Stormm I like that a lot, just wondering how do you find out about all of these really obscure bands?

Glad you enjoyed Rainbow. To be honest I do alot of searching and research through the internet. I visit many blogs especially the russian ones, youtube, bandcamp, underground reviews and so on. I spend quite a few hours at it and have to nit pick releases as I would need to do it 24 hours aday to check all music I find haha. In the old days it was all through mags and word of mouth, but the internet has change everything. I have made contact and I am in contact with so many artists and a few labels nowadays, it is a hobby I really enjoy

Earlier today via my russian friends I discovered this little beauty, take a listen if you enjoy epic Bathory or Graveland folks -

It means black land, which is what Mordor means in Sindarin.

Perhaps a bit far-fetched, but have you checked out Agrypnie?
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Agrypnie/32799
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARCs9zBCRfw

Also Atritas came to mind, they're from switzerland and Symphonic Black Metal though.
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Atritas/13817
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9rAJmt1QUE

Are there more post bm bands like this track by Fen?
I mean, with those soft/alternative rock like vocals that start at about 4:20 on that song, and then has the black metal instrumental and vocals, just like well... That song?
Basically I want something like Solstafir, but black metal...

A couple of people were looking for happy black metal a while back, if you were one of them you might like https://naturmachtproductions.bandcamp.com/album/home

I'm looking Bathory worship bands like Hunters Moon. I'm only interested in bands/albums that rip off the sounds of the first four Bathory albums. Thanks in advance!

Get 'Live in Leipzig' and 'De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas' by Mayhem if you don't have them already - as a BM fan you likely do. Very Bathory-derived, but they put their own unique, creepy atmosphere to it.

There's a Horna album called Sotahuuto that does that.

Horna used similar riffs and nuances, but the album doesn't actually sound like early Bathory. The production is very different. Befitting of Horna, it's also darker and less ambiguous in its utter evil.

Yep. Doesn't sound bang-on like it but certainly worth hearing if Bathory tribute/worship is desired.

Agreed, it's a good recommendation, and I didn't mean to dismiss your contribution (sorry if it seemed like that). I just wanted to muse about it.

No worries. Was the one at the forefront of my mind anyway as I've been listening to it recently

Just buy or download the Horna/Behexen split. Dark, evil black metal doesn't get much more dark or evil than that.

Been listening to that a lot lately as well. It is absolutely fantastic; both bands at the height of their powers. Perfect alongside From The Devil's Chalice and Horna's splits with Musta Surma and Sacrificia Mortuorum. We were talking about Bathory style recs though!

It's certainly an album worth listening to. The Devil's Chalice is an essential Behexen album as well, and interestingly, I think the sole good Satanic Warmaster song appears on their Behexen split.

Behexen's side is curious, but I think that band's most evil songs are featured on the By The Blessing of Satan full-length preceding it. Personally I find the split material to be calmer and more ponderous, though I know some black metallers who find that to be the pinnacle of their discography for other reasons. I haven't found nearly as much to enjoy in Horna's side as in other parts of their discography, especially Haudankylmyyden Mailla and the awe-inspiring Sanojesi Äärelle, but I must be weird because nobody else seems to want to hand out such lavish praise for the 2008 album.

Whatchoo talkin' 'bout? Sanojesi äärelle is wonderful, probably my favorite Horna album. It also has a 94% average here, so clearly at least some folk think it's phenomenal!

Well, one of the three is a case of "well, it's really good, so I gave it a 100%!"

.

Everything Behexen did between (and including) "By the Blessing" to the SW split were fucking perfect, aside from "My Soul for His Glory" which I still find to be a much better album than a lot of people gave it credit for. As for Satanic Warmaster, I own more releases than I should, but he has a smattering of excellent songs here and there. I love "Night of Retribution" from his first album, Opferblut was probably his best overall album, but "Black Destiny" and "Pentagram and Wood" are prob my favorite songs from that one. "Chant of the Barbarian Wolves" from one of his splits and on the compilation is probably his 1 best song IMO.

