Hi there,

I don't usually post on this forum, but I have come across something that is starting to slightly baffle me about some of the twists and turns that metal's sub-genre seem to be taking in the past year or so, and the usual legwork hasn't given me a clear answer as of yet.

To put it simply, there are a load of bands gaining critical attention recently that are a type of death metal that I can't place generically; I am specifically talking about bands like Portal, Mitochondrion, Antediluvian, etc. etc. These bands are blackened death metal at their base, but they sound different, you know? I have seen the (frankly useless) term 'Occult Death Metal' being bandied about, and wondered what you guys thought about this 'new wave' of bands and their cavernous, esoteric and atmospheric sound. Would you group these (and other) bands together? Do you see this as a new form of black/death metal?

To complicate matters, I started listening to bands like this via war metal bands like Revenge and Diocletian which are ostensibly black/death, but also through the new OSDM bands like Disma and Cruciamentum which are atmospheric as fuck, and often resort to long doomy passages and a blackened aesthetic. Similarly what genre are bands like Teitanblood or Dodecahedron; are they inextricably both black and death metal?

Sorry to go on, but there's so much crossover here that it is getting weird! Is this death metal's response to Deathspell Omega or something, or is it a logical follow on from Incantation and Immolation?

BTW: great bands though!

Although I'm not a huge fan of many of the bands involved, with Mitochondrion being the only one I'm particularly enamored with musically, overall I'm fond of the movement. Portal are mindblowing live, but none of their albums really grab me, but Outre and Swarth are certainly good albums, the new Abyssal would fit in this category and also appeals to me. I find Antediluvian tedious as fuck though, but overall it's an interesting movement going in fresh directions and developing it's own atmospheres and moods. As for naming it, I don't think blackened death metal is very fitting, since the churning tremolo riffs are usually denser and more claustrophobic than sharp and stabbing, which is more of a death metal trait than a black metal one to me. I usually just call them churning and twisted death metal, or simply Portalesque. Admittedly, neither is a genre name in the slightest, but there are only like 15 bands doing this, so I don't think we need to run out and make it a special name just yet, but yeah, it doesn't fit any existing terms very well. I wouldn't go with Occult DM, since it could easily be lumped in with the ritualistic sounds of say, Christos Necros, although I suppose the bands are largely ritualistic, although in a very different manner.

It's a bit hard to say whether it flowed out of the Incantations and Immolations or formed as a direct response to DsO, I'd lean more to the former, since Portal predates the DsO thing and they seem to be the primary influence overall for these bands, but the recent boom, as in the last three years has also coincided with a boom of black metal bands doing the DsO thing, like the aforementioned Dodecahedron and other bands like Svartidaudi, so the fact both have burst out at exactly the same time does show that there may be a little bit of cross pollination going on also.

It makes sense to call the first groups of doom, thrash, black, and death a "wave," but currently, I think it would be overstating it to call any group of metal bands a new wave. However, I agree that it's clear that there are some recent bands doing some great things specifically with a mix of any of the death, black, doom, and avant garde genres and despite sometimes including varying genres, do have things in common. These also happen to be many of my favorite bands.

I just may classify some of these bands in different ways than you do. Mitochondrion, for instance, I would simply call death/black. They are death metal at their base and fuse elements of black metal. Antediluvian, in its current form, I would also simply call death/black in the same way mentioned above. Of course, they both have that cavernous sound and chaotic (for lack of a better word description, ei, I'm lazy) sound with progressive songs and albums. I'd say that the above bands owe a lot to Incantation and Demilich - to only name a couple - and more recently, Portal and even a bands like Gorguts (of whom, I think Ulcerate probably owes a lot to) and Deathspell Omega, to an extent. However, to talk of influences in this way, is to really simplify what has influenced these bands, even though the sounds from these influential bands are apparent in the emerging bands. I'd also throw into the ring bands like Adversarial, Abyssal, who are seemingly influenced in similar ways, the Portal-spawned Impetuous Ritual and on another level yet, Chthe'ilist. To elaborate any further than that may be going overboard.

