There are few scenes in the metal world that have drawn as much attention and critical acclaim as Icelandic black metal has over the past several years. Band’s like Zhrine, Sinmara, Svartidauði, Auðn, Wormlust, and a host of others have created a regional nexus for dense, aggressive, highly atmospheric black…
Welcome to Kvlt Kolvmn. I’ll kick off this month’s festivities by stating with relative certainty that I’ve never written in one place about so many albums released in one month that I genuinely feel are going to show up on my yearly top 25. Each and every one of this…
Black metal is at its best when it’s raw. And I’m not referring to tin can production quality, which has become an obsessively mandated component of the genre for purists. The rawness I’m referring to is a of a more human variety. Give me black metal that feels utterly unhinged,…
Sinmara’s previous release, the 2017 EP Within the Weaves of Infinity, was a notable turning point for the Icelandic black metal group: it contained a much greater focus on clearly defined threads of melody, compared to their debut LP Aphotic Womb. Aphotic Womb, twisting and dripping with malevolent dissonance, slid…
Welcome to the last edition of Kvlt Kolvmn for the year 2018. I honestly debated whether or not to run this column for December, given that our year-end lists have recently been posted and the holiday season is generally a bear on schedules. But I couldn’t let the releases below…
Welcome once more to Kvlt Kolvmn. It’s that time again. The year has shed its final layer, curling itself into a corner and awaiting its imminent demise. Though, thankfully, not without plenty of bite left. It’s been a doozy of a year for all things metallic, with black metal being…
Welcome back to Kvlt Kolvmn! Another month, another insane amount of premium black metal. For the second month in a row, Scott is back in the saddle, churning out sterling recommendation after sterling recommendation. Hell is most pleased with his offerings, and all is again right in the black metal world. In a similar fashion to death metal releases in July, I was skeptical regarding how many quality albums we would hear this month. Let’s be real: July is relatively awful for new releases across all genres of music, but can be especially brutal for metal. On most fronts, July 2017 proved me wrong by unleashing upon us some excellent black metal records that are not only worthy of a solid listen, but are some of the most accomplished to be released this year. Scott and I are happy to share these records with you, and hope you enjoy them as much as we did. So, without further adieu, into the ninth circle we go.
