Thursday, November 30, 2017

My 40 Favorite Black Metal Records of 2017


Wow what a year haha blah blah blah Trump blah blah nuclear annihilation blah blah blah the world is dogshit.

Real quick, I just want to note that this list will include anything that's even remotely black metal-adjacent, so please, please don't be that asshole who's telling me about how such-and-such doesn't belong on this list because they're really more of a death metal band or whatever. And feel free to tell me what you think I got wrong or what your list would have looked like, just be cool about it. If you've never moderated a comment section, you might not believe some of the toxic shit I have to filter out, and lists like these are like magnets for internet garbage people.

Oh, and I'm not posting any DL links for these, but most of them should be on Mortuus In Somnis. (If you can't find it there, hit me up and I'll see what I can do.)

Got it? Good, let's go.




#40
Faceless Entity
In Via Ad Nusquam

Haunting raw black metal. An incessant drone of barely discernible guitars, rumbling vocals, and simplistic drumming.

Previously:
Faceless Entity - Semper Dolens ( 2015)




#39
Hermóðr
Hädanfärd

Beautiful and epic-sounding. Very Filosofem-esque, but with juuuust a hint of folk/viking metal.

Previously:
Hermóðr - Vinter (2014)




#38
Dargar
The Shores of Space

A hazy mist of fuzzed-out guitar, ghostly vocals, and drum machine. Hovers mostly in slow-to-midtempo territory, but picks up the pace enough to keep it black metal. Sounds like it may have been recorded by ghosts.




#37
When Bitter Spring Sleeps
Star-Thrown

Massive, mid-paced epics that are somewhat in the vein of Summoning, but with more varied songwriting, way less keyboards, and all clean vocals. Star-Thrown is a major step forward for this band. I've always liked them, but never would have thought of them as year-end-best-of-list material, yet here we are.




#36
Ostots
Ezer Ezaren Araztasuna

The band's third and best official full-length. Raw and blown-out, but with a haunting, hypnotic cumulative effect.




#35
Svartsyn
In Death

My favorite Svartsyn since His Majesty (which IMO is on the shortlist for all-time greatest black metal record.) Despite near-constant blasting and tremolo-picking, there's always a time signature twist to keep you from getting too comfortable. The kind of subtly advanced, deceptively complex record that only a veteran band can pull off.

Previously:
Svartsyn - ... His Majesty (2000)
Svartsyn - Timeless Reign (2007)




#34
Häxxan
Loch Ness Rising

Doom-infused, evil but hooky, open-chord-riding, Swedish-sounding riffs, with lots of funereal organ for subtle occult psych vibes and full, punchy production. Extremely cool. If this band tours, they're gonna be big.




#33
Striborg
A Procession of Lost Souls

In which Sin Nanna reclaims his crown as king of eerie, nauseatingly dissonant black metal, while adding a drop of melody to the sickening concoction.

Previously:
Striborg - Mysterious Semblance (2004)




#32
Skáphe
Untitled

Just about as cavernous and dissonant as cavernous, dissonant black/death can get. They're pretty much a noise band at this point.

Previously:
Skáphe - Skáphe² (2016)
Skáphe - Untitled (2017)




#31
Neige et Noirceur
Verglapolis

Abstract and largely ambient. Monotonous guitars, droning keyboards, and growls hover like specters, with occasional, minimal drumming to provide a sense of weight and structure.




#30
Azarath
In Extremis

One of the greatest and most brutal black/death bands of all time returns after six years with a fucking banger. At this point there's only one original member, but it's Inferno so we're all good.

Previously:
Azarath - Infernal Blasting (2003)




#29
Black Cilice
Banished from Time

The Portuguese do raw black metal like none other, and Black Cilicie's haunted, ritualistic take on it puts him at the very top of the heap. Though I certainly would be curious to hear what might happen if he tried something new -- an all dark ambient record could be super-tight -- as long as his output remains this flawless, I'll be on board.

Previously:
Black Cilice - A Corpse, a Temple (2012)




#28
Wreche
Wreche

OK this one's a real mindfuck. They're a two-piece from LA, and they play artsy black metal with a major twist: they have a pianist instead of a guitarist. Yup, it's drums, piano, and vox. They're both insanely talented, though, and the pianist's playing is classically-influenced and extremely dissonant, in a way that's in line with French-style orthodox black metal. Definitely not gonna change your mind if you think that USBM is for wussy art kids, though.




#27
Farsot
Fail-Lure

Ambitious and progressive -- not prog-y, mind you, but progressive. Acoustic and clean guitars are often layered alongside distorted ones, which, along with some keyboards and epic-sounding singing, makes for a mournful, emotionally resonant tone.




