Blackdeath - Saturn Sector (1998)

Primal Russian black metal. Tremolo-picking and blastbeats, sporadic rasps, the occasional doom-influenced breakdown, and repetition, repetition, repetition -- a.k.a. the Under a Funeral Moon school of black metal.

Track listing:
1. Nayward of Python's Silence
2. Return from Lilith's Cunt
3. Under 1,000,000 Degrees Below Zero
4. The Metal Flowers
5. Annihilate Thy Forest
6. Saturn Sector
7. Erection of Seven Towers of Satan
8. Confession
9. The Apocalyptic Sacrifice
10. Obey Baphomet
11. Rising of the Cold Killer
12. A Masque of the Black Death
13. The Number

Hardened thoughts of the icy god

Also of interest:

Front Beast -
Black Spells of the Damned (2005)

Unhuman Disease -
Black Creations of Satan (2009)

Lorn - Subconscious Metamorphosis (2013)

Italian black metal. Densely layered, psychedelic, and complex, but not at the expense of a good ol' fashioned ass-kicking -- for reference, see the brutal-but-off-kilter two-note breakdown riff on the leadoff track, "Definitive Conjuction". So, pretty much everything one could ask for from a modern black metal record.

Track listing:
1. Definitive Conjunction
2. Strident Orbits
3. Sidereal Synapsis
4. Fragmented Souls
5. Aeon Fears - Part I
6. Aeon Fears - Part II
7. Aeon Fears - Part III (Cleaving the Diaphragm)
8. Primera Alma
9. XXI

The elder chasm

You'll also like:

Schammasch -
Sic Lvceat Lvx (2010)

Tortorum -
Katabasis (2014)

Anthony Braxton - 3 Compositions of New Jazz (1968)

Disjointed, chaotic, intriguingly sparse free jazz from prolific composer/multi-instrumentalist/literal genius Anthony Braxton.

Track listing:
1. 840M (Realize)
2. N/M488/44M/Z
3. The Bell

You go to my head

The Art Ensemble of Chicago -
Fanfare for the Warriors (1974)

Derek Bailey -
Aida (1981)

Sink - The Process (2008)

Finnish blackened drone-doom. A hypnotic concoction of slow-ass art-sludge (think Khanate with a Tibetan monk doing vocals), heavy drone, and unnerving dark ambient.

The first I heard of Sink was their excellent new album, on which they explore a mystical, metal-informed, electro- and folk-tinged, avant-garde sound that puts them in the company of other dark, impossible-to-classify bands like Snowman and Secret Chiefs 3. So, needless to say, I was stoked to learn that they've been making highly unorthodox metal for close to a decade now.

Track listing:
1. Weakness (The Process)
2. Ascension
3. Deserted
4. Receiving Silence
5. Resignation
6. Borderzone
7. The Silence

Joy of life

You should also hear:

Nyogtha -
Origin of "I" (2011)

Eagle Twin - The Feather Tipped
the Serpent's Scale (2012)

Linval Thompson - Negrea Love Dub (1978)

Tasty, space-brained dub. School started back up this week for your ol' pal DEAR_SPIRIT, but that doesn't mean I can't desperately cling to the last dregs of summer by strapping on a pair of headphones and listening to reggae while my wife snores next to me on the couch.

Track listing:
1. Rock Me in Dub
2. Channel One in Dub
3. Thompson in Dub
4. Negrea African Dub
5. Jah Jah Children Dub
6. Lion Dub
7. Natty Dread Dub
8. Roots Dub
9. Jamaican Colley Dub
10. Africa Love Dub

No way they can stop us

You should also check out:

U-Roy -
Dread in a Babylon (1975)

Scientist - Rids the World of the
Evil Curse of the Vampires (1981)

DRUX - Herkeleth (2016)

Primitive, sloppy Swedish black metal. DRUX pulls a surprising amount of depth from a limited musical pallet -- in addition to the many blast-and-tremolo parts, there's pogoing, mid-paced mosh bits, eerie dissonance, and sorrowful melodic sections. And this is a man who knows that a well-placed, delay-heavy "ugh!" can take a song from a 9 to a 10.

