Jul 24, 2021
seen from Türkiye
seen from Mexico
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Japan
seen from Bulgaria
seen from United States
seen from South Korea
seen from Malaysia
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seen from Russia
seen from Türkiye
seen from China
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seen from Türkiye
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2018 AoTY List
2018 AoTY List
I’m going to do something a little different this year. Rather than having a top 20 and extra honorable mentions, I’ll format my chart as follows: a top 10 and additional “notable” releases.
1. Iskandr - Euprosopon
This was a huge surprise. Before this year, I’d never so much as heard of the Dutch label Haeresis Noviomagi, let alone thought to explore it. This album is less aggressive than most in the genre, but still hugely evocative in a stately, melancholic kind of way. There are four tracks on the album, each of them a gem, but I’d have to pick Regnum as my favorite.
2. Acathexis - Acathexis
One of 2018’s best and most surprising offerings, Acathexis released their debut full-lengths mere days before the end of the year. The band plays beautiful, grand atmospheric black metal and features members of Mare Cognitum and Cult of Erinyes.
3. Svartidaudi - Revelations of the Red Sword
This is by no means a unique pick, as I’ve heard plenty of people list the new Svartidaudi in their top 5 of the year, but it is well deserved. As a follow-up to the 2012 release Flesh Cathedral that put the Icelandic black metal scene on the map, it more than fulfills fans’ expectations. Pick this up for a dose of fantastic dissonant black metal.
4. Moenen of Xezbeth - Ancient Spells of Darkness
...and they’re back! Just one year after their debut, Moenen of Xezbeth return with their doomy, occult black metal sound. Though their first release Dawn of Morbid Sorcery is still clearly superior, this holds its own as a standalone full-length record. It's slightly campy but not over the top, and definitely lots of fun.
5. Ungfell - Mythen, Maren, Pestilenz
Ungfell from Switzerland have been at it for a while with their folky black metal, but this is their first release that really hit me. The medieval influences are front and center in Mythen, Maren, Pestilenz in a way they were not previously, and it makes for a spectacularly immersive listen.
6. Death Karma - The History of Death and Burial Rituals, pt II 7. Adzalaan - Into Vermillion Mirrors 8. Vilkacis/Turia Split 9. Urfaust - The Constellatory Practise 10. Antlers - Beneath.Below.Behold
Notable releases
I’m going to have to give the two death metal albums on my list a nod. Superstition’s Surging Throng of Evil’s Might wasn’t just a fantastic OSDM demo from a technical and sonic perspective, but also scratched my spooky metal itch. Amorphis’ Queen of Time is just wholesome, all around catchy prog/melodeath, with standout tracks such as Message in the Amber, Heart of the Giant and single The Bee.
In other news, other Haeresis Noviomagi releases by Turia and Lubbert Das also made the list, but everything the label put forth this year was a fantastic effort.
For all the trouble with the Atmospheric Black Metal Albums youtube channel earlier in 2018, Pest Productions also offered many stellar Asian releases, some of which unfortunately didn’t make my list. These include albums by Pure Wrath, Asunojokei, and Holyarrow.
Dutch Black Metal Paganists ISKANDR Announce Cauterizing New LP “Euprosopon”
Dutch atmospheric black metal infidels ISKANDR are proud to announce the second full-length offering, Euprosopon, which will be released Oct. 12 in North America (Sept. 28 in Europe) via Eisenwald. As the album's title expresses the impossibility of an ideal man, formulating new concepts of heroism is necessary to preserve ideas of strife and longing in an age of eternal devaluation. Euprosopon departs from previous works in its more pronounced songwriting, confrontational attitude and triumphant regal flourishes. Evoking medieval symbolism, the album takes cues from Norwegian classics, such as Enslaved's Eld, Hades' ...Again Shall Be and Aeternus' Dark Sorcery EP.
Pre-order the obscure pagan chaos here.
Clocking in at a respectable forty-five minutes, Euprosopon consists of four tracks of battle-worn blackened hymns. The tortured and scarred vocals tell of defiance in the face of mortal odds, as well as the impermanence of kingly might, banishment under pain of death and the resurgence of a new age. ISKANDR's second full-length also displays an increased complexity in the band's composition, range and atmospheric elements. Supported by the production assistance and session drumming of M. Koops of Fluisteraars, Euprosopon is a definite leap in an attempt to chart a path of noble and austere black metal.
To complement the next step in ISKANDR's evolutionary saga, multi-instrumentalist O. forged an alliance with the esteemed Eisenwald Tonschmiede to release Euprosopon on 180-gram black vinyl and venerable digipak editions. A limited-edition cassette edition, featuring lush risograph-printed artwork, will be available under the sigil of Haeresis Noviomagi. ISKANDR is: O. - vocals, guitars, bass M. Koops - drums http://iskandr.bandcamp.com http://www.eisenton.de