black metal
Join the Movement Against Human Plague
February 22, 2016 Daniel Lake
Illness mainman Gulnar, of Poland, has advanced his dark agenda several more steps with AHP, and we got caught in the line of fire. Classically deranged raw black metal speed meets eerie ambient speculation for one hell (you can say that again) of a journey.
Exclusive Premiere: Zhrine’s “Spewing Gloom”
February 2, 2016 Matt Solis
Zhrine is an Icelandic black/death metal band that melds the disgusting atonality of Deathspell Omega with the oppressively frigid atmosphere of Svartidauði (guitarist Nökkvi Gylfason is a member), complete with a fetid dusting of sludge as a sickening after-dinner mint. Check out the exclusive premiere of their song “Spewing Gloom,” off their upcoming LP, Unortheta.
THROUGH A SPEAKER RUMBLY’S E.O.T.Y. MEGAHAUL CONTINUES!
December 29, 2015 Dutch Pearce
Best Underground Metal Tapes of the Year , pt. II, featuring Ghûllzaraën of Necromantic Worship, hidden messages, Eli W. of Spectral Voice, unpronounceable band names, Hansel of Caligari Records, quotes from the underground and so much more!
Black Label Debutante Ball Follow-Up: Emanations
December 28, 2015 Daniel Lake
This year, French label Les Acteurs de L’Ombre launched Emanations, a division meant to spotlight emerging local talent with limited cassette and CD releases, and several interesting recordings have surfaced as a result.
Nachtzeit Interviewed
December 22, 2015 Daniel Lake
This Decibel scribe has always fallen horned-head-over-cloven-heels for the frozen-horror lullabies crafted under the Lustre moniker. In about three weeks, Nachtzeit will release an EP of self-proclaimed regressive black metal that strips any conceit of beauty or complexity from his other work and rages bleakly in the northern darkness.
Top 5 Worst Metal-Related Christmas Gifts
December 21, 2015 Chris Dick
Unfortunately, we haven’t found an inverted cross tree topper. Yet.
The Serpent Tradition: An Interview with Nechochwen
October 15, 2015 Matt Solis
Nechochwen is a West Virginia-based duo that merges black metal with Native American instrumentation, artwork and lyrical themes. We spoke to their eponymous guitarist/vocalist/songwriter about his musical process, artistic philosophy and deep ties to Native American culture.
Hivelords
October 5, 2015 Shawn Macomber
Tapered Limbs of a Human Star
Yup, I think we found the Queen…
dB Rating: 8/10
Exclusive Interview: Austin Lunn of Panopticon
September 3, 2015 Matt Solis
Staying true to this breakneck creative pace, Austin Lunn is mere weeks away from dropping Panopticon’s sixth LP, the enthralling and resonant Autumn Eternal. The album is a thematic companion to his two previous LPs, but musically, it eschews the “blackened bluegrass” approach in favor of emotionally charged, mournfully melodic black metal (think Winterfylleth meets early Katatonia). We talked to Lunn about creating Autumn Eternal, taking inspiration from nature and being a musician in the often-disheartening environment of the digital age.
Lychgate Interview: Getting Off the Glass Pill
August 18, 2015 Daniel Lake
Two weeks ago, you had a chance to listen to Lychgate’s new album, An Antidote for the Glass Pill. Now hear from the music’s creator about how philosophy and dystopian literature contributed to the organ-saturated black/doom album.
“Holy Waters”: Stream New Song From The Clearing Path
June 23, 2015 Daniel Lake
Gabriele Gramaglia incorporates a love of Converge-heightened, spastic hardcore heaviness into his anguished odes to the great outdoors. The percussion and vocal rhythms here really set Gramaglia’s solo project apart from the pack. The music retains black metal’s otherworldly quality without losing the attention of mere mortals like us.
STREAMING: Blaze Of Perdition “Near Death Revelations”
June 22, 2015 Chris Dick
In life, that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Back in 2013, Blaze of Perdition were traveling through Austria and were involved in a major car accident that left members severely injured and bassist Wojciech “Ikaroz” Janus dead. Uncertain whether to carry on, Blaze of Perdition invoked the power of the Elder Gods—both benign and malign—and asked them one question: should Blaze of Perdition continue to sing the praises of “Luciferian Illumination”? The weak-minded would’ve come away from the confrontation confused and bereft. Not Blaze of Perdition. They respectfully mourned the loss of Janus and vowed, with ensorcelled swords and overflowing blood chalices held high, to return to the lands of the blackest metal, spiritually and physically rejuvenated.
