KRISIUN – Forged In Fury

Krisiun – Forged In Fury (2015, Century Media)

Technical death metal can be brutal and satisfying in its way of tight, fast changes of tempos and aggressive mastery of instruments.

THY CATAFALQUE - Sgùrr

Thy Catafalque - Sgùrr (2015, Season of Mist)

Avant-Garde mastermind Tamas Katai from Hungary has been forging a kind of music originally closer to black metal but evolving in a way that transcends genres and labels. Using a large array of instruments and sonorities, the experiments of Thy Catafalque are fast, engaging, and have enough time to unfold as the songs evolve and unveil their labyrinthine structures. At some point, there’s a eerie sense of contemporary but also timeless experience with Sgùrr even more than with Rengeteg.

VHOL – Deeper Than Sky

VHOL – Deeper Than Sky (2015, Profound Lore)

The supergroup that is VHOL delivers again the product of a real supergroup and not just a record of big known names making average music that will sell. With Mike Scheidt (YOB) on vocals, two ex-Ludicra of John Cobbett (Hammers of Misfortune) and Aesop Dekker (Agalloch) together with bassist Sigrid Sheie (Hammers of Misfortune, ex-Amber Asylum) we are in for what a metal album should sound like.

THE NEGATION - Memento Mori

The Negation -  Memento Mori (2015, Kaotoxin Records)

Coming out of France, The Negation is probably the best incarnation of the extreme metal that the Swedish, self labeled as a black metal outfit, Dark Funeral has started back in 1993. It took me many listens of Memento Mori to be able to really grasp their sound and really make my mind on their music. In many cases when an album has to be repeatedly listened to be fully chewed, it is a positive sign.

THE ORDER OF APOLLYON – The Sword and the Dagger

The Order of Apollyon – The Sword and the Dagger (2015, Listenable Records)

The genre of death metal has been saturated for years with hundred of bands releasing hundreds of records every year. Honestly, it is not my usual cup of tea except for obvious acts like Nile, Cryptopsy, Possessed, Suffocation, and Dying Fetus. Other than that, I have struggled with my allegiance with the genre.

TEMPLE OF BAAL – Mysterium

Temple of Baal – Mysterium (2015, Agonia Records)

Coming out of France, the blackened death metal act of Temple of Baal has been active since 1998. We often hear the mix of the genres that are black and death metal, done so many times, and almost as a single formula. With that in mind, I entered into this album with no real expectations. Added to that, I am more a black metal fan than a fan of death metal, so I can be very critical when it comes to those genres. Especially when mixed together.

GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR – Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress

Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress (2015, Constellation)

The outfit of Godspeed You! Black Emperor has never hidden its allegiance to their positions, politics, or views on the world. However, the post-rock group never really caressed the desire to break into mainstream or the music business. Without any announces their most recent releases ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend Ascend! and Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress were good records but not groundbreaking as Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven.

HORNA – Hengen Tulet

Horna – Hengen Tulet (2015, World Terror Committee)

Interestingly enough, lately I’ve been catching on black metal bands that I’ve been ignorant of and that have been around for a good time; first with Tsjuder and now Horna. Both were formed in 1993, Tsjuder from Norway and Horna is from Finland. Surprisingly enough, both bands have been at their craft and kept it true to its origins without overselling to other genres or to reach a wider audience.

GORGOROTH – Instinctus Bestialis

Gorgoroth – Instinctus Bestialis (2015, Soulseller Records)

After a series of Black Metal Hall of fame potential records, Norwegian band Gorgoroth has been a ridiculous caricature of itself. Aligning a huge criminal record from its members and a legal dispute over the band’s name, it is almost an historic worthy of soap opera.

DEAFHEAVEN – New Bermuda

Deafheaven – New Bermuda (2015, Anti-)

It was not until last year that I discovered Deafheaven’s sophomore album Sunbather and their mix of my favorite genre in music black metal with a genre I’m not that connoisseur of, shoegaze. It was around October that I immersed myself in songs like ‘’The Pecan Tree’’ and ‘’Dream House’’. I gave them a somewhat high score but not the highest I ever gave to a new album. Why?