Beast of 2014 thus far

Being halfway through the year I thought it'd be a good time to take a look back and see what the standouts have been so far...and a spottily playlist for the albums they got on there.

Sammath - Godless Arrogance
Face ripping-arse raping Dutch Black Arrogance. The years have not toned down the fury, and thats a good thing.

Sinister - The Post-Apocalyptic Devotion
One of the most underrated death metal bands ever

Cloak of Altering - Plague Beasts
Dutch madness...poles apart from Sammath but just as fucked

Impure Wilhelmina - Black Honey
Beautiful Swiss post-metal, really digging the guy's voice.

Aastraal - Tuba Mirum Spargens Sonum Per Sepulcra Regionum, Coget Omnes Ante Thronum 
Hermetically leering Space Blores Oblumberating Cosmos Black Metal...For fans of benighted Leams and everything Dutch

Dub Buk - Öâÿõ
I haven't paid much attention to these Ukranian pagan metallers since 2002's "Taking You On!" but now I'm wishing I had cuz this is a top-notch ripper.

Janvs - Nigredo
Finally! A new Janvs album and I am just soaking in the Mediterranean flavor!

Mekong Delta - In A Mirror Darkly
Incapable of putting out a bad album, Prog metal par excellence!

Agalloch - The Serpent & the Sphere
Haugh & crew deliver on all fronts with this atmosphere laden behemoth. The rightful successor to Ashes Against the Grain.

Neneh Cherry - Blank Project
Hip & Smooth. Eccentric Perfection from Ms. Cherry.

Trust - Joyland
As far as gloomy get your goth ass on the dance floor bands go Trust is hands down the best. Hell, this even gets my old curmudgeonly ass up and grooving!

Laibach - Spectre
Boy this is a surprise, never been a huge Laibach fan but this album is scratching an itch...The Whistleblowers is a perfect gym-rat song.

Master's Hammer - Vagus Vetus
MH most exotic sounding album yet.

Old Wainds - Nordraum
Totally was not expecting a new Old Wainds this year & totally am not disappointed.

Enthroned - Sovereigns
The last few albums from these Belgian mainstays have really ratcheted up and perfected their personal brand of lethally orthodox black metal, well-done.

The Great Old Ones - Tekeli-Li
Epic Lovecraftian at their core, The Great Old Ones keep the tradition of great French black metal alive.