Also, does anyone know of a BM band with a heavy Neurosis influence?

Try Jarun, new Polish band with already a very good debut.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7RgzGRF5g0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIifluTdElE

Jarun are pretty good and not too far from what I'm looking for. Not mad about the vocals but I might warm to them after a few listens. Thanks.

Not recommendation help here... but does anyone know who is playing the guitar on the Zyklon-B/Mayhem split? It's gotta be Blasphemer right? 'Cause it says here on M-A that both Blasphemer and Euronymous are credited.

Check out Skogen, mainly the second album. They remind me of Primordial, good band all the same.

Hey guys, can anybody give me some first-wave black metal recommendations? I'm obviously familiar with the mainstays (Bathory, Venom, Celtic Frost, etc) but it dawned on me today that I never really dove into those early underground bands which not as many people are familiar with.

Sodom
Eminenz
Root (Czech)
Flames of Hell
Tormentor (Hungary)
Bulldozer
Sabbat (Jap)
Poison (Ger)
Hellhammer (You know Celtic Frost so likely know them as they are pre-Celtic Frost

There are a bunch of modern bands playing in this style but those are ones from that time period. Sodom is probably too obvious for you and maybe Sabbat as well.

You could probably add the debut of Onslaught (similar to Venom), early Slayer (they have a lot of Satanic imagery on the first 2 albums), Sacrifice (can), debut, and much of the Brazillian scene from the 80s like Sarcofago, Vulcano, Chakal, Mutilator etc.

I guess I should have mentioned already knowing Hellhammer, Sarcofago, Sabbat, Sodom, etc. Thanks for the other recommendations though man, I'll definitely check them out!

No problem mate. Hope you like some of those. Another favourite of mine I forgot to add is Goatlord - Reflections of the Solstice. Kind of a mix of doom, death and thrash.

Blasphemy from Canada released Fallen Angel of Doom in 1990 which had a big influence on the whole 'war metal' scene with the bestial black metal approach so I recommend checking that one out if you haven't done so yet.

Thanks for the rec, but I was never a big fan of Fen. Better examples of what I'm looking for vocally can be found here and here.

I'm not very well verse in black metal past the first wave, but one of the bands I enjoy is Wald Geist Winter. Does anyone know of bands that sound like this? (Wald Geist Winter - Wald Geist Winter from the demo Siegreich Ist Das Eis).

Given how little recognition the band has gotten, I can only assume that there are many other (more famous) bands that came before it that sounds just like it. What I enjoy is how "up" and happy this song feels, without going overboard into post-second wave stuff (which I'm not really a fan of).

Try Blodsband from Sweden, they have all their songs up for free on their bandcamp page. Listen from about 0:50 in this song and see if this is happy enough for you hehe: http://blodsband.bandcamp.com/track/fie ... nders-blod

@STORMM Skogen are cool and there's a definite Primordial vibe from the guitars and their interplay with the drums. Very nice, thanks.

Who will recommend me something in the vein of this particular Dawn record?



I know quite some black metal, so I'm curious what people will come up with.

Maybe not so much musically, this reminds me of Der Weg einer Freiheit.

Looking for well produced BM with low pitched vocals. Plenty of blasting would be a bonus. Marduk but with low vocals is what I'm looking for. NOT looking for bestial/war stuff like Blasphemy and Goatpenis

So, I really like traditional second-wave styled black metal with brooding, melancholic twists. There are some great new Norwegian bands like Svikt and Kaevum, and why not Blodsgard, and I suppose Flagellant from Sweden fits the bill also. Any other excellent ones?

I might have a couple for you, so we'll see how they go eh? None of these I would consider too new though, I might add, and I'm not sure who you are familiar with...

First off, I'm going to recommend Lutomysl, and the quite excellent De Profundis album. Richly composed and filled with a keen edge of melancholic, melodic brooding power.

From Germany I give you Odal. This is pagan orientated, strong and prideful music. The album Zornes Heimat is well worth a listen.

From Norway is Saligia, who put out an excellent album not long ago (I have yet to get the new ep dammit), and gets quite a few spins from me. Vocally this is awesome too.

From France, whom I like a fair bit, is Supplicium. They tend to write fairly long, aggressive tracks, and utilise speed extensively, but both the ep and the full length I really like.

I'm just going to assume you are already familiar with the brilliant Infestus and Graupel from Germany, so I wont say too much here

Italy's Tenebrae In Perpetuum are also pretty damn good at what they do, with their brittle, icy tone. This track is from their 2006 album though...

Thanks Crushy, I can always count on you.

I'm already familiar with Lutomysl, Saligia, Infestus and Graupel though - very good bands, those. I'll check out the others. Thanks!

I'm not sure if you're familiar or not, but try Blood of Kingu, and to a lesser extant (only because of the more raw production) Death Fortress.

This may be just what you are seeking.
Well composed Black Metal with a very Death Metal tonality especially in the vocals. Production is not modern or overly clean, but the right level of clarity for the style.

Does anybody have any black metal with a similar vibe to this?



Basically slow, regal and majestic, with really morose lead harmonies and cheesy synths.

Abhor seems like a good match. They blast it up sometimes, but when they slow it down and pour synths all over everything it sounds amazing.

That Aeternus recommendation is amazing, but that album seems more focused on atmosphere, although it does feature more brutal moments.

Concerning the more blasting stuff, the first thing that comes to my mind is Belphegor with their "Necrodaemon Terrorsathan", "Goatreich Fleshcult" period, when Sigurd was in the band. It think its the best era of the band. They do have that norse blasting and excellent riffs and death metal influences, including lower pitched vocals.

Blood of Kingu's first album is musically better than the second, but it doesn't feature harsh vocals (instead, droning shaman-chants). The second album is solid, intense black metal with growled vocals.

Fellow countrymen Anubi may be of interest.

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

Hate Forest also obviously comes to mind, but it doesn't sound like Marduk at all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfpIixgozjU


For the Nahash request, check out their countrymen Blackthru.

Well, Blood of Kingu doesn't sound like Marduk either.

Can anyone recommend me Atmospheric Black Metal bands, in the vein of Agalloch, Walknut, Summoning, Vallendusk and Gallowbraid? Preferably with a great balance of atmosphere and heaviness. Also, Folk-influenced lyrics are more than welcome, but it would be interesting if there are bands with uncommon themes, if possible. Thanks in advance!

I'd like some good black metal mixed with some prominent sludge influences.

Let's try this again. Again, not the LOWEST vocals. Certainly not death, but low end of black metal in my opinion, with PLENTY of blasts.

Streams of Blood.

You have a mentioned a few different styles of bands there SolracV, so I will take a guess and say to check out Sear Bliss (apart from the latest album). Excellent band with a great use of keyboards and even a full time brass player which really adds to the music.

Also, Italian Ancient Supremacy may be to your liking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO_-RPV4cKk

Simple question: what are the best (or considered essential) black metal albums from 2000 onwards? with 3-4 cd's is enough. If someone has a list, a link would be helpful.

Thank you very much.

Compared to the second wave, there aren't any established classics like De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, In The Nightside Eclipse etc. All you can get is an opinion. People will usually cite their pet favourites or just really popular albums (Taake, Watain...).

You'll probably get a different list from each person who posts, but some of the common denominators are gonna be:

Nokturnal Mortum - The Voice of Steel
Sargeist - Let the Devil In
Deathspell Omega - Fas - Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum
Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God or Memoria Vetusta 2
Immortal - Sons of Northern Darkness

I also would submit Mayhem's Ordo ad Chao, but it doesn't seem to be a consistently popular choice. Also, Absu's Tara should be on any post-2000 list, though it kind of blurs the lines between genres. And something by Leviathan, either Tenth Sublevel or Tentacles of Whorror.

If you find something by Rautavaris, check it out. Especially the 2005 demo.

Here is a good recommendation!

I dunno... I would certainly put By The Blessing Of Satan in the same tier as De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas.

I'm going to have a crack at this, BUT, are they essential? I feel they are, but then that is personal bias no? none the less, these are some solid post 2000 black metal records:

First off, I'm straight to Finland with the fucking amazing Behexen. their second album By The Blessing Of Satan is what I would consider a minor classic by now.

Germany has many bands (Graupel, Wolfsshrei, Har Shatan, Eternity, Nagelfar etc...) that deserve a look, but two that immediately come to mind are the mighty The Ruins Of Beverast and Ascension. Two contrasting bands encapsulating one genre. Check out Rain Upon The Impure and Consolamentum. Records I hold in high regard in terms of black metal's current elite.

Sweden has many to offer, and I could name many, but the ones that have really stood out for me as (almost) essential are Ondskapt, Matricide and Craft. There are loads more, mostly unknown and some more popular, but these are a decent cross section.

Norway is still offering up some good things post 2000's too and especially Urgehal, whose Goatcraft Torment album is a kick ass release. Also with this I would urge you to check out Tsjuder and the album Desert Northern Hell.

From Greece a little known band named Macabre Omen released a stellar album called The Ancient Returns. Damn good "essential" stuff.

And the list goes on and on and on and on... kind of a hard request to fill...

I would, too. But it's not quite as universally agreed upon as the second wave classics. If someone asked for the second wave classics, they'd get more or less the same answers from most people.