I searched the forum and didn’t see anything that fully met the criteria I wanted to cover… Hopefully that isn’t the first thing that gets posted here.


Black metal is probably my favorite subgenre of all things heavy. When I was discovering extreme metal, it always stuck out to me. I liked death metal but I often feel that DM sounds too pristine on record and the genre, as a whole, is certainly more likely to overproduce their albums than BM would.

However, even more important to me was the experimental nature of black metal and how much it varies from region to region.

Thought it would be interesting to discuss the best countries (or regions) for black metal. The best bands, the best styles and approaches, etc.


Some notable ones for starters:

Norway:
Obviously… The Norwegian bands are easily the most well known (and with good reason). Very eclectic approaches from band to band. What I really enjoyed was discovering the bands and seeing them all expand into their own directions (Satyricon going black’n’roll, Enslaved going prog, Ulver going ambient, Darkthrone going punk, etc).

France:
I think many consider French black metal to be the best of the genre right now. Definitely the most over-the-top vocal performances, in my opinion. The LLN bands were mind-blowing to me when I first discovered them (Mutiilation and Vlad Tepes especially). I also really like bands such as Blut Aus Nord, Merrimack and Deathspell Omega.

Finland: 

I am a big fan of Finish black metal because I find it more raw and gritty, even somewhat punky. I am a big fan of Behexen, Sargeist and Beherit. I’m also always surprised that Horna never got bigger than they did. I also quite liked Satanic Warmaster until it became too hard to ignore their politics.

Sweden:
I always think of Swedish black metal as the most evil and aggressive. Bands like Craft, Watain, Arckanum and Marduk are some of my favorites and have consistently put out great records. I also love bands like Tribulation and Vintersorg who obviously don’t fit the BM mold, but use elements of it in really interesting ways.

Australia:
One of my favorite regions for black metal and, I find, one of the most underrated too. The first AUS band I got really into was Striborg and I think that he and other DSBM bands from the region (Downing The Light, Austere, Woods of Desolation) made the perfect DSBM sound. I also think the bestial sound of bands like Bestial Warlust and D666 is excellent. Then there are other unique bands like Portal too.

United States:
USBM is often shit upon and I understand why… Most bands were “worship” bands in the early stages. However, I think that has changed significantly over the years and I love a lot of the bands. I think the Cascadian sound began to open up a lot of innovation around the USBM scene. I love bands like WITTR, Alda, Agalloch and the like. I also think Bindrune releases amazing, unique stuff like Panopticon and Falls of Rauros.


I’m curious to hear others’ thoughts and opinions on various regions and their bands/sounds. I’m also curious to what other hotbeds are popping up for the genre. For instance, everyone raves about the Russian black metal scene but I am very unaware of that scene, mostly because there’s so many NS acts that I’ve generally steered clear.

What are your favorites? What regions are underrated/overrated?

What about the UK? (I mean, mostly England, I don't know about the other constituent countries...)

Um, well, you have proto-first-wave Venom, but that's not really that relevant

Ever controversial Cradle of Filth, but I don't think you can refute them as being black metal

And Anaal Nathraak who incorporate a lot of black into their sound

Oh, Hecate Enthroned are Welsh...

I guess this is all blackened death? I mean you obviously know a lot more than me so I'd curious to hear your opinion on what black has come out of the British Isles...

Don't underestimate the Eastern European countries....many talented and dedicated bands for you to discover. Three of my absolute favourites that immediately come to mind are the fantastic Zpoan Vtenz with their sole album, North's "From the dark past" (especially noteworthy for having a natural Azhubham Haani vibe!) and Anubi's utterly brilliant "Mirties metafora" demo.
I'm still discovering so many unknown artists from that part of the world, and the journey is unlikely to end anytime soon.

This is an interesting one! I think the UK often gets a similar reputation as USBM in terms of being trend chasers or worship bands. Cradle of Filth is obviously a lightning brand because of how popular they got, however I like their records up through Midian. Then, they went a little too gothic (and not in a good way) for a couple of albums. Recent ones have been ok. Overall, I think CoF puts out better music than they get credit for because it's easy to make fun of them. In fact, it took me many years to see this myself... I looked at the band and decided I didn't like them. Then, one day, they were on a playlist and I didn't know it was them. After that, I found out I liked some of their records... Ha!

Hecate Enthroned and Anaal are both more death metal than black metal, but I love AN. Excited for the new album coming up! Similarly, I really like Dragged Into Sunlight but they aren't truly a BM band. 'Hatred For Mankind' is an incredible, unique album - and 'Widowmaker' is really cool too. Grave Miasma is great but also more blackened death than traditional... Maybe that's the UK specialty!