#26
Jordablod
Upon My Cremation Pyre

It's good to see Swedish bands repping the modern era of black metal, as opposed to hammering away at the 'classic' Swedish sound. Fluid guitar work that jumps effortlessly from tremolo-picked arpeggios to thick chords to wailing solos. And the reverb-y but forceful atmosphere is awesome -- not so much "cavernous" as it sounds like you're hearing it from the opposite end of a gymnasium.




#25
Wiegedood
De Doden Hebben Het Goed II

Tight, precise performances of often quite intricate, riff-y songs and simple, spacious, sorrowful stretches of post-metal.




#24
Anima Damnata
Nefarious Seeds Grow to Bring Forth Supremacy of the Beast

Complete and utter blackened brutal death destruction. 10 tight, punishing masses of pinch harmonics, chugging riffs, gravity blasts, and generalized aural obliteration.

Previously:
Anima Damnata - Agonizing Journey Through the Burning Universe and Transcendental Ritual of Transfiguration (2003)




#23
Bereft of Light
Hoinar

Epic, keyboard-heavy atmospheric black metal. Sole member Daniel Neagoe is in some of the best doom metal bands in existence -- including Shape of Despair and Clouds -- and you can tell from the stunningly arranged acoustic passages, strings, rain SFX, and other stuff you'd expect to hear on a funeral doom record. But, you know, it's black metal.




#22
Vassafor
Malediction

Monolithic death- and doom-infused filth. After over two decades as a band, Vassafor has now put out just two full-lengths, but at least they've made 'em count.

Previously:
Vassafor - Vassafor (2007)




#21
Antiversum
Cosmos Comedenti

A remarkable debut LP of gnarled, thorny, cavernous blackened death/doom, with a side of harsh noise and dark ambient. There's a lot of this kinda stuff going around right now, and Antiversum are among the very best.




#20
Forgotten Spell
The Necromancer

Shrouded in mystery (and tape hiss) with a loose, exploratory feel that may or may not be intentional. Sorrowful, melodic, tremolo-picked guitars and clattering drums that always seem to be going at slightly different speeds, but then hit every change together. It's almost jazz-like. Whether intentional or not, the effect is one of barely controlled chaos, and it makes for a goddamn compelling listen.




#19
Aosoth
The Inside Scriptures

In which Aosoth maintain their perfect track record, and arguably cement their status as the premier French BM act. The perfect mix of crushing heaviness, warped guitar dissonance, and structurally impeccable songs.

Previously:
Aosoth - III: Violence and Variations (2011)




#18
Altarage
Endinghent

Dissonant, propulsive, technically proficient black/death at its finest. The kind of band and record that blur the line between black and death metal to the point of obsolescence. I expect to see this on a lot of year-end lists, as it deserves to be.




#17
Nightbringer
Terra Damnata
Dramatic, dynamic, intense, and totally forward-thinking, with an ample dose of the kind of Satanic psychedelia that I'm a total sucker for. Another stellar album by one of the all-time great USBM acts.




#16
Severoth
Forestpaths

Perfect epic atmospheric black metal. From the space-y, weightless keyboards to the drawn-out chords to the insanely reverb-y howls from the mountaintops -- perfect. Utterly mesmerizing. 




#15
Imperceptum
Aeons of Saturnine Desolation

The best blackened funeral doom since Elysian Blaze. Imagine the black metal version of Disembowelment.

Previously:
Imperceptum - Aeons of Saturnine Desolation (2017)




#14
Fen
Winter

Patient and heavily post-rock-indebted, but without losing sight of the vicious, lupine nature of black metal, and with none of that half-assed shoegaze/emo all these bands are doing now. Fen's best yet.




#13
Asofy
Nessun Luogo

17 years and just three albums in, Asofy have fully deconstructed their own sound, ending up with something that could be likened to experimental, blackened slowcore. That might make it sound awful, but believe me, it's the opposite. A new go-to for very late, very stoned nights.

Previously:
Asofy - ebYm (2001)




#12
Der Weg einer Freiheit
Finisterre

Just about as sonically lush as ice-cold black metal can get. Like their other records, Finisterre is expansive and often quite beautiful, but in the merciless, vicious manner of classic black metal.




#11
Diĝir Gidim
I Thought There Was the Sun Awaiting My Awakening

Angular and dissonant, with some weird time signatures, eerie keyboards, and practically every style of vocal imaginable, from distorted growls to quasi-classical, choir-like singing. Definitely a dark horse, given their complete anonymity -- they don't even want you to know where they're from -- but one of the most dynamic, innovative BM records in recent memory.