I'm not familiar with Teitanblood (though, it seems that perhaps I should be), but Dodecahedron is certainly black metal with avant garde elements, some of which borrow heavily from Deathspell Omega - which I'm entirely fine with. Svartidaudi, who lord_ghengis mentioned, also comes to mind when discussing some of these bands. However, they are black metal and any avant garde elements that they do use are used more sparingly than Dodecahedron, so they may have more to owe to BM bands of the past than, say, DsO. I think that if Dodecahedron wrote in a bit more of a cohesive manner, they could do some great things. Svartidaudi's may be the best of 2012, and I would like to see them take it progressively deeper down the rabbit hole with a touch more experimentation.

Then, you have a band like Aosoth that I'd consider black metal with experimental elements that also alludes to that cavernous quality, while very much having a progressive writing style like the aforementioned death/black bands. They bridge the gap between bands like Portal, Mitochondion, Antediluvian, Abyssal, etc and bands like Deathspell Omega; they even intersect with Svartidauði at some point.

We could go further yet and discuss the development of death/doom bands like Sonne Adam, Anhedonist, Evoken, Loss, and the like, but this - just as the rest of the discussion - points to bands fusing elements to create a somewhat unique sound and in rare cases, doing something that hasn't quite been done before.

So, to answer this question (somewhat),

it's both, to a point, and this really only applies to bands like Mitochondrion, Antediluvian, Abyssal, etc and, as mentioned above, it varies even more when one starts to talk about other bands. I've gone on for some time here and I could go on for much longer, but you are generally on the right track when you're seeing an emergence of certain bands that have certain traits in common...more or less.

I'm all for this particular style, and I usually really like the groups that either have a) unique guitar riffs (Adversarial, the last Kerasphorus EP), b) a ridiculously distorted, bass-heavy, suffocating guitar tone (Teitanblood), or c) a super relentless, pretty much grindcore-esque approach to their music (Revenge). Usually the "atmosphere" I look for in this style is a byproduct of one of those three things.

I’d agree with lord_ghengis- these bands are developing a sound that isn’t completely described by existing sub-genres but I’m not sure that we need to rush out to find a new name. I usually just tack on a few adjectives to death metal, like ‘cavernous’ or ‘atmospheric’. It’s admittedly not a perfect solution so yeah, when in doubt just use ‘portal-esque’ haha.

I think one of the reasons this style is hard to pin down is exactly because it takes a wide range of influences. Black and death metal have been around long enough (plus the internet’s effect on music) that you can listen to them independent from being part of a particular scene, or from the roots of each genre. I recall a review where Napero lamented this cross pollination as destroying the development of unique local scenes but I think these bands could be an example of it being beneficial to musical development. They’ve taken the opportunity to freely mix diverse and previously disparate elements into something new.

I am on the same page as ld50 and lord_ghengis, there aren't enough bands yet for there to be a real wave, but I wouldn't be surprised if many of these bands started generating countless clones to start such a wave/trend. Right now it is more a collection of idiosyncratic bands, some of which share the same musical influences. I am sure someone else could pick better examples, but if we compare Teitanblood to say Dodecahedron I would be more comfortable with grouping them as death metal and black metal respectively than as part of the same trend.

Judging from this thread I will have to check out Svartidauði and Abyssal.

I don't have any comments on your post, just wanted to say that your screen name is fucking awesome.

Melmoth the Wanderer is my all time favorite book and I have never heard anyone else ever mention it before.

It's such an obscure gothic novel, it seems only scholars and people looking for obscure shit like me ever discover it.

Also, what does "DsO" stand for??

hell yeah lets get it goin' the genre has so much room for creation I like hearing bands coming up with their own sound

I think these guys are some good blackened death metal, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb10-wDj7iM

This more or less the only kind of metal I listen to these days, besides Black Sabbath so interesting to see a topic about it. I've noticed the interest in it from bands as well as listeners becoming greater in the recent years. I tend to lump most of them as death/black or war metal. While the latter term is perhaps a bit vague, in my mind it is pretty much a certain, distinct sound even though a number of the bands mentioned here have blurred the lines and aren't distinctly neither here or there. To me a lot of these newer bands sound like they're mixing up war metal with a large helping of Incantation influence. Before calling up newer bands like Portal or Deathspell Omega (though the latter might be an influence considering their long standing prominence, even if their early material doesn't really have much to do with this sound), it would probably be worth pointing out early war metal bands like Blasphemy and Bestial Warlust - Especially considering a lot of these bands come from Canada and Australia. With Canada, you can't forget the later-than-Blasphemy yet much-earlier-than-this-new-crop bands like Conqueror and Sacramentary Abolishment as well as their successor bands Revenge, Axis of Advance and Rites of Thy Degringolade.