As far as bands I really like, Fen and Caina are probably my favorites. Fen definitely leans into some post-rock moments but their style of atmospheric black metal is really beautiful. Caina is definitely more raw but also has some post-black influence in the later records.

People also like Winterfylleth and Wodensthrone but they're not really my bag. Strong pagan influence.



This is a good point! A lot of interesting stuff coming out of that part of the world. People love North. For my taste, it leans too far into pagan metal a lot of that time but it seems that Poland is a real hotbed for that style of music right now. Many would say it's Graveland worship but I never liked Graveland either. This is another part of the world that has a big NSBM problem but, similar to Russia/Ukraine, I'd like to discover more bands that aren't pushing shitty ideology!

Biased response here, but you can’t ignore Canada. There was the West Coast war metal stuff with Blasphemy, Conqueror and Revenge; also Godless North a little farther away in Edmonton. Sounds like some of the Aussies, such as Bestial Warlust, but even more primitive.
Then there is a lot more variety from Quebec. Raw and sometimes punky types like Akitsa and Malveillance, as well as more atmospheric bands like Wendess, plus others ranging in between those styles like Sorcier des Glaces, Frozen Shadows and my personal favourites Ur Falc’h.

Fun-fact: there is black metal everywhere. Even in countries like Indonesia and bangladesh.

I'd recommend Indonesia for the early 90s spirit since they don't have our production standards over there and everything sound a fair bit tinny, but they are really dedicated. Check out stuff like the head of the scene over there (Nicrotek) or Battlegrim, Mortt, Gendam, Nazghoul. It's a small scene, but has its moments

Missing Germany on your list, the bands from here have always been over the top. Nocte Obducta, Imperium Dekadenz, Menhir, Bethlehem, Eisregen, Sterbend and basically everything related to Ván Records is just awesome.

There's also Belgium, they have not only great bands but a lot of diversity in their BM

Enthroned, Ancient Rites, Wiegedood, Lugubrum, Fluisteraars, Lemuria, Grimfaug just to name a few

The traditional Greek style is probably my favourite as far as black metal goes, especially back in the 90's. Some of the bands are still going strong, but the older releases by bands like Rotting Christ, Varathron, Kawir, Necromantia, Zemial, Agatus, Tatir, Thou Art Lord and more are nothing short of brilliant. They got a very distinct sound and it's easy to hear where they came from, because no one else played black metal like this. The occult atmosphere and heavy metal-esque riffing really made them stand out at the time.

And while not black metal, Septic Flesh and Horrified also belongs to the horde as far as I am concerned. Different type of music, but the riffing is of the same type and so is the atmosphere. It's all so very Greek sounding.


And in recent time bands like Ithaqua, Hierophant's Descent, Goat Synagogue, Cult of Eibon and Wampyrinacht (yes, I know it's an old band with older releases too, but it's their new that really put them on the map as a full power house as far as I am concerned) have picked up the torch and given the classic Greek sound new life. The Ithaqua releases genuinely sounds like two lost releases from 1992-94. So it's not original by any means, but black metal doesn't get much better than this in my eyes. Captures everything that was so fantastic about the early Rotting Christ and Varathron releases.


Greece got a billion other bands too, but it's this unique style that really captures my interest when we talk about black metal and countries/regions.

I finally started to understand and appreciate that peculiar Greek sound about a year ago after over 2 decades of pretty much ignoring it due to its initially not matching my teenage notions of evilness. Have been catching up ever since and can nowadays say I really like it a lot. Varathron's first two LPs are my favourites so far. The Greek approach is unique indeed - laid back, passionate, ominous and endearing. I also agree with everybody who's ever called it generally sounding "warm" as opposed to the many cold-sounding groups of the genre.

i like most forms of black metal but i have to say that the Greek scene is the best nowadays. While albums such like the new Varathron or that Katavasia album are not really reinventing the wheel they still manage to sound fresh.

Of course there are also some more innovative bands such as what Zemial eventually turned into and Agatus and they manage to be great too. In fact p much everything guitar based from Greece rn seems to be gold.

Some great mentions here! I think the Greek scene is really strong. Varathron is a personal favorite for me. There is also a lot of great German BM, especially Bethlehem and Katharsis.

You are also spot on with 3 of my favorite bands that come out of the Canadian scene: Blasphemy, Revenge and Conqueror. Highly anticipating the new Akitsa album as well. There are also great bands like A.M.S.G. and, one of my favorites for the ‘Cascadian’ sound, Skagos.

Thanks for the Indian recommendations! Going to check these out.

It is interesting how German black metal tends to sound more willing to do their own thing. Even something like Moonblood sounds like it has more stuff in common with early Graveland than anything in Norway and I'm not even sure if the two bands even heard each other's demos or not. Plus there's awesome early atmospheric black metal material from Lunar Aurora and Nagelfar.

I’ve actually been digging a number of bands from NYC.

Negative Plane, Spite, Throaat, Funereal Presence, and Pyrolatrous are all solid and interesting.

New York BM is full of great bands... Imperial Triumphant is having a real moment right now. The guy behind Stygian Black Hand had a couple of Brooklyn-based BM bands that were cool. Spite being one of them. I also love Throaat... Great mention!

There are the obvious bands like Krallice and Castevet but NY has great BM. Mutilation Rites is another favorite modern band!

Not really my genre, but isn’t South America one of the places where a lot of old school BM bands come from?

Yep, there has never been a real German sound when it comes to black metal. Even though we tend to be a little more on the nature-themed side of things, I suppose. But otherwise we just have a shitload of great bands with a distict sound compared to each other.

As much i understand the love for the Greek BM scene i was never able to get much into it.

It's not that i don't like it, i do, but it always seems like there's something missing and it just ends up falling behind

Although i listen Bm from pretty much everywhere, for me Sweden has always produced the best BM, both in quality and quantity, maybe it has to do with the fact that i started there, but i never had an affinity with other BM sources as i do with the Swedish scene.

Ukraine is a region that's home to some killer Black Metal!

Drudkh
Kroda
Nokturnal Mortum
Hate Forest
Astrofaes

As an Australian, i feel compelled to point out you forgot to mention these bands:

-Nazxul
-Astriaal
-Arketh
-Lord Kaos
-Dark Lord
-Vyrion

There are indeed many great BM bands from South America. I tend to underrate them myself because I think their DM scene is so much better but you can't deny bands like Sarcofago and Mystifier!



Unfortunately, the scene there is overrun with NS bullshit, as you probably know since all of these bands are associated with NSBM in some way. I say that as someone who really enjoyed Drudkh until I saw their affiliations...

Would love to find some cool bands out of Ukraine and Russia that don't have those affiliations if you have any recs though!




Great rec!!! I will check out the others you listed as well...

Iceland has a burgeoning black metal scene, which has its own signature style based on the desolate, dissonant soundscapes of bands like Deathspell Omega and Ulcerate. Musically, it tends to be quite textural, dissonant, atmospheric, and it tends to explore the desolate feel of that post-modern extreme metal sound, rather than its technicality or complexity.

Some notable bands:
Svartidauði
Zhrine
Misþyrming
Sinmara

Like pretty much all Nordic countries, Iceland really seems to have an intuitive understanding of what black metal should sound like. Or can it be that it's just my preference? Naaah.

Svartidauði is excellent! Looking forward to checking out these other bands. Looks like Icelandic BM could be a new favorite of mine...

I always found the Czech scene fascinating, because they tend to incorporate a lot of folk and sometimes even polka (they get weird in a fun way)! Some of the first ones in this scene that I discovered were the projects of Lord Morbivod:

Stíny plamenů
Umbrtka
Trollech (one of my favorite BM bands)

He has more, but those are the only ones that I have checked out. A newer band coming out in that scene is Naurrakar, goddamn are they visceral. The only album I own by them is Epilog lidstva and it goes hard... they really brought a fresh energy to BM when that came out.

Also, obligatory mention of Root. That band's early work has a goofy/evil vibe in the best way possible, with the vocalist throwing in these incredibly evil sounding laughs that are just so damn over the top that it makes your laugh with him! They are a great band who changed their sound a lot over the years, and their discography is certainly worth exploring.

I know there are a lot of other bands in this scene, but these are the main ones I have checked out; feel free to add to this list of Czech bands if you know some good ones. I have heard Maniac Butcher and Master's Hammer's names thrown around a lot, although I have not checked them out yet. In addition, I'm sure there are a lot of other up and coming bands, as well as some older ones that I missed.

Stiny Plamenu are weird with their lyrical concept being about sewers, but I really enjoy their "Výprava za pravdou špíny" album a lot!


Their "Zákon chaosu" is such a raw piece of energy and introduced me to them which was my no means a bad thing.

When it comes to Czech stuff, I also recommend checking out Sekhmet for their slighly punkish approach. Also their 2012 album "Words Of The Master (Proverbs of Hell" kinda reminds me of modern Darkthrone at times, even though it's pretty much a unique rockish meets aggression kinda release.

I've always wanted to get more of their music but it's so hard to find! I got lucky and found a copy of the first LP from a random Swedish distro. Any idea where else I could find it?



