contemporary classical, jazz, WHAM, EDDIE MONEY,etc.....

...overall I would say we share far more of the same tastes in extreme music than we differ...

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This is true, I do have a very narrow and unadventurous focus on what I want and expect from my music and what I find acceptable or palatable and what I don't. Even within the specific sub-genres I generally prefer over most others, like riffy 2nd wave black metal, atmospheric depressive black metal, raw black metal, war metal, filthy blackened death, caveman death metal and what I like to call simply "crust" (the straight up marriage of death metal and hardcore punk (with or without some grindcore thrown in)) I still encounter lots of deal breakers for me, little details about the music that can easily ruin the whole thing for me, many of these having to do with the vocals. If the vocals aren't just right I will reject something and move on even if I find the music to be otherwise good.

 

I know what I like and more importantly I know what I don't like. Things that sound weird, avant-garde, experimental, or progressive to me in any way that's usually enough to put me off a band for life, and that goes for any genre not just black metal. Popular bands that I reject due to avant-prog-weirdness include: Rush, HSN, Meshuggah, Gojiira, Obscura, Mastodon, Tool, Voivod, Enslaved, Akercocke, Vektor, Vhol, Sigh, Igorrr, Krallice, Imperial Triumphant...you get the idea, I could go on listing avant-garde and prog metal bands all day. Don't have no use for none of it.

 

Same goes for dissonance and atonality (which I still get confused even though Doc (That-guy) has explained this shit to me a couple of times now) I just don't get the point of it. Popular bands that I have rejected due to excessive dissonance and/or atonality include: Pantera, Gorguts, DSO, Ulcerate, Portal, Morbid Angel, Ad Nauseam, Pyrrhon, Demilich, and for many years Immolation, although something finally clicked for me with the boys from Yonkers on their Atonement album and I think seeing them live at MDF had something to do with that as well. Incantation's Onward to Golgotha was a milestone album for me (when I first heard it about 12/13 years ago) because it was the first blatantly dissonant metal album I was able to "decipher" and connect with and truly appreciate.

 

Atonality is even worse for me, if you're unashamedly atonal I will unashamedly not listen to your music. Same thing with bands that get the technical tag. If your band can be described as technical I probably won't like it. Only band I can think of off the top of my head I really like that gets the technical tag is Coroner.

 

Now this isn't to say that I don't think other people should enjoy these kinds of things if that's what they like, live and let live baby, that's my motto. You do you. There's plenty of different kinds of music out there, something for everyone. I have just learned in my 6 decades on this spinning rock the kinds of things I like and what to stay away from. I stay in my lane and choose simple visceral and immediate over the technical, cerebral and forward thinking. That's what works for me so why fuck with it. My friends off the board are always giving me shit about how closed minded I am musically speaking but I honestly believe that we don't choose what speaks to us and makes us feel something, it chooses us. 

 

So now specifically to Marko, yeah clearly we like and appreciate a lot of the same things and we see the world in much the same way which is why we've grown to be online metal board friends after all these years posting together. We have much more in common musically than separates us. That said the amount of music I've gotten from you and things I've learned from you over the years is insane. A lot of my musical taste and appreciation has been shaped by you. Well you and my adult ADHD I guess. As far as mentors I think it was probably you and Burbs really more than anyone else that put me on the path to become the Goatmaster. You guys showed me to think for myself, look down alternate paths, follow my heart and seek out the music I was drawn to and not just blindly follow the mainstream crowd. You're a few years younger than me but I don't even have a small fraction of your musical knowledge and experience. You're always gonna be the more inquisitive one with the broader more varied and wide-ranging more sophisticated and all encomapssing tastes, and I'm always gonna be the guy zeroed in on the badass riffs, the filth and fuckery, content looking for those cheap visceral thrills. 

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On 7/6/2021 at 2:21 AM, GoatmasterGeneral said:

This is true, I do have a very narrow and unadventurous focus on what I want and expect from my music and what I find acceptable or palatable and what I don't. Even within the specific sub-genres I generally prefer over most others, like riffy 2nd wave black metal, atmospheric depressive black metal, raw black metal, war metal, filthy blackened death, caveman death metal and what I like to call simply "crust" (the straight up marriage of death metal and hardcore punk (with or without some grindcore thrown in)) I still encounter lots of deal breakers for me, little details about the music that can easily ruin the whole thing for me, many of these having to do with the vocals. If the vocals aren't just right I will reject something and move on even if I find the music to be otherwise good.

 

I know what I like and more importantly I know what I don't like. Things that sound weird, avant-garde, experimental, or progressive to me in any way that's usually enough to put me off a band for life, and that goes for any genre not just black metal. Popular bands that I reject due to avant-prog-weirdness include: Rush, HSN, Meshuggah, Gojiira, Obscura, Mastodon, Tool, Voivod, Enslaved, Akercocke, Vektor, Vhol, Sigh, Igorrr, Krallice, Imperial Triumphant...you get the idea, I could go on listing avant-garde and prog metal bands all day. Don't have no use for none of it.