Free/name your price via bandcamp. Seven tracks, titled "I" through "VII."

Fade away under the black rain

More like this:

Akerbeltz -
A Wave of Darkness (2000)

Pagan Hellfire -
A Voice from Centuries Away (2000)

Rebirth of Nefast - Only Death (2006)

Irish black metal (pretty sure that's a first for this blog.) Three long, linear compositions that maintain both a dark, trance-like state and a consistent sense of forward momentum -- like falling deeper and deeper into an endless abyss as tortured ghosts hover, howling and writhing in agony, on all sides. By the way, I'm extremely high on kratom.

Track listing:
1. Wrapped in the Earth
2. Flaming the Inner Snactum
3. That Deathly Aura

Drink of the black chalice

You should also hear:

AN - Revelation I:
World Minus Population (2005)

Bestia Arcana - To Anabainon
Ek Tes Abyssu (2011)

Iris DeMent - Infamous Angel (1992)

Glorious, traditional, folk-tinged country. From sweet lil' ditties like "Hotter Than Mojave in My Heart" to achingly beautiful, positively heartbreaking ballads like "Our Town", Infamous Angel is a more-or-less perfect, criminally overlooked record. For your sake, dear reader, I really hope you're not one of those dicks who "likes every kind of music except for country."

Track listing:
1. Let the Mystery Be
2. These Hills
3. Hotter Than Mojave in My Heart
4. When Love Was Young
5. Our Town
6. Fifty Miles of Elbow Room
7. Infamous Angel
8. Sweet Forgiveness
9. After You're Gone
10. Mama's Opry
11. Higher Ground

Up the street beside that red neon light
That's where I met my baby on one hot summer night
He was the tender and I ordered a beer
It's been forty years and I'm still sitting here

If you like this, try:

Charlie Louvin -
The Kind of Man I Am (1969)

Mickey Newbury -
A Long Road Home (2002)

Black Anal Goat Vomit - Heaven (2008)

First, I told you about Anal Vomit. Then, it was Black Goat. Now I'm bringing it on home with Black Anal Goat Vomit, an Australian raw depressive black metal solo project. Dissonant guitars, high shrieks and low growls, programmed drums, and enveloping production. Altogether, a pleasingly draining listening experience for those of us who enjoy immersing ourselves in musical filth. Free via bandcamp.

Track listing:
1. Raining Coffins
2. Funeral for My Friends
3. Corpse Forest
4. Heaven
5. Blackest
6. If Everyone I Hated Would Die There Would Be No One Left
7. Dead Bird
8. Closure of the Burning Gates

Urinal baptism

You should also look into:

Endless Dismal Moan -
Curse of Underground (2010)

Bekëth Nexëhmü -
De Dunkla Herrarna (2011)

Death Ambient - Drunken Forest (2007)

Experimental, improvisatory sounds from US trio Death Ambient. Guitars, percussion, electronics, synth, violin, and banjo collide to make abstract, unsettling music that touches on drone, dark ambient, regular ol' ambient, modern classical, abstract jazz, and psychedelia.

Track listing:
1. Lake Chad
2. Greenhouse
3. Belarus
4. A Cocktail of Chemicals
5. Thermohaline
6. Dead Zone
7. Qianwei Sky
8. Yellow Rain
9. River Tigris
10. Drunken Forest
11. Coral Necropolis

Heart set

More along these lines:

Chrystal Belle Scrod -
Belle de Jour (1986)

Axolotl -
Oranur (2005)

No Empathy - Rust (2010)

German black metal. No Empathy clearly are influenced by Deathspell Omega and the "orthodox" black metal scene, but there's a bit of an old-school feel, as well.

Free/name your price via bandcamp.

Track listing:
1. Omega
2. Chaosophic Horrorcult
3. Black Maelstrom
4. Chalice of Vaus
5. Rust
6. Kill
7. Avalanche
8. Towards Infinity

Divinity construct

You'll also wanna hear:

Order of Orias -
Inverse (2011)

Carpe Noctem -
In Terra Profugus (2013)

David Van Tieghem - Safety in Numbers (1987)

Synth-y excellence from American composer David Van Tieghem. A deeply layered, lush-yet-mechanical sound composed of drum machines, chiming guitars, and lots and lots of synthesizer/keyboard. Probably sounded hella futuristic when it came out, and still sounds way fucking cool today.

