so I live way up in the middle of nowhere mountains of NY, and about 5 nights a week I drive home late at night from work. its about a 45 minute trip over single lane roads and through the forests, and theres very few cars on the road. just lots of deer and sometimes a fox or a skunk. its pretty much the only part of my day I look forward too anymore.

lately Ive been listening to the new Satyricon. at first I thought it was utter crap. I tried listening to it the first time and didnt make it through a single song, but then I popped it in a few nights ago and suddenly it all made sense. its actually brilliant driving music!
for this sort of thing I also like old blue oyster cult, some dax riggs (only at night.. hes too pretentious during the day) and sometimes a little Opeth too. I attempted to like Ghost, because they are such blatant BOC worshippers, but theres really just something lacking there, (songwriting?!) and they lost my interest after a couple nights.

basically Im open to anything except DM or technical death. I have allot of black metal in the ol ipod, but I find that much of the vocals are too jarring for my nocturnal trips. I have tried darkspace though and negura bunget and its not terrible. Im looking for music that is calming and/or introspective, and i hate to use terms like this because i feel like a douche even saying it, but music that takes you on a journey. uug yuk.
anyway... whatcha got? thanks

Striborg maybe? Striborg's music is about forests at nighttime anyway.

He throws some dark ambient in between the black metal tracks too.

Uhm... interesting thread.
Ok, I use to enjoy those A LOT since a drive a roadster top down on forest roads by night EVERY weekend:
-Deftones: Amazing driving music. Try (2000) Deftones - White Pony or (2006) Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist.
-Burzum: If you're looking for calming and introspective, try with the synth oriented songs or albums. I use to listen to (1993) Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss and Tomhet is AMAZING in those situations.
-Bohren & der Club of Gore: That's a recent one for me. Try (2002) Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Black Earth, (2000) Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Sunset Mission and (1995) Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Midnight Radio if you like jazzy stuff.
-Ulver: You can search through their new stuff. (2000) Ulver - Perdition City is AMAZING too by night.
...
Tell us what you think!

Most black metal I guess? Like this one: http://youtube.com/watch?v=1fjhKMQ93c4. Personally love the ambiance when driving.

check out ulver's early bm / aucoustic works as well as their soundtrack album perdition city. my mind jumps to ulver whenever I need some relaxing, yet stimulating driving music.

ambient bm that you might enjoy; marblebog, evilfeast, pasage d'hiver, etc

do you likepsychedelic rock? stuff like the u.k. band Sundial is great for long drives, as well as stoner rock/metal in vein of kyuss, I would leave a link but im on my phone. hope that helps! Also aggalloch is a clear choice, turn on ashes against... and cruise

Welcome to upstate. I was in a similar situation a little while ago. Can't tell you how many times I almost hit a deer. It's becoming epidemic up there. Back on topic, there's definitely a vibe you get from nighttime forest driving. Try:

Type O Negative, their sadder songs. World Coming Down album, specifically.

Odz Manouk has a hypnotic machine-psychadelia sound that works great at night.

Obsequiae definitely takes you on a journey.

Jesu's first album, "Jesu." Overwhelming & mesmerizing.

Emperor - Nightside Eclipse. You probably already know this one.

Two related albums: Aosoth - III (find the instrumental version if possible), and Blut Aus Nord - 777 Sect(s).

And, I know you said no DM, but if you're willing to experiment, Funebrarum's pre-Sleep of Morbid Dreams albums are transformative at night.

Strid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXxdAua1J6w

How about some "apocalyptic folk" from Current 93? It's wonderfully solitary and morose sounding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGHjGfA1nIA

Windir! Especially the Arntor album.



Falkenbach is always a great epic choice as well, IMO.

And Blut Aus Nord. (2009) Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II - Dialogue With The Stars and the 777 trilogy ((2012) Blut Aus Nord - 777 Cosmosophy specially).

wow thanks everyone for all the suggestions so far. some good stuff and Ill have to go through them all.
this week I discovered Oranssi Pazuzu, and Valonielu is proving to be such an incredible album. not only for driving, but also for smoking a little after the drive and enjoying the rest of the evening!
in fact, its probably one of my favorite releases for 2013 if I really think about it...

I post this in basically every request thread that is remotely similar to this one, but it's because it deserves to be mentioned in all of them:

Perhaps the vocals are a bit too jarring in parts though?

you arent too far off... I love Forgotten Woods! I was just listening to Race of Cain a few nights ago and thinking damn this sure was a weird band. awesome stuff.

Well, then, obligatory recommendation of Joyless too, assuming you're not already familiar with their music (if not, definitely give them a listen).

I love how they manage to distill dreariness and misery into such a catchy, infectious, blackened-psychedelic-folk rock package.

Seconding Deftones, fantastic driving music for any occasion, but the atmosphere it evokes is particularly good for driving in the woods at night. I would also recommend Hate Forest and Fen.

I particularly think driving alone in the woods is a very neofolk feel. If you'd like to know some new music style, take a look at Death in June, Sol Invictus and Fire+Ice. Current 93 and Rome are also pretty good, but I don't think they carry the kind of feeling you're looking for.

IMHO this is most suitable for night driving in the woods (my own experience) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YaHvuP6A30

Slomo

Some albums that take you on a journey:

Keep of Kalessin - Agnen- A Journey Through the Dark
Keep of Kalessin - Reclaim
Lunar Aurora - Weltengänger
Marduk - Opus Nocturne
Carpathian Forest - Through Chasm, Caves and Titan Woods (1995)

Celtic Frost - Obscured?

Wędrujący Wiatr! This is hands-down one of the best black metal albums I've ever heard, and it's definitely got the woodsy, forresty vibe to it.

Yes! If you are into black metal you must check this album out. I also have to agree that the album does have a woodsy feel of sorts and that it would be great for night time driving.