Perhaps you should next time read up a bit, considering this Bane band clearly doesn't sound anything like the bands mentioned in this thread. Another thing is them coming up with their own sound...

Perhaps you should next time read up a bit, considering this Bane band clearly doesn't sound anything like the bands mentioned in this thread. Another thing is them coming up with their own sound...[/quote]

well I diddnt say they came up with their own sound I just really like the blackened death metal they play and I was listening to them at the time, I would post some of my own material but it isnt recorded

I Fucking LOVE war metal/black death like Revenge, Axis for Advance, Order From Chaos, Blasphemy, Bestial Warlust, Demoncy, etc etc.

I haven't heard some of these newer bands you guys are mentioning like Portal or Rites of Thy Degringolade or a bunch of the others in the OP's post though like Mitochondrian or Antidevulian.

Gonna have to check these bands out, I can never get enough Black-death, Black-thrash or war metal.

Other styles that have SOME similarities I have come to love are Blackened-Crust, Blackened-D-Beat, Black n'Roll and any mixture of Black/Death/Grind/Crust/Sludge.

@Ill-Starred Son - Deathspell Omega

@ld50, nice post, reminded me of a few bands I'd forgotten. I also like how it could highlight where people would have conflicts in where to draw the line. I myself would consider the Ulcerate strain of bands a totally different thing, being totally jerky and dissonant, rather than using the twisted dissonance for a cavernous and murky sound, but that's just me. I also wouldn't count Adversarial, as I seem them are pretty straight ahead (and awesome) riffy black/death, with little of this collection of bands' usual twisting weirdness. Honestly I like them more than all of them except for Mitochondrion too.

Also, would people count the black metal ones (DsO, Dodecahedron, Svartidaudi [agreed that they have more classic touches too]) and the death metal ones (Portal, Impetuous Ritual) to be part of the same "wave", or would they be two entirely different miniwaves? I'd lean to the later, but I'd be interested to see how others see it.

And as a final note, how connected do people think the war metal scene is? I don't really see many links, Maybe Mitochondrion's debut has a few warish traits, but to me the sound is entirely different, apart from some superficial production traits such as the common focus on messy, blurry swarms of notes.

From a compositional standpoint I can see some minor similarities between say Mitochondrion, Antediluvian, the sophomore album of Abyssal, and Portal/Impetuous Ritual. The latter composes music in a largely atonal way, relying on chromatic chord progressions and phrases. This is where some relate Deathspell Omega, Blut Aus Nord who did it first, Dodecahedron, and the French-BM scene who utilize similar conventions but harmonize them totally differently. Mitochondrion who are admittedly my favorite of the bunch do this as well, but their proximity to the Canadian bestial/war metal scene has caused them to garner a different appeal. They tend to build atmosphere through a recurring melody (see: "Wraithlike") or lyrical theme (see: "Pestilentiam Intus Vocamus" parts I-III), as opposed to the reliance on production or effects to carry the weight of the atmosphere like Portal. The association of these bands with war metal isn't particularly strong in any case other than by label or local scene. Although I can see why some of the fans of that scene take a liking to the much more ballsy Impetuous Ritual as opposed to Portal...

Bands like Adversarial and Abyssal on their debut are much more straightforward, riff-driven death/black metal. These have little to nothing in common with the other bands. I don't see any direct connection with the French black metal scene or that style of "atonal" black metal here either.

Ulcerate have said multiple times that they take influence from Immolation, Gorguts, grindcore (I hear the janky goodness of Crowpath in their sound), and non-metal acts like Jakob. Some early interviews with them have them referencing Angelcorpse and Suffocation, which is far more apparent if you listen to their demos and first LP. I don't think Ulcerate, who rely heavily on looped and arpeggiated jazz chords, or similarly dissonant [technical] death metal acts like Diskord or Gigan, are in any way related to this death/black style either.