 

Same goes for dissonance and atonality (which I still get confused even though Doc (That-guy) has explained this shit to me a couple of times now) I just don't get the point of it. Popular bands that I have rejected due to excessive dissonance and/or atonality include: Pantera, Gorguts, DSO, Ulcerate, Portal, Morbid Angel, Ad Nauseam, Pyrrhon, Demilich, and for many years Immolation, although something finally clicked for me with the boys from Yonkers on their Atonement album and I think seeing them live at MDF had something to do with that as well. Incantation's Onward to Golgotha was a milestone album for me (when I first heard it about 12/13 years ago) because it was the first blatantly dissonant metal album I was able to "decipher" and connect with and truly appreciate.

 

Atonality is even worse for me, if you're unashamedly atonal I will unashamedly not listen to your music. Same thing with bands that get the technical tag. If your band can be described as technical I probably won't like it. Only band I can think of off the top of my head I really like that gets the technical tag is Coroner.

 

Now this isn't to say that I don't think other people should enjoy these kinds of things if that's what they like, live and let live baby, that's my motto. You do you. There's plenty of different kinds of music out there, something for everyone. I have just learned in my 6 decades on this spinning rock the kinds of things I like and what to stay away from. I stay in my lane and choose simple visceral and immediate over the technical, cerebral and forward thinking. That's what works for me so why fuck with it. My friends off the board are always giving me shit about how closed minded I am musically speaking but I honestly believe that we don't choose what speaks to us and makes us feel something, it chooses us. 

 

So now specifically to Marko, yeah clearly we like and appreciate a lot of the same things and we see the world in much the same way which is why we've grown to be online metal board friends after all these years posting together. We have much more in common musically than separates us. That said the amount of music I've gotten from you and things I've learned from you over the years is insane. A lot of my musical taste and appreciation has been shaped by you. Well you and my adult ADHD I guess. As far as mentors I think it was probably you and Burbs really more than anyone else that put me on the path to become the Goatmaster. You guys showed me to think for myself, look down alternate paths, follow my heart and seek out the music I was drawn to and not just blindly follow the mainstream crowd. You're a few years younger than me but I don't even have a small fraction of your musical knowledge and experience. You're always gonna be the more inquisitive one with the broader more varied and wide-ranging more sophisticated and all encomapssing tastes, and I'm always gonna be the guy zeroed in on the badass riffs, the filth and fuckery, content looking for those cheap visceral thrills. 

....WhiteNoise....you do definitely know which lane you want to drive in and you stick to it consistently....but, to your credit, you are willing to at least take the off ramp from time to time and see what's going on...even if it's only for a brief stay at the avant garde GasNGo then back out on the Satano-Warfuck Super Highway..... 

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MOD UPDATE - Reviewed YouTube links and all good.  Remember to label each YouTube video you post folks - I am looking at you @MarkhantonioYeattsas I just butchered one of your posts as none of the vids were labelled so when they (inevitably) break we can't repair them and folks can't explore your recs.

 

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  • 3 months later...

Melechesh- Emissaries

Immortal- Sons of Northern Darkness

Nokturnal Mortum- Verity & Voice of Steel

Watain- Casus Luciferi

Emperor- Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire & Demise

Rotting Christ- Rituals

Abazagorath- The Satanic Verses

Goatmoon- Varjot

Graveland- Memory & Destiny (2013 rerecording)

There are many more, but these are the ones I listen to the most.

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1. attera totus sanctus by dark funeral

2. damned in black by immortal

3. nordland 1 by bathory

4. nordland 2 by bathory

5. angelus exuro pro eternus by dark funeral

6. open the gates of hell by mystic circle

7. written in blood by gloomy grim

8. viktoria by marduk

9. defending the throne of evil by carpathian forest

10. serpent sermon by marduk

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"Defending the Throne of Evil" was the only Carpathian Forest CD I ever had and I remember it being pretty good in retrospect even if I didn't appreciate it at the time.

The only reason I listed "Sons of Northern Darkness" over "Damned in Black" is because Sons has the track "Antarctica" (the coldest place of all!), "In My Kingdom Cold" and my favorite Immortal song ever that my best friend and I used to blast while we played Laser Tag (they used to let you play your own music and we made a black metal CD specifically for our Laser Tag matches): "Tyrants"

Damned in Black was like my second choice for an Immortal album, but I had to list two Nokturnal Mortum albums because I couldn't decide between the two of them, although I personally like Verity's cover art more even if it is a blatant rip off of Tiamat's "Wildhoney"

I'm a huge Marduk fan but I haven't actually listened to Viktoria yet. I did not put Marduk on there because it's too hard to choose between La Grand Danse Macabre, Plague Angel, & Warschau since those albums are essentials.

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