Annus in Cvltus – The Year in Black Metal 2023

For the first time in a long while, Marduk return to their most barbaric and militaristic tendencies and do so successfully. I don't quite know why the band couldn't have made an album like this every time, as the ingredients are so simple, but maybe it is the need to make this style work with such simple ideas that makes it hard to repeat. The ever pushing forward advance of a band that, similarly to most acts, just tremolo picks and blasts but finds ways to make it interesting, like the spastic alternating guitar line in "Blood of the Funeral". It is rare nowadays that a black metal band embraces aggression as their primary doctrine, and Marduk have always been at the forefront of it.

Medieval black metal that does not consist of merely needle dropping poorly executed midi interludes between the mediocre black metal is rare, so I am inclined to overrate every act that figures out a way to do it well. Weald and Woe are noticeably influenced by Obsequiae, but has a noticeable trad bent to it and occasionally even digs into melodeath territory. While it doesn't quite stick the landing, as the barebones black metal of the second track is both a break of pacing and style, I would recommend this to anyone who needs more metal that can be played in the background of extended sessions of Crusader Kings.

Black metal with elements of old Swedish folk songs strewn about the tremfest? Yes, please. Blodtår's impressive debut has had me coming back to it time and again throughout the year. While not having the sticking power to make my list this year, there are still highlights to be found. "I avgrundens djup" and lead single "Den fördärvande sorgbundenheten" are prime examples of this act meshing what would normally be an utterly forgettable tremfest with folky melodies and the result of that combo is frigid, 2nd-wave inspired fun. This is a band to keep watch on, as they can only go up from here.

Hyperfast melodic black metal that spends all 30 of its minutes shredding your face off, The Great Filtration is a fun album for those who want their melodic black metal with all riffs and no faff. Production on it is a touch muted, which gives this album a warm feel to it. Formed by an ex-member of the band False (thankfully not the one accused of sexual assault) and an entity who only goes by the name "Forager", this fungi-themed band has all the ingredients to make a potent blend of mycelium tea. It doesn't quite hit as well as it could, but at only 30 minutes, you can't really go wrong with it either.

An hour and 48 minutes of black metal sounds on paper like a complete fucking disaster, but Amun have somehow cobbled together a hypnotic blend of synths, some prog elements, and of course, black metal. While this is sadly their second and final album before their disbanding earlier in the year, I wholeheartedly recommend checking out these songs, all of which you can tell the band poured every bit of heart, love, and creativity into. It's still too long, yes, but the end result magically works when all the cards suggest it wouldn't otherwise. I will definitely be relistening to Amun in the coming times, and hopefully we see this level of creativity done again in an ever-stagnating genre.

Epic, ritualistic black metal can be a hard style to pull off, because the artist needs to be able to distinguish the cheese from the evil stuff. Mephorash, a band that started off as fairly generic second wave nonsense, experimented with ritualism in 2015 with 1557 - Rites of Nullification, expanded in 2019 with Shem Ha Mephorash, and somehow expanded further with Krystl-Ah this year. Sounding more grandiose than their past releases, this album is a triumphant opus of moody, emotive, black metal. Cuts like “Cataptrophilia”, “Soma Yoni”, and the majestic “Mephoriam” cement this band into a black metal act I will always look forward to listening to. The albums are quite long, but in this particular sonic blend, they kind of need to be. Black metal has not sounded this epic this year aside from this album.

One can argue that there is little trace left of black metal in Michel Nienhuis musical ventures, and you might be right. Autarkh are an odd beast that have sprung forth from Dodecahedron's ashes, however, and they are starting to display some of that same tight grip of rhythm that made the previous band compelling. Emergent reflects on the past and looks to the future in equal measure, taking the electronica infused avant-garde metal up a notch from the debut and promising great things to come. If you are constantly unimpressed by post metal bands like The Ocean, give Emergent a go.

Den Tapte Krigen stuck out in January for its very emotional take on second wave black metal. The songs on it are slightly progressive in their willingness to go to odd places and make use of a production and softer sounds that most traditional black metal won't touch. But Bizarrekult incorporate these elements with a deft hand, making the emotions bleed from every second of Den Tapte Krigen's runtime. It is no less ferociuous because of its heartfelt approach. This is a highly re-playable album that should be on any black metal fan's list of things to check out.

After having underwhelmed me for 15 years, Enslaved have finally put out an album I enjoy listening to. Their style of progressive black metal tends to favor an approach that is winding and aimless, but here on Heimdal, they finally get it right. The folk elements and contrast between the beautiful and the harsh has much better flow than before and the album as a whole resembles the natural force of a storm. Repeated listens reveal a lot of intricate detail, giving the jamming feel of the songs more landmarks to latch on to. A good sense of momentum in the writing carries one through it with ease.

I might have overrated Virulent Providence earlier, but it still stands as one of the better black metal albums I have heard this year. The music comes through a production haze that lends it a somewhat misty impression not unlike what Tongues released a few months later. These two 20 minute songs hide a sharp guitar tone and some death metal leaning riffs that manage to build some excellent atmosphere throughout their building runtimes. With a bit more tighter editing, this album could easily have ended up on my list proper.

I dropped the ball on reviewing quite a few things this November because of poor health. One of the albums I don't quite want to let go without a plug is The Curse of Immortality. I've been watching Crystal Coffin for a while and they are an intriguing band that I feel have some good potential in them. They work in a thrashy kind of melodic black metal that uses some cheesy 90's black metal synths. Somewhat varied and with lots of energy to go around, check them out if you want some oddly flavored black metal.

Miserere Luminis have emerged from the ashes of a 14-year hiatus with one of of the most sonically opulent atmospheric black metal albums I’ve heard this year. Ordalie unravels with deliberate grace; it is expansive yet subtly intricate, with an allure that will take its time to grow on you. The band weave a captivating and haunting dreamscape, where the music ebbs and flows hypnotically before it explodes. Aggressive and nostalgic melodies, heart-wrenching vocal performances and profound lyrics enhanced by thoughtful production embody both the core of intense anger and despair, as well as a sense of elation. Black metal, but make it elegant.