I love modern Darkthrone, so this sounds right up my alley. Will definitely check it out!

Iceland to me sounds like a halfway point between dissonant black metal and regular second-wave, with a more distinctly curated guitar tone though.

A number of German bands center around that DWEF sound of higher pitched tremolo-picked melodies that are often held for a long time, and the music has a kind of sad/depressing feeling but is completely unlike DSBM.



Try Old Wainds. Their last album Nordraum is really great, but it's a bit of a grower. I haven't explored the Russian scene very much, but Temnozor (the less famous one from Moscow who only released one demo), Veter Daemonaz, Welicoruss, and Wintaar are worth a listen. None of these bands have NS in their lyrical description.

Good old MB! What an underrated band - they're a prime example of diehards who stay dedicated to their craft, true till death! Over the years, I had to get all of their albums and keep going through stages where I just play them all.

Well, there are 6 copies of that EP for sale on Discogs, I actually got it from a random "black metal package" on ebay, but I know what you mean. I think I got their most recent record by simply asking the band directly if a pre-order is possible or something and ordered the rest via discogs. There doesn't seem to be that much of a distribution going on elsewhere, as far as I'm concerned.
https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/3369125?ev=rb

Maniac Butcher is such an underrated band, totally agree... I don't know a ton about the Czech scene, but this all sounds up my alley. Especially Sekhmet with the Darkthrone comparison. I love modern Darkthrone and Fenriz does a great podcast from time to time where I have discovered some really cool obscure tunes.

Stíny plamenů also sounds interesting to me. Lyrical description is sewers and I'm pretty intrigued about this...



You know, I am familiar with Old Wainds and I think they're good! I've only heard their first two though so I will give the latest a shot. Veter Daemonaz and Winter look like they are in my wheelhouse so I'm going to start with them. The pagan/folk stuff gets a little corny for me sometimes...

i usually can tell that a band is german when it comes to black metal. Its like they always tend to be a bit more dramatic and emotional than other scenes. I guess being the nation of poets and philosophers still lingers on in this regard.

yes and we love to export our goods too.

Poland is really killing it lately, I think. I was surprised to not see them on the OPs list when scrolling through. Behemoth, Mgła, Batushka, Plaga, Furia to name a few.

Yeah, these are all great bands... I honestly blanked on Poland as a BM hotbed, which would speak to how underrated that scene is. Even though some will debate you about Behemoth's inclusion, I'm a huge fan of their earlier work ('Grom' in particular). I'm also a huge fan of Mgla... That style of black metal is really resonating with me at the moment. Uada from Portland, OR and Mgla are two of my current favorites.

How can Behemoth and Mgla be underrated in any way? Certainly more overrated than the other way around...

Yeah, the Polish scene is definetely not underrated. The best band from there is Cultes des Ghoules imo.

Ukrainian black metal is the best right now. Drudkh, Nokturnal Mortum, Kroda etc. I like the pagan aspect of a lot of it, as well as the poetry of the land itself. It works well, especially with their struggle right now.
I'm really big into black metal in the more obscure places like Mongolia, Bangladesh, West Africa etc. One of my favorite recent black metal songs is from a dude in Indonesia under the Pure Wrath name

Problem is so much of the Ukrainian scene is NS... Including all of the bands you posted. I will check out Pure Wrath, but you should post some of these bands from these regions. Those are obscure places for BM so I'm sure a lot of us would be interested in checking it out.

There's no problem with National Socialist bands, as there's no issue with far left bands from the states like Panopticon. As for some obscure bands, yeah Pure Wrath is great:

Check this one out in particular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McoRFQeK1eE

From Indonesia, Vallendusk is also very good. One of my favorite Post Black Metal bands is Calvaire, from Singapore. https://calvairesg.bandcamp.com/
Another band that fits the obscure label that is quite good is Tsarina. Though from Russia, they're from a town right near Mongolia, which is cool: https://tsarinarus.bandcamp.com/releases

Thank you for these recs! That Pure Wrath track is cool. I will check the others out tonight... I will disagree with you about NS bands though. I do not respect that racist stuff...

Lot of talk about older Greek BM scenes but more recently they've had a more experimental/avant-garde wave of bands. I need to look more into it but I'm talking about bands like Hail Spirit Noir and Aenaon. They play some unique styles, and Aenaon has a full time saxophonist which I find pretty cool.

Weirdly enough I discovered Zhrine and Audn on an IcelandAir flight, they sounded more or less traditional with post-bm overtones imo. Props to them for having that on their music selection I guess. And there is always Solstafir.