Drowning the Light - The Land of the Dead Sun [MLP] (2011)

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A very bizarre release.  Azgorh teamed up with Shatraug, Molestor, and Stormheit during his tour thru Finland and this record was the product.  That in and of itself is very normal; just some bros makin' beats, but I am infinitely baffled as to why it has nationalist themes..  Australia and Finland, so oppressed, so stained with blood together by those big bully Christians.  But, yeah, this record rips.  Buzzsaw guitars, tortured shrieks, and one of the gnarliest bass tones I've ever heard, it sounds like a mechanical shark dropped 8 octaves through a pitch shift pedal.  And as odd as the nationalist themes on this record are, they do set the backbone for some pretty triumphant riffs.  Hail victory Finlandaustralia I guess.

(Oh, and my bad about that annoying ground buzz between tracks; I'll rip it again)

Drowning the Light - The Fading Rays of the Sun [MLP] (2009)

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I know, right? Another one of these. Fading Rays of the Sun was released immediately after Blood of the Ancients and it shows; this release echoes it's predecessor perfectly, which might be a problem if Blood of the Ancients was bland or mediocre, but lucky for ya'll it kills perfectly.  I don't mean that in like the "man, this Stormcrow record kills" way; fortunately for you this is the sound of death. Death, dying, and rotting.  Majestic keys might make the descent bittersweet while Azgorh's vocals and beautifully shrieky leads drag you down to the depths.  There really is no other atmosphere to compare this chapter of DTL's catalog to, all I know is that I can't wait for Land of the Dead Sun to arrive at my doorstep.

Ensorcelor - Urarctica Begins [MC] (2010)

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Ensorcelor is a beast that was gnashed and ripped into existence by the icy winds of Montreal, Quebec.  This band sounds like if Baton Rouge's sludge factory Thou had a copy of the Satanic Bible accidentally dropped into their anti-government book queue at the local library.  It just sounds evil.  It's refreshing to have a band that conjures up this evil atmosphere without solely screaming "naaaaah Saaaatan" into the mic.  Pure blackened doom with sludgy riffs and just the right amount of melody to pull your head out of the water before it casts you deep into this muddy swamp.

Celestia / Goatfire - Split [EP] (2001)

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Celestia hails from France and plays excellent LLN worship. "Darkness Enