I've been getting into the 'Orthodox' style of black metal ever since I heard Deathspell Omega's Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice, which I consider a masterpiece. However, I haven't been able to find very much that really seems to build on that magnificent foundation. A lot of 'Orthodox' bands play a rawer style of black metal (a la Watain) that, while good, is not what I'm looking for right now. What I want is black metal that sounds very polished. The production should be clear and the musicianship should be excellent. Drummers who keep time well, well-balanced mixes, etc. Also, I'd like it to exhibit similar song-writing and melodic styles to SMRC. By this, I mean that the bands should use a lot of weaving, complementary melodies, exhibit interesting drum patterns, and write mystically or philosophically Satanic lyrics.

To give a better idea of what I'm looking for, here's a run-down of Orthodox bands that I've heard and my position on them:

Ondskapt - Dodens Evangelium is my second-favorite album in the style. If you can recommend me anything that sounds like it, then I will be much obliged. The rest of their discography is good, but nowhere near as good as this album, I think.

Funeral Mist - I've only heard Maranatha and I've got mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, Sword of Faith and Blessed Curse are two of my favorite black metal tracks ever. However, I felt like there was a lot of mediocre, forgettable fluff on the album. I'm already looking for Salvation anyway, so don't bother recommending that.

Ofermod - Tiamtu is good, but I wasn't overly impressed with it. That album is as close as this band gets to what I'm going for. Overall, OK band, but hopefully there are others that match what I'm looking for better.

Watain - A good band, but not what I'm looking for. I'm not interested in raw black metal at the moment. On a similar note, I was completely underwhelmed by Katharsis.

Edit: I'd also like to include a request for bands similar to later Arkhon Infaustus in this thread.

Kriegsmaschine should be good. Aggressive, fast, good production, lots of melodies... try the album and the split with Szron.

Spite Extreme Wing, Subvertio Deus and Orcivus should be right up your alley. I found all the above mentioned to exhibit a fair bit of musical prowess and they seem to deal with themes that fit the goal of your searches.

I know you specifically asked to not recommend the more raw bands, but you might want to check Finis Gloria Dei as well. It's a pretty decent band in on itself, with a very Darkthrone'ish feel to them.

Check the samples out.

Orcvius - http://www.myspace.com/orcivusofficial
Subvertio Deus - http://www.myspace.com/subvertiodeus
Spite Extreme Wing - http://www.myspace.com/spiteextremewing

I hope this helps. Unfortunately, this kind of black metal isn't really my forte.

So far, the recs have been good (although I kind of wish there were more of them). I would like to mention that albums like Arkhon Infaustus's Orthodoxyn, that is to say, blackened death metal albums with an 'Orthodox' influence, are also welcome. Here's how I feel about the bands individually:

Kriegsmaschine: They've actually been recommended to me before and I'm actively trying to get some of their material but I haven't been able to as of yet. What I've heard has been good enough to persuade me that I need to own some of their material but they're a bit rawer than the types of bands I'm directing my inquiry toward.

Spite Extreme Wing: I wasn't blown away by the material on MySpace, but it's not bad. I'll probably check out their early material.

Subvertio Deus: I like this band. This is the sort of thing that I'm looking for; odd, discordant melodies and disorienting song structures. Sometimes I feel like they could do a better job of it but, overall, the material I heard was good. I'll definitely buy the album if I can get my hands on it.

Orcivus: So far, this has been the band that impressed me the most. All I can say is: More like this, please!

Check out Mortuus: "De contemplanda Morte; De Reverencie laboribus ac Adorationis". Can't recommend them enough!

It's not a style of music, the genre name refers to the lyrical theme.

I disagree. Although the lyrical theme is obviously very important, there is an identifiable movement, as far as I can tell, beginning with Swedish bands like Watain and Malign and spreading from there to other scenes, particularly the French scene. A lot of the bands that use those lyrical themes have begun to experiment with more progressive and/or conceptual songwriting, dissonance, and complex drum patterns and riffs/melodies after SMRC. I think it's a very recent movement, to be sure, but it is identifiable and distinct from other styles of black metal.

Thomash, working with this style of music I believe I can be of assistance to you, and any others who seek bands of this field.

E-mail or PM if anyone is interested.

why don't you post here? you know, in the thread made specifically for this purpose...

Because I already tried to propagate my workings in this thread and the message, as you can tell, was deleted.

really? i missed that? anyway, why? i see no reason why would a mod delete a post with a band list and some (even minimal) description of the artists :/

I didn't see anything like that. Go ahead and mention bands specifically if you want, although there might be some issues of promotion v. recommendation. I'm sure that, as long as you give a personal opinion and an analysis of why the band fits the description of the thread, your post won't be deleted.

Let's see...

There's Angelgoat from Serbia, some of their material has a more... Death Metal approach to them, but they are a good Serbian example of Satanic metal, as are Behest.
ANGELGOAT: www.myspace.com/angelgoat
BEHEST: www.myspace.com/blaudis

Grigori of New Zealand is also an interesting look, his music is sometimes regarded as 'morbid devil worshipping' black metal; www.myspace.com/grigoriblackmetal

Viaticum are one of my personal favourites, a lot of people have taken a shine to them; www.myspace.com/viaticum11

Oracle of the Void is my current favourite though, an Australian black/death metal band with keyboards (it sounds more promising than people usually think); www.myspace.com/oracleofthevoid.

I noticed you mentioned liking bands with a DM feel, for that I'd recommend either Temple of Baal, Supplicium or Shaarimoth.

Nocturath: Sorry I didn't respond earlier; I only just got an opportunity to check out your recs. Anyway, I like some of the bands you've mentioned, but most of them were in a different style from what I'm looking for. The Grigori and Viaticum were probably the closest to what I'm looking for, although I wish that they were a little less 'raw.' The rest was definitely not what I'm looking for.

What I want is a bit clearer, more complex, and more dissonant. Often, I've noticed that the stuff I'm looking for is mid-paced rather than aggressive and blasting. Any more recs, anyone?

I suppose you`ve heard such satanic bands as Urgehal,Besatt,Tsjuder,Svatrskogg. But they play too melodic staff as for me.
If you want more dissonance then try out Baal Zebuth (you`d better to find tracks with good quality, otherwise you will
not be able to distinguish all attending tunes or sound can appear to you too raw)
By the way what about Infernal War and Anima Damnata?

@thomash,

While it might not be exactly what you're looking for, seeing as they're American, have you heard Nightbringer yet? I found a lot of similarities between SMRC and Nightbringer's debut Death and the Black Work. They have excellent production values, extremely good songwriting, complete with col, dark melodies and tons of counterpoint, and the drumming is top-notch. Lots of key changes and tension-building dissonance.

They are very dynamic, as well, both in terms of speed and guitar tone. They don't use synthesizers, but at points the guitar can sound like a choir, or a violin, or an organ. The release comes highly recommended.

From what I remember, Glorior Belli's "Manifesting The Raging Beast" is extremely similar to DsO.

thank you sir, Orcivus is absolutely awesome. If those other two are even nearly as good, ive got a lot of listening to do.

Edit: thanks to OP as well, ive been on the prowl for the leter DSO sound as well. Always nice to see more people appreciating this interesting style.

Drottnar

I'm going to recommend that you check out Funeral Mist's Salvation more promptly. I know you said not to recommend it but I have it say it's 10x better than anything DSO and Watain have ever done (and that's coming from a fan of Si Monumentum Requires Circumspice). Not only is that album probably the most influential in that field, it's also the best. This is the absolute most essential listening if you like orthodox black metal.#

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you've heard Mayhem's Chimera and (especially) Ordo Ad Chao.