#10
Lorn
Arrayed Claws

Dissonant, brutal, and out-there, man. Or, as I said in my writeup for their previous LP: "Densely layered, psychedelic, and complex, but not at the expense of a good ol' fashioned ass-kicking."

Previously:
Lorn - Subconscious Metamorphosis (2013)




#9
Almyrkvi
Umbra

Over the past few years, the Icelandic BM scene has really laid its claim as one of the most vibrant and inventive currently in existence. Almyrkvi's debut LP, Umbra is the epitome of everything that I like about the scene -- dense, cerebral guitar work, a not-so-subtle sense of psychedelia, hints of beauty in the peripherals, and darkly enveloping production.




#8
The Ruins of Beverast
Exuvia

Absolutely fucking crushing. Exuvia is a masterclass in heaviness, and my favorite Ruins of Beverast record since Rain upon the Impure. Y'all know this shit, I'm sure of it, I don't need to say any more.




#7
Rebirth of Nefast
Tabernaculum

Black metal debut album of the year, right here. Extremely dark and uneasy, with masterfully executed, extreme jumps in tempo and intensity, as well as an enviable feel for controlled tension and release. Can't believe this is their first LP. Expect nothing but greatness from this band.

Previously:
Rebirth of Nefast - Only Death (2006)




#6
Cormorant
Diaspora

At four songs in just over an hour, Diaspora undeniably is compositionally ambitious. But what's remarkable isn't the length of the songs, obviously, but how well-balanced they are, and how consistently entertaining and engaging they remain. The album-closing, 26-minute "Migration" in particular is a real stunner, and has already been filed in my mental folder of metal mindblowers.




#5
Bestia Arcana
Holókauston

Holy moly. A masterpiece of dense, dissonant, utterly modern black metal. Achieves a massive, world-crushing atmosphere without relying on compression or reverb-abuse -- don't get me wrong, there's plenty of reverb -- and maintains an unrelentingly intense presence throughout while exploring a diverse, innovative set of musical approaches and influences.

Previously:
Bestia Arcana - To Anabainon Ek Tes Abyssu (2011)




#4
Botanist
Collective: The Shape of He to Come

Awe-inducing, chill-inspiring black metal art, in which guitars are replaced by hammered dulcimer, and shrieks by gorgeous, lush choral sections. Botanist are from another fucking planet, and we should consider ourselves lucky that they came to visit us.

Previously:
Botanist - III: Doom in Bloom (2012)




#3
Inferno
Gnosis Kardias (Of Transcension and Involution)

Cerebral, layered, and ritualistically psychedelic in a way that sounds both modern and true to the blasphemous roots of black metal. Woozy clean guitars chime their way through most of the album, giving it a sense of warped ethereality. Inferno have been around for close to two decades, and have yet to stop pushing themselves in exciting new directions.




#2
Lluvia
Enigma

Jaw-dropping-ly beautiful atmospheric black metal. Shimmering ambient washes and glorious flurries of blasting, droning tremolo-picking. There's even a nod to Gas-style ambient techno in there that I still cannot believe works. Probably my most listened to BM record of the year.




#1
Chaos Moon
Eschaton Mémoire

Intricately layered, precisely paced, masterfully performed, and yet... chaotic and unhinged. Starts off extremely strong, then proceeds to up the ante with every song. 2017 has seen a whole bunch of my favorite bands putting out what I consider to be their best albums yet, and Eschaton Mémoire has managed to climb to the top of that formidable pile. Holy shit, what a great year for black metal.

Previously:
Chaos Moon - Origin of Apparition (2007)

29 comments:

  1. Brilliant! Thanks for all your time and efforts. Bring on the darkness for xmas!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You've just done everyone an enormous favour.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for this. I found a ton of great music on your 2016 best-of list, so I can't wait to dig into some of these. In the meantime, some of my personal faves of 2017:

    Pyrrho--What Passes for Survival
    Integrity--Howling, for the Nightmare Shall Consume
    Virvum--Illuminance
    Gigan--Undulating Waves of Rainbiotic Iridescence (man, I love even writing that title)
    With the Dead--Love From With the Dead (and that title)
    Converge--The Dusk in Us
    Chaos Moon--Eschaton Memoire (this one really is special)
    Emptiness--Not for Music
    Sorrow Plagues--Homecoming (this one is maybe a tad generic but hits my EPIC sweet spots)
    Akercocke--Renaissance in Extremis (I made a collage with just the guitar solos from this album lol)
    Deity--S/T
    Dark flight--The Hereafter (talk about EPIC, Lordy)
    Falls of Rauros--Vigilance Perennial
    and, by a country mile my favorite metal album of the year: SELBST--S/T (I guess it's just me and a couple of the writers at NCS who dig this so much, but man, it has saved my life a few times)

    A great year for non-metal music as well, but won't get into that here. Thanks again, the work you do here is much appreciated by more ears than mine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That Selbst was def a contender -- if this was a top 50 it'd be on there for sure. I'm also working on a top 'haven't figured out how many' non-metal albums list, should be posted in a week or so.