I also wanted to ask what people think of the other new releases from W.T.C. like Tortorum, Throne of Katarsis and Valkyrja? I just now FINALLY got my order of the new Sargeist and Entartung, US customs held it for over a month.

EDIT: BTW Horna's Sudentaival is awesome and massively underrated and somehow only has ONE review of 50%, blasphemy I say. Hiidentorni, EESE and Sanojesi äärelle are my favs though. Sotahuuto is badass too.

Yes! The sheer hatred is palpable in that one. Incidentally, I find that it covers a surprisingly wide range of moods - from the utter violence of the first couple of songs to the triumphant Celebration of Christ's Fall, and then the utter melancholy of Watchers of My Black Temple. A fantastic album, though it takes plenty of listening and perhaps desensitization to extremeness of black metal to appreciate fully.

Satanic Warmaster isn't really worth getting into. I've tried, and I've received many recommendations as to what the best album is for someone with my tastes, and while it's really pretty good at best, it's quite worthless at worst. I knew SW to be bland when I first heard the split, and I immediately though I had been wrong about them. I really wasn't!

I really do like the albums that Nazgul sang on, but I don't like his vocals. I don't know if I prefer Spellgoth over him, but Corvus is a superior vocalist by an enormous margin. In fact, I think Nazgul's vocals were very annoying at worst.

Envaatnags isn't really that special. It has some brilliant Horna riffs, but I can't really say I enjoy songs like Kuoleva Lupaus. Even the best songs there are far too long-winded (Vihan Tie just goes on and on). Ääniä Yössä has some utterly brilliant moments, but it's highly inconsistent. Earlier albums are mostly better, though some of them are melodically hit and miss even though they don't drag like the mid 2000s albums. (Haudankylmyyden Maille is definitely a success though). in that sense, I would agree that many of the EPs and splits are better than full-length albums, but to me, Sanojesi Äärelle is in a league of its own entirely.

The best part of Sanojesi Äärelle is the end of the first disc and the beginning of the second.

I dunno what's up with the hate for Satanic Warmaster. I'll agree with you that the band's material has a wide range of quality, but Carelian Satanist Madness and Strength and Honor are pretty consistently good so at least that's worth a look. SW isn't my favorite band by any means, but it's still a lot better than most bands out there.

How can you not like tracks like Chant of the Barbarian Wolves and the Vampyric Tyrant?

Agreed that CSM is a great album as well. Too much synth on Nachzehrer though, I found W.A.T.W..etc to be better because of it's unfinished production and well it just had a lot more songs.

What other genre besides BM would anyone say that about?

I know what you mean, though. Sometimes that "recorded on a boombox" production sound is just right (see Mutiilation etc. etc.).

Can someone name atmospheric bands similar to Colorless Forest?
More specifically what I like about them are two main things: The groovyness, in the sense that it's very low tuned
and also that only the drums are fast to mid-term paced, while the rest of the instruments are slow paced.
Anything like that?

The thing about My Soul for his Glory is that, while it is in the same style and mindset as the splits and From the Devil's Chalice, it just pales in comparison once you listen to those again.


WTC have continued to have some magnificent releases in the last year or so (especially the latest Acherontas). I personally think the new Valkyrja is the band's best work yet, I did have a review for it on here but removed it as I felt it could be better and more descriptive. I'll hope to have the revamped one online eventually. Well worth hearing, that record.


I see that process, and those sort of records, as a reward. I love my death metal and classic doom and all the rest of it, but there's something else about dark and malignant black metal filth that require patience and the right approach to fully absorb - it gets much deeper into the soul as a result.