I want to posit that it might be due to the growing interest in revivalism that's fueling these death/black metal bands. They all share a common ancestor in Incantation, but obviously these bands have taken a more unique approach instead of aping the Pennsylvanians' every move like some other acts have done (Father Befouled, Encoffination, etc.). I'm sure Portal's breakthrough success helped as well.

Good point on the rivival thing. I suppose bands would be looking to branch out from regular OSDM, since its been booming for like 5 years now. First time around it went techy and slick, this time its churning and off kilter, I'd say its an improvement.

Yep, I would agree. In my fragmented mind I was making a loose connection between these emerging bands and Gorguts and then also from Gorguts I couldn't resist mentioning Ulcerate, who are doing something of their own thing as well. The connection with these bands and Ulcerate, although there is something small there, is very much indirect; I was mentioning it as an unrelated side note, which I could see as being confusing.


I would also agree here, but this time I made a mistake. I probably should have listened to them again prior to posting, but I never write that much if I can't do it from memory. The fact that the flow from the Adversarial tracks to the Antediluvian tracks on their 2012 split flows so seamlessly like it's a full album definitely clouded my judgement. However, I think they hint at some of the style in small sections of their leads on the split. It may be possible that they may develop more towards this sound, but I doubt that they will ever fully reach it, since it doesn't seem like the sound that they are going for.


I haven't listened to Abyssal's first album, but I think if you listen to their latest, Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius, you will change your mind. This release fits in perfectly with the rest of the bands mentioned in this thread.


Thanks, I'm glad someone found that of use!

I'd definitely count them as being separate, but there is certainly crossover influence. However, I'd say that the influence is being drawn from bands like DsO and even much less avant garde bands and being fused to some extent in the sound of some of these death/black bands. In the case of Aosoth, the influence may be coming from both directions.

The blurring of lines is usually where my interest begins.


Yes, you certainly do. Svartidauði released one of two of what I think are the best releases of 2012 and Abyssal has released what may end up being the best album of 2013.

It's weird to see all you people choosing Mitochondrion as your favourite of the bunch. They're my least favourite, beneath even Antediluvian.

But your taste generally sucks Necro, so that makes sense.

with all the overlap we have, you may have inadvertently insulted yourself. All these other bands have atmosphere, which is imported when they're out-murking each other, but Mitochondrion lack even that and just sort of dissonantly meander.

Yeah I got to feel what its like fore everyone else for once haha. You had an Evanescence album in your top 100 so I feel no shame in my hypocrisy

They have atmosphere, they're not as murky (well the debut is) but its not sterile and mechnical dissonance like Ulcerate. Plus the double vocals are badass, which makes it all the more exciting.

I don't feel it necessary to play favorites with any band, but occasionally at the end of every year, I attempt to force myself to. I chose Parasignosis as the best release of 2011, much of it based on the writing of the album, which remained fresh even after a year of daily listens. So, I guess that says something in this regard. Anyways, I don't see a need for a pissing match; tomaytoes/tomawtoes.

Speaking of Mitochondrion, what do you guys think of this?

Evanescence, seriously? I haven't heard it, so I guess I can't truly judge that, but I'd like to see the rest of this list. /getting off topic

We know each other outside of the site, ao it was all quite friendly.

Didn't know that existed, so I'll give it a gander.

Yeah, that's cool. I gathered.

Their fastest song to date.

I loved that song. The early part of it had a more direct riffing based quality that Parasignosis was missing somewhat. I liked the second half two, they've got their sound extremely well sorted out, and it doesn't disappoint at all, and it retains a little bit of extra riffiness too, instead of just aping the swirling and repetitive style of the last, excellent album. I really hope they get something out this year, I've heard that they're meant to.

Yeah, I'd say that it's one of their best. I really enjoy the hypnotic repetitive style, but that track is certainly refreshing.

They won't have a new full length out, but the EP that contains the song Insummation, which is basically the yin to the new track's yang, has been done for some time and is waiting on artwork/layout. I would expect that this year, but who knows for certain.

