Welcome, friends, to the final installment of Kvlt Kolvmn in the year of our infernal overlords 2019. What a year it’s been. From releases by foolproof genre legends like Mayhem, Blut Aus Nord, and Abbath to seething experimental shots across the proverbial bow from Liturgy and Botanist, this past year…
Just about this time last year, Simon ran a piece about how Icelandic black metal was primed to be the next big movement in the genre. Though I had been familiar – and highly impressed – with albums from Misþyrming and Naðra, I was genuinely surprised to see how many other quality black metal bands hailed from the small, not-so-icy island. And thankfully for BM fans, Simon was right about this being a growing trend, as 2017 has already plopped Draugsól’s Volaða Land onto my running top releases list for the year. The album title’s apt translation to “poor country” points to the desolate atmosphere that permeates throughout the record.
Welcome back to our ongoing series of best-of lists for 2016, where we give some of the bands we covered (or just adored) in 2016 a chance to publish their own lists regarding their favorite albums of this past year. It may be officially 2017, but we’ve got one more list…
Black metal has the unique trait of being a simultaneously phenomenal and abysmal genre. With an innately prolific trait and a relatively simple, consistent formulaic structure, the genre has spawned countless innovators as well as countless more bedroom warriors churning out one “Name Your Price” Bandcamp dud after another. Unfortunately,…
At its core, the main appeal of black metal is how absolutely visceral it is. Although there are plenty of bands for whom this doesn’t necessarily apply – groups like Alcest and Wolves In The Throne Room – the vast majority of black metal, from the 2nd wave in the…