Actually I'm surprised (but feel validated) to see someone say that about Envaatnags - it seems to be held up as the band's finest moment by so many. I find some of the riffs and melodies to be just a bit too obvious for me, despite the fact a lot of work and thought has clearly gone into the arrangements and execution. Plus, although his harsh vocals are great, I don't like the more DSBM-esque wailing or "sobbing" I think it's called, that Corvus sometimes did for those albums - which is probably why Sanojesi's first part is the most enjoyable for me of those times outside of the "misc" recordings.

Anyway this whole Horna journey has been highly worth it over the past few months so it's good to air some thoughts.

Looking for stuff in the vein of...

Irrwisch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdk2lxm5AWQ
Ygg - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ICOq9ni1mc
and Walknut - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKqE_oYe2Kg

Bleak, atmospheric BM with huge riffs and wailing vocals.

Verdunkeln
Colorless Forest
Korium
Hate Forest

Blood Of Kingu may not be very lenghy on his songs and a bit more to the blasty side, but it still has the bleak atmosphere the crush riffs and the vocals.

Also thanks for Irrwisch. I didn't know them

Yeah, "From the Devil's Chalice" is about equally awesome as "By the Blessing" IMO "My Soul" is a lot tamer and more similar to the Horna split, but it had great songs like "Demonic Fleshtemple" and most of the slower songs on that album (like the title track) are even really good. Normally I don't care much for too much ritualistic chanting stuff, but I think it worked on that release a lot better than their newest one.



I listened to the Acherontas and it sounded really promising, but I remembered it having too much ambient or something... maybe I will give it another chance here soon. As for Valkyrja, you should definitely redo that review because the only one on here is kind of offensive, more or less saying they ripped off Watain. I listened to some samples of Valkyrja and they sounded good and not like Watain. Going to see what I can get away with listening to while at work today

Killer recommendations, only knew Hate Forest out of those (wholdathunk they had released a new record, and it's exactly the sound I'm looking for). I'll dig into the rest, thank you!

Maybe also give Korgonthurus' sole full-length, Marras, a shot. You'd probably also like that Wędrujący Wiatr album, too.

Enjoy! Amenti is a terrific, hypnotic record, but much like Dodsengel's Imperator it rewards multiple listens and a receptive state when you do put it on to really appreciate its wholeness; something not instantly evident, but all the ritualistic, ambient and atmospheric material ties together really solidly with their brand of melodic and caustic black metal. I'd also recommend the split they put out with Nightbringer, Ruins of Edom.

Yeah Watain are like Dimmu and Dark Funeral now: shorthand for people who are kvltier-than-thou! That review sort of has its place as a warning to people who genuinely don't like black metal anywhere in that area of styles, but it isn't really helpful beyond that in terms of description. Will try and set the world to rights with a review of my own eventually

Does anyone know of any DSBM bands that make use of guttural, death metal-esque vocals? If a band like Shining or Nocturnal Depression had a death metal vocalist, that would basically be what I'm looking for.

Hm, Nortt has some pretty gurgly, raspy vocals...Try them out. Their vocals get louder in production and deeper the later in their career you go, but Gudsforladt is probably their best album. Also, try Pyha's album The Haunted House. Not exactly deep growls, but quite brutal-sounding.

^Perhaps not dsbm enough, but how about Brown Jenkins?
Or Owl?

I'm really interested to know as well, if only because that would be such a strange combo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWN7NZgsnIo
Bethlehem - Dark Metal

Not a bad choice at all, though Bethlehem really predates all that DSBM kind of stuff, more of a formative influence than anything.

I've never gotten the chance to hear it myself, but that Striborg guy has a (supposedly) more death metal style project called Cromlech. Whether he does gutturals, I don't know, but I'm honestly stuck for recommendations otherwise. Sorry.

VORDVEN (fin) is a sure deal for this. Often forgotten band...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9fd5Tpty4g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugRjTQ1iF2A

Bethlehem and Owl weren't quite what I was looking for, but Brown Jenkins is pretty close, and if Nortt had a bit more of a DSBM vibe that would be exactly what I have in mind.