There are a couple of new Finnish bands who play a sort of death metal with mostly tremolopicked riffs and with considerable emphasis on atmosphere. Not quite as dark as Impetuous Ritual, but similarly without any traditional metal riff phrasing. They're definitely death metal and not black metal (just as Mitochondrion, Portal etc.), but densely layered, very atmospheric and dark. Desolate Shrine and Maveth released their latest albums just a while ago, Desolate Shrine has one full-length prior to that and Maveth has a demo compilation that's equivalent to a full-length.

I'd say Sonne Adam is also part of this same movement.

I think the bad recording kinda hurts that one a little. Still seems like more quality material overall though.

Edit: No way Sonne Adam fit for me, they're not twisted or dissonant enough as far as I'm concerned. They're pretty much in line with the regular new OSDM scene.

I definitely like what I've heard from Maveth. They're on Dark Descent though, so mister ghengis here probably finds them boring

I just skipped them haha. I didn't read any praise for them until after 2012 finished, if I saw more love then I would have tried them out for the end of year thing.

Holy fuck that was awesome to watch. The drums were absolutely devastating, and seriously wicked twisted riffage. Fucking obliterating.

On topic, I have to agree with MacMoney on these kinds of bands being a major part of my listening and buying habits, and has been for a while now. It's great to see these bands emerging creating heavier, darker more claustrophobic atmosphere combined with severe, punishing aesthetics and sound. The more of these bands emerging with real talent and vision, the better, as far as I see it, and is a style I find completely engrossing. There are some truly amazing ones around now as well...



Absolutely. The new ep is full of churning, murky malevolence and certainly their best to date. Crushing.

Cool to see more and more people stoked on Mitochondrion. I enjoyed the shit out of that Sonne Adam EP this past year. The difference in production was quite striking. I felt like there was too much "Grand Canyon" reverb on the vocals at first, it has grown on me and I loved the music right off the bat. Great stuff and I have no issues with the reverb any more. I'm not sure if or where Sonne Adam fits in on this subject and I'm too burnt on it consider it.


Yep, for sure. There's another recording here with better video, but it suffers from missing frequencies too, just different ones. That venue has a high ceiling, concrete walls and strangely placed PA, which makes sound and recording a tricky thing.

Their first official full-length was released in December. When did you expect to hear praise for them?

Well that explains why I didn't hear earlier haha.

that was fantastic - i really want to see these guys live now
also, can't wait for this new material to be released


i tend to lump them all in the same category in my head, but i know fuck all about music theory and just base it all on the atmospheric aspects the bands deliver - to that end, i'd like to bring up a name i'm surprised not to find in this thread yet: dead congregation

If you're referring to the first LP then I sort of agree, but I definitely don't hear that in Parasignosis. Plus, if you get a chance to see them live, it may change your view on things. One of the most uncomfortable atmospheres (in a positive way) I've experienced at a metal gig.

re Mitochondrion and Antediluvian I've been meaning to look these guys up for a while and did so yesterday, very cool stuff.
And yeah they do sound a bit different to other bands of their ilk [that I’ve heard at least]
You have to like bandcamp/reverbnation etc aye dudes


Same here man

Yeah, bandcamp is great and makes a lot of sense since so many people would just download it anyway.

Also, Abyssal, FUCK! This shit is excellent, weird but really compelling riffs, and the touches of doom are absolutely crushing.

This Abyssal?
Cool, but very portal-like [to me] who I'm not overly fond of, I definitely like this though.
http://abyssal-home.bandcamp.com/

I know. I wasn't trying to argue your aside, just adding my own two cents to the issue since I'm an avid Ulcerate and similarly "esoteric" death metal fan. I have listened to Abyssal's newest and I agree entirely, that's why I added the part about their second album in the first paragraph.

Yup, those are the guys. I only just listened through their album for the first time and while they are definitely Portal-esque they seem to have a little less of the weird, otherworldly dissonance in their riffs and bit more of an ominous, dire feeling.

I'm quite taken. I'm gonna have to check out all other bands mentioned in this thread that I haven't heard yet.

Wow. More. Now. I would love to hear some news on any material they might be working on.