Track listing:
1. Galaxy
2. Thunder Lizard
3. Crystals
4. Night of the Cold Noses
5. Future
6. All Safe
7. Skeleton Key
8. Clear
9. Deep Sky
10. A Wing and a Prayer

They drive by night

You should also check out:

Heldon - Heldon IV:
Agneta Nilsson (1976)

Tim Blake -
Crystal Machine (1977)

Plebeian Grandstand - False Highs, True Lows (2016)

Awe-inspiring French black metal. The dissonant, warped guitar style and enveloping, darkly dramatic overall sound for which the French black metal scene is known, channeled through a rhythmically complex approach that harkens to late 90s chaotic hardcore, and performed with unassailable musicianship that's worthy of the tightest of tech-death. AND, to top it all off, it's fucking free/name your price via bandcamp.

Track listing:
1. Mal du Siècle
2. Low Empire
3. Tributes and Oblivions
4. Volition
5. Mineral Tears
6. Oculi Lac
7. Tame the Shapes
8. Eros Culture

Flail in the bliss

You'll probably also like:

Gigan - Quasi-Hallucinogenic
Sonic Landscapes (2011)

KZOHH -
IAOLTDOTAD (2014)

The Monochrome Set - Strange Boutique (1980)

Debut LP by English post-punks The Monochrome Set. Bouncy, herky-jerky rhythms, inventive guitar work, and detached, bemused vocals.

Track listing:
1. The Monochrome Set (I Presume)
2. The Lighter Side of Dating
3. Espresso
4. The Puerto Rican Fence Climber
5. Tomorrow Will Be Too Long
6. Martians Go Home
7. Love Goes Down the Drain
8. Ici les Enfants
9. The Etcetera Stroll
10. Goodbye Joe
11. The Strange Boutique

We're going to heaven, baby

If you like this, you'll probably also like:

Urban Verbs -
Urban Verbs (1980)

The Beautiful South -
Welcome to the Beautiful South (1989)

Forest Silence - The Third Winter (1997)

Hungarian dark ambient. Simple synth themes repeat endlessly as ghostly choirs, yawning drones, and distant drums lead you to a cosmic grave.

Track listing:
1. The Third Winter
2. Paradoxon

I feel the claws of darkness

You'll also want to hear:

Mortiis - The Song of a
Long Forgotten Ghost (1992)

Vinterriket -
Eiszwielicht / Firntann (2010)

Inhumane Deathcult - On Behalf of Satan (2009)

Finnish black metal. Just about a 50/50 split between ragers and ritualistic, doom-leaning crushers, all bolstered by full but unadorned production and riffs that make me want to bang my head 'til it detaches from my neck and splatters against the wall. The vocals are about as expressive (but never theatrical) and diverse in approach -- pissed-off growls, hoarse shouts, dramatic cleans, agonized rasps -- as one could possibly hope for in black metal. Members of Lantern.

Track listing:
1. Baphomet Rising
2. When Master Calls
3. Black Flame Shall Prevail
4. Pandemonium Paradise
5. Blasphemy and Hate
6. I Am Thy Grief
7. A Spectre in the Haze
8. Walking Inferno
9. Where Dead Witches Dance

Black spheres calling

If you like this, listen to:

Endstille -
Navigator (2005)

Skuggan - Kejsaren Av
Ett Svart Rike (2013)

Jonn Serrie - Flightpath (1989)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Jonn Serrie - And the Stars Go with You (1987)

More glittery new age synths from Jonn Serrie. The peppier tracks up the cheese factor a bit IMO, but the rest of the album is pure, ambient, synthesized bliss.

Track listing:
1. Flightpath
2. Sky Safari
3. Muroc
4. Outreach
5. Deep Starship
5. Glyder

Radiant dawn's whisper

You'll also enjoy:

Kevin Braheny -
Galaxies (1983)

Peter Seiler -
Flying Frames (1986)