No heavy metal sub-genre positions itself more firmly in opposition to Christianity than black metal--most famously seen in the wave of church burnings across Norway in the heyday of the early 90s second-wave scene. And, Kerrang sensationalism aside, …
The early German black metal scene was about as underground as it got in the mid-nineties (at least until Lords of Chaos got published). And, one of that scenes best kept non-Absurd secrets is the …
As my tastes in black metal have (de)evolved over the years, I have realized that there is definitely a certain sound that I have apparently been seeking this entire time. Its exact qualities are always just out …
Aspersions have been cast, in my general direction, regarding the content of this feature. SOME have claimed that the word "masterpiece" is being used far to freely. After last month's album, it was even suggested …
Zygotical Sabbatory Anabapt is one of those albums that tends to get overlooked because it came about 6 years too late. By 1996, this kind of first wave black death stuff wasn't exactly wowing people …
I may joke about Xasthur making the same album over and over again, and that may also be entirely true, but, regardless of whether or not Malefic (the sole creative force behind Xasthur) "Vivaldis" things …
Kampfar is one of those second wave Norwegian black metal bands that I thought I was totally over. The kind of stuff that I listen to and think "yeah, this kind of sounds like Immortal, …
Welcome back to my most infrequently occurring Monday feature! I’m speaking, of course, of Infrequently Occurring Fifth Monday (IO5M), where I come up with a new “top 5″ list on a quad-yearly basis. I can sometimes …
1989 was a pretty brutal year for extreme metal. Grindcore and death metal had finally used the knowledge culled from a decade of metal malevolence to produce some of the filthiest recordings in the history …
Inquisition is one of those 3rd (4th?) wave black metal bands from the early 2000s that I missed during my half decade break from discovering new music. Not that they were going to be able …