Ferdinando ‘Herr Morbid’ Marchisio (Forgotten Tomb) interviewed
June 8, 2015 Chris Dick
Italy’s Forgotten Tomb may’ve helped spearhead depressive black metal, but they’ve moved on from the group’s early monochromatic, manic styling to emerge as a mature, self-aware black metal act with influences ranging from Burzum to Pitch Shifter to Eyehategod. Forgotten Tomb’s new album, Hurt Yourself and the Ones You Love, is massively heavy, penetratingly introspective, and, yes, pitch black dark. From its lyrics (read Ferdinando ‘Herr Morbid’ Marchisio’s response below), its stark cover, to its cross-over black, Hurt Yourself and the Ones You Love is Forgotten Tomb’s best work yet.
Remembering Drew Cook with Wild Hunt’s “Scroll and Urn”
May 18, 2015 Matt Solis
On April 21, 2015, the Bay Area metal scene—and the underground metal scene as a whole—lost a prolific and talented artist named Drew Cook, guitarist for Oakland-based bands Dimesland and Wild Hunt.
Imperial Triumphant
April 20, 2015 Chris Dick
Abyssal Gods
Colin Marston mixed and mastered the fucker, too
dB Rating: 8/10
Throw Me a Frickin’ Label Hack: Polish Dream-Black Mornië Utúlië
April 17, 2015 Daniel Lake
Poland’s one-man, one-woman (and thus, probably Church approved) blackened frost-treaders Mornië Utúlië offer one of those perfect blends of intent, image and music. Calling a black metal record Sny (Polish for “dreams” and, coincidentally – thanks Google Translate – Afrikaans for “cuts”) and draping the cover in a field of stars certainly sets up expectations that this might be a toothless, undistorted bliss-out, but Mornië Utúlië’s adventures into the void turn out to be way more Darkspace roar than Alcest sigh. Like the subtle merging of Nosferatu and nebula on the cover, Mornië Utúlië throttle up the terror in in their yawning darkness and never settle for mere atmospheric meandering.
We asked Bartosz Brożek, the man behind the music, about his journey and his newest creation, so you can read all about it after the jump while you stab through the cosmos with Sny and a video for the late-album cut “W Nocy Płynie Chłodny Wiatr” featuring gal-vocalist Ewa Kleszcz. If you dig, be sure to head over to the Mornië Utúlië’s Facebook site or Bandcamp page, where the album lives.
Live long, prosper, eat the weak and fear your dreams!
Stream New Beautality Album
April 3, 2015 Daniel Lake
David ‘Ravengarde’ Sylvester and Nordavind Records have teamed up to release a fresh approach to epic heavy music with a new Beautality album entitled Einfallen: A Tale ov Torment & Triumph. The UK-based band thrusts all manner of screeching, fist-pounding, air-drumming metal styles into their propulsive, cinematically broad storytelling. The album boasts six mighty tracks,…
EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: Remaster of Schammasch’s “Black But Shining”
March 27, 2015 Shawn Macomber
Here’s one to send you off into the TGIF abyss… We’ve got an exclusive stream of “Black But Shining,” one of seven gorgeously remastered tracks on the re-release of Sic Lvceat Lvx, the debut album from forward-thinking black metallers Schammasch. Here’s the lowdown from vocalist C.S.R. Six years have passed since me and B.A. (drums)…
Throw Me a Frickin’ Label Hack: Estonia’s Odota
February 27, 2015 Daniel Lake
If you like your metal weird, ugly and awesome, please give it up for Odota, an Estonian one-man project that takes black metal and infests it with all sorts of uncomfortable sounds that will make the purists cry, “False!” The new album Fever Marshal props up raw, blasting riffage against industrial and electronic detritus, offering a bracing…
Full Album Stream: Hacavitz — “Darkness Beyond”
February 16, 2015 Justin Norton
In the new edition of Decibel with our tour headliners on the cover J. Bennett gets into a fascinating conversation with Liturgy frontman Hunter Hunt Hendrix (aka Triple H) about just what constitutes “black metal,” among other topics. There’s no need for any investigation or atom splitting when it comes to this band. Hacavitz is…
New Black Metal Book Series by “Cult” Author Dayal Patterson!
February 9, 2015 Daniel Lake
A year ago, metal enthusiast and writer Dayal Patterson presented the world with his authoritative document Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult, claiming the dark hearts of literate misanthropes everywhere. To anyone who read the book and thought it could have been more developed… well, the author thought so, too. This year, we will have…
Streaming: Imperial Triumphant’s “Dead Heaven”
January 26, 2015 Justin Norton
The East Coast is about to get hit with a snowstorm of apocalyptic proportions in the next 24 hours or so. Could there be better timing to debut “Dead Heaven,” the first track off Abyssal Gods, the second album from the urban black metal band Imperial Triumphant? Here’s what we’re hearing: “Abyssal Gods focuses on…