Fortid – 9

 If someone told be that pagan black metal could ever be made more badass or epic than what it normally is I’d call fucking bullshit. But, as if to prove me wrong, Fortid’s upcoming new album of that same exact genre, “9”, has taken the genre to whole ‘nother level for me. This album has a great feel from it from the transcending vocals that have a wide range of intensity to the length of songs with one reaching over 10 minutes to the badass riffs contained all throughout “9” that just deserve a round of goddamn applause each time. … Continue reading Fortid – 9

Outre – Ghost Chants

 There’s nothing quite like a good, hardcore, brutal black metal to bring a little spring to your step when looking for some badass metal, and Outre does that fantastically with their upcoming album “Ghost Chants”. This whole album has a sound that is based solely on the principle of being as fast and heavy as possible while still keeping that extraordinarily awesome feel of black metal that even the cover art portrays for the entire album. The intense vocals are done immense justice with the guitars and their monstrous riffs along side the powering drums that pound along in each … Continue reading Outre – Ghost Chants

Kafirun – Glorification of Holy Death

 When it comes down to just straight black metal with a modern kick to it that a lot of metal heads can hear and enjoy, Kafirun has hit the nail on the motherfucking head with their new album “Glorification of Holy Death”. This album is a blast of old fashioned black metal done right with ripping guitars and hardcore vocals that us fans know and love, but this also comes with a twist of modern black metal that brings a sort of refinement to the music that persists throughout the album and is very noticeable if you really listen to … Continue reading Kafirun – Glorification of Holy Death

Carach Angren – This is No Fairy Tale

 I truly never thought that black metal could be put into a form that is like an opera so but so much more fucking badass and awesome. Carach Angren has created an album that could be made into a literal opera and it would have me glued to my goddamn seat because it would be fucking great and way more entertaining. “This is No Fairy Tale” is an absolute masterpiece in every sense of the word because this album has all the raw make up of the best black metal but it also has an entire orchestra backing it up … Continue reading Carach Angren – This is No Fairy Tale

Mortals / Repellers (split)

 Just by looking at this cover I should’ve known that this split between black metal acts Mortals and Repellers was gonna be badass. This album starts off with an 8-minute track from Mortals that is filled with creative ingenuity because it had just an awesome feel to it that was smooth, but rugged at the same time with it because of it being black metal. But then the rest of the album is Repellers and I’m completely fine with that because Repellers did as good of a job in 3 songs that Mortals did in just one with them being … Continue reading Mortals / Repellers (split)

Tome of the Unreplenished – Innerstanding

 I’m not exactly one for atmospheric black metal because I like black metal fast and loud and not slow and calming like a good chunk of Tome of the Unreplenished’s new album “Innerstanding” is. I’m not saying it’s bad because it’s not; it has a quality sound and is very interesting in some points that I enjoyed. But in other parts it was just really slow and with several songs reaching over 5 minutes it just dragged on for an eternity to me which in some cases it’s good but not this one. In no way is this a bad … Continue reading Tome of the Unreplenished – Innerstanding

Thulcandra – Ascension Lost

 As a death and black metal fan I feel like I can say with a degree of confidence that this is a badass album. I personally think that this is more melodic black metal than blackened death, but the band calls themselves blackened death so I won’t argue; I just think it sounds badass. The vocals have a great melody and sound to them that I know any fan of black or death metal can enjoy simply because of its hardcore raspy sound that we’ve all known and loved, the guitars have awesome rhythm and feel that only the drums … Continue reading Thulcandra – Ascension Lost

Norse – Pest

 I honestly never thought that black metal could get better than it has been for a while. Norse’s new upcoming album “Pest” is a bold new beginning that no doubt spells a new beginning for black metal everywhere simply because of how amazingly well done “Pest” is. Just everything about this album is innovative down to the very sound and it is just amazing that this is from a two man band. It just blows my fucking mind. This is unprecedented for me to find more than one two man band and have them both sound fucking amazing. Totally unheard of … Continue reading Norse – Pest

Au-Dessus (self-titled)

 I’ve never been the biggest fan of post black metal before because it honestly just puts me to sleep half the time. But Au-Dessus’ new upcoming self-titled album brings a little spice and shakes up the mix for me that sadly didn’t make me love it but it made the album far more interesting for me. This felt much more raw and, in my mind, more well produced than others before it. Now the only thing that really made me not love this album was that I felt like it was way too slow for my own personal preference in a lot of places. … Continue reading Au-Dessus (self-titled)

Frosthelm – The Endless Winter

 Talk about an album that lives up to its badass cover! Frosthelm’s debut full-length album “The Endless Winter” is an absolutely flawless concoction of black metal and thrash metal into something that just blew me away 100% with its demonic fast pace, brutal sound, and just amazing musicianship throughout the entire album. Each and every track that really grinds away at your ears until the only thing left is a pulp that just wants more from the album. The vocals in “The Endless Winter” have that black metal sound to them with the raspy and harsh sound that never lets … Continue reading Frosthelm – The Endless Winter