The Rock Blogger

Well this is it, my 100th post… It’s been a fun ride so far, and things are just starting to heat up on The Rock Blogger, with more readers joining us everyday. And with guest posts on other blogs coming up (more details on that later), we’re bound to be getting even more attention.

While it has been a harsh winter, it has also been a fine season for discovering and appreciating new music from all around the world. Below is a list of some of my favorite Black Metal albums I’ve come across in the last few months, some of which I’ve reviewed already on this site, others which I have yet to write about.

So I hope you take the time to explore some of these works and maybe come to a different understanding of what metal can be about. Rather than just being harsh noise and screaming, albums such as these are steeped in atmosphere and emotive intensity, some drawing on ancient myths and folklore to offer new insight into the respective cultures these bands derive from.

#10. Ulver. Nattens Madrigal. 1996. 4 stars.

The final installment in Ulver’s black metal trilogy, Nattens Madrigal is one of the rawest metal records ever recorded. Rumored to have been recorded deep in some Norwegian forest, this record features impossibly fast, tremolo fueled ‘hymns’ dedicated to lycanthropic urges, using the lo-fi production as another element to its bestial atmosphere.

#9. Paysage d’Hiver. S/T 2000. 4 stars.

Incredible use of the violin, keyboards and classical arrangements matched with despairing, existential roars and primal drumming. Sweeping in its atmosphere and unflinching, depressive drama.

#8. Drudkh. Estrangement. 2007 4 stars.

Ukranian forest metal that celebrates the trails set by nomadic ancestors with its folkish elements and stunning guitar and bass solos. This is mid-tempo black metal full of somber riffs and hypnotic drumming.

#7. Windir. 1184. 2001. 4 stars.

Crazy, symphonic black metal that employs complex keyboard compositions and searing layers of guitar noise to convey the conquest of vast landscapes .

#6. Negura Bunget. OM 2006. 4 stars.

Fascinating and incredibly dark black metal from Romania, Negura Bunget takes folklore from his country’s Wiccan and Pagan ancestries and crafts an album of incredible scope and musical virtuosity.

#5. Ulver. Kveldssanger. 1995. 4.5 stars.

The second and most melodic entry in Ulver’s black metal trilogy. This is a haunting and gorgeous collection of Norwegian folk songs tinged by sinister tones and acoustic chanting. Their incorporation (and focus) on acoustic and neo-folk elements would influence many American bands in their wake.

#4. Emperor. Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk. 1997. 4.5 stars

Symphonic black metal from Norway. These guys were pioneers in the genre and played their black opuses with brutality and searing complexity. The musicianship, especially the drumming, is impenetrably fast.

#3. Wolves in the Throne Room. Diadem of 12 Stars. 2006. 4.5 stars.

Dense, experimental and downright insane music coming one of America’s premier black metal bands. Their sound is like a tornado, terrifying in its speed and blurry, destruction that that comes from unstoppable forces of nature. The musical equivalent to a hail storm - unusual, painful and beautiful to listen to.

#2. Agalloch. Ashes Against the Grain. 2006. 5 stars.

Oregon’s Agalloch is a band that likes taking journeys with their music, moving from haunting acoustic passages, to hair raising riffs, to peaceful melodies, all the course of a single song. Ashes Against the Grain is a meditative listen, providing stark yet beautiful moments that remind you of nature and isolation.

#1. Ulver. Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr i 5 Capitler. 1994. 5 stars.

Easily one of the most melodic black metal albums to ever be recorded, Ulver’s majestic debut is an amalgamation of folk guitar, savage drumming and wicked tremolo riffs. There is an almost mythic quality to these songs, especially the album opener “Troldskog faren vild” that draws you straight into strange, ancient forests, with its Gregorian style chanting and epic guitar rhythms that carry the same urgency as some ancient battle.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 7th, 2008 at 10:53 pm and is filed under Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.