Profane Creation - Nema

Another old school delight. Brazilian blaasphemy at its finest here folks!

Fluisterwoud - Langs Galg En Rad

tru tru tru tru repetitive hypnotic blastingly excellent. Released on FMP and including a Lugubrum cover, so you know it's awesome.

Langs Galg En Rad

Neglektum - Beyond The Frozen Mist

Raw and true.

Beyond The Frozen Mist

What Would YOU DOOOO???

Kvist - For Kunsten Maa Vi Evig Vike

This one right here. One of the top 5 black metal albums of all time. I shit you not. RIP Trondr Nefas.

For Kunsten Maa

Ulfsdalir - Christenhass

Ah that guitar tone...just magickal! Bask in some maniacal lawn sprinkler black Transylvanian Hunger worshipping devil metal excellence that is orthodox and true!!

Christenhass

Judas Iscariot - To Embrace the Corpses Bleeding

Have been listening to this one a lot, especially during my lunchtime runs along the Hudson. Probably my second fav US black metal after this one.

Embrace It

Old Pagan

Old Pagan are one helluva band, and prolific to boot...here's a few of my favorites from what should become a staple in your German black metal diet.

Menschenverachtung

Tecknotschtiklan

Thrash Black Metal Holokaust

Old Wainds - Scalding Coldness

I have to thank my good associate Mr. Sellers (great-godson thrice removed of Peter) for reminding me of this frigid blast of excellence. If you like black metal you will love Old Wainds...if you love black metal you will go APESHIT for Old Wainds, tis simple as that...the title track, Wolves In White, holy shit the whole fuckin album is just tight and buzzy and bursting from the seams with magnificent riffs. And COLD, I musn't forget cold because in terms of sonic approximation of temperature Old Wainds are as adept as Immortal's Battles or Blizzards, which makes sense seeing as they come from Murmansk Russia, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle where January temperatures reach an average low of 7ºF!!

Scalding Coldness

Nihil Nocturne - Necrohell

I thought hell was Necro enough, but what the fuck...this must be Dante's 10th Circle where only the true raw war individual is allowed...and of course Nihil Nocturne is the soundtrack. Gotta love that he used an Alfred Kubin drawing for the cassette tape. If you don't know who that is, educate yoself!

Necrohell

Taake - Noregs Vaapen

A new Taake out boys and girls, and I for one couldn't be more thrilled! I've been a fan of all the Taake albums, but their last one left me a little bit cold...it had some great moments (Motpol is just an outrageously good song), but overall it wasn't as captivating compared to earlier work. Well, that is fixed in spades on this new one! Mainman Hoest must've went back under that Bodhi tree cuz there are some delicious riffs flying about; Myr even features a good old fashioned hootenanny hoedown!! The whole album is filled with a kind of "down on the farm" atmosphere...I don't know quite how else to put it. Noregs Vaapen has certainly redeemed Taake in my eyes, even if Herr Hoest is responsible for one of the most shameful moments in heavy metal history.

Of course I speak of his very literal interpretation of "to rock out with your cock out". I for one do not wish to propogate this nasty stereotype of the pencil-dicked black metal musician, but one cannot whitewash over such events. We can only hope that Hoest spends his Taake "f-you" money on a sturdier set of denims.

Noregs Vaapen

Judas Iscariot - Heaven In Flames

One of the truest bastions of U.S. black metal perfection was Andrew Harris aka Akhenaten of Judas Iscariot. He may not have been the best musician, certainly not the best drummer, but he could pen some awesome songs. Raw, hateful, melancholic and at times even joyful. Not too many bands (let alone one man deals) can make a song as punishing as Before A Circle of Darkness then turn right around and blow everyone away with the dolorously-appregiated masterpiece From Hateful Visions...phenomenal.

Heaven In Flames

A Tribute To Maniac Butcher

 A RAWAR Beast of + tribute to the most orthodox band around. Features covers by Inferno, Rehtaf Ruo, Avenger, Thy Winter Kingdom, Darkstorm and Impending Doom. Barbarud and Blasphemer are definitely two wild and craazzeee guys!!

Beast of/Tribute Part I
Part II

Maniac Butcher - Cerná Krev

Classick MB- chilling, vampyric and orthodox. Barbarud and Blasphemer can conjure up atmosfears like no other. Second best album the dynamic duo ever made together only being bested by the almighty Iron Fist.

Black Blood

Beelzeb - Misanthropes Aurora

As an addendum to that Shroud post I offer up Mr. Lug Beelzeb's solo onslaught (joined on drums by Phaul Bokrug).  Sometimes mystical sometimes furious, always fucked up, this is a pretty great album.

From their website: "An identification with BEELZEB's prose means that "you are really in trouble", -to the effect that this art compels the listener to the recreation and enjoy with different forms of sinking-. So there is no middle point - or it's meant to be so-.
Sites and dimensions which one is driven to, run in the manner of a seducement towards a point of no return; - one won't be back being the same, for will have fed his soul with visions and evocations whose nature impregnates the self in such a way )perhaps like an intimate whisper) that the focussing on emotional universe is deeply altered-."

Oh and come on these glamour shots, goddamn!

Misanthropes Aurora

Shroud - Chamber of Suicide

Grim Spanish black metal. For the longest time I thought this album was called Thamber of Suicide which intrigued me very much.

Shroud's sound reminds me of very early Darkthrone, like Snowfall era Darkthrone...Very cool (cold) riffs that inhabit an emotional depth lacking in nowadays black metal. If the cover art and band pictures don't hook ya, the music certainly will.

Thamber of Suicide

Inflabitan - Wanderer Of Grief

First of all, this is just a great album cover.  Looks like its out of some fukked-up Norwegian fairytale, I love it.  Wanderer of Grief is comprised of c. '93-'94 demos from Inflabitan, who in some way or form was connected to Dodheimsgard (666 International era) and the notorious band Strid (not Bjorn "Speed", yeesh).
The first bit of the record reminds me of a combination Hordanes Land Enslaved and As the Wolves Gather Forgotten Woods, fucking awesome stuff!!  The second part is where we really get cookin'. Much more trash/punk influenced than the first part, fantastic!!  One guitar, sparse drums, bass? Nah, just riffs man, just riffs.  Inflabitan nailed the nail right on the fucking head. Melancholic, majestic, mournful......Magnificent.

Wanderer of Grief

Funeral WInds - Godslayer Xul

Some may call Funeral Winds generic, and as I've said before that is not a bad thing at all.  The more one listens to this album, the more one gets swept into the Xul cosmology.  Not Zeuhl like Magma, not Zuul like this guy

or Xul like this guy 

I tend to think of Xul more along the lines of this.

Godslayer Xul

Black Funeral - Vampyr Throne of the Beast

Loose, evil, rabid an ready.  An absolutley terrorizing atmosphere permeates this record, making it quite unlike any other.  Definitely my fav black metal from the states and quite possibly of all time.

Rising from a dishonored grave

Mgła - Groza

Its amazing what a little well placed double kick can do for a song.  One of the best Black metal releases of the past couple years.

Dread