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  4. I've been waiting for this.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very surprised the new Thantifaxath or Krallice didn't make this list. Seems like they'd be your cup o' tea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I definitely love those bands, just haven't gotten around to listening to their new records yet

      Delete
  6. Thanks, as always, for well thought-out and passionate posts.
    I always love your best-ofs as I get to discover some criminally overlooked gems.
    I wonder if you had a chance to listen to:
    Vril
    Nocturnal Triumph
    Haunting Depths
    Chambre Froid
    Circle of Ouroborus
    Vaal
    Gjendod
    Iku-Turso, or even
    Runespell (I prefer the demo to the album)?
    These seemed like albums that would make your list. But, hey, there was a shitload of releases this year, and a lot were fantastic.
    If you haven't had the chance to yet, please have a listen to these!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've heard the Circle of Ouroborus, Runespell, Vaal, and Vril. All great. But yeah, it just came down to there being too many albums, and I had listened to them less than the others. I'll check out the rest of the list, though, thanks!

      Delete
  7. the new kafirun record is great

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh shit! I was really digging on that when it first came out, but it just slipped off my radar, def have to revisit it, thanks!

      Delete
  8. Havukruunu - Kelle Surut Soi belongs on this list to me :) solid list man!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great! thanks for the list (and the posts all year round). Couple of my fav. BM records this year:

    Eldamar - A Dark Forgotten Past
    Havukruunu - Kelle surut soi
    Botanist - Collective: The Shape of He to Come
    Sun of the Sleepless - To The Elements
    Belphegor - Totenritual

    Apparently, I have slept on a lot of great BM albums this year. Will make up for it before the year ends though!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great lista man!
    If allowed a little all-around List:
    The Obsessed - Sacred
    Youngblood Supercult - The Great American Death Rattle
    Conan -
    Man Is Myth (Early Demos)

    Kadavar - Rough Times

    Slow - V Oceans

    Holyphant (Venezia, Italy) - ST

    Snowy Dunes - Atlantis pt2

    Impure Wilhelmina - Radiation


    Radio Moscow - New Beginnings

    ReplyDelete
  11. Last yars's list was so nice, I passed the last days of the year listening to some of your recommendations - so I was really waiting for this. I'll get of 10 to 10, to have time to listen with calm. The #36 seens to be very rare, I don't find it even at bandcamp.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really makes me happy to hear that people get enjoyment out of these lists, so thank you! Here's a link for that Ostots: http://www33.zippyshare.com/v/GvSzVioL/file.html

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  12. Thank you for this list. Year upon year, your blog continues to amaze

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks alot, very inspiring!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hey, just wanted to peep in with another hefty THANKS now that I've been able to spend some quality time with some of these. Because holy shit Rebirth of Nefast! Holy shit Bereft of Light and Lluvia and Farsot and When Bitter Spring Sleeps! And most of all for me personally, holy shit that ASOFY. Big love for that music, and your descriptor above was totally apt. If you're looking for another good late-night fat-buzz album from this year, check out Demen if you haven't already. Not metal at all but captiviating in a similar way... Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Demen is for sure one of the best releases of the year!

      Delete
  15. have you heard the new blood stronghold by any chance?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have, and I def like it, but for some reason it felt slightly less interesting to me than their last one. Thought for sure it'd be a shoe-in, but not quite, as it turned out.

      Delete
  16. Great list! Plenty for me to explore here. Thank you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Any chance you've got Panphage "Jord" (2018)? Mortuus/BPA links gone. Thanks in advance.

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hey, DS, Any chance you've got Panphage "Jord"? All usual suspects -- Mortuus, BPA, etc -- have
    broken links.

    Thanks in advance. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sure, sorry I approved then forgot about your first comment.
      https://mega.nz/#!cSpW3KxZ!A1Z39P5fgl0Uw34Jr2m1NC5qSFyzq6Wg8xw9jgm0BMo

      Delete
    2. Thanks, DS, and no need to apologize.

      Hails!


      Delete
  19. Just heard the "Aetherra" album by Celestia (2017) and.. OMFG.. too much good BM going on these years.. i'm sooo late

    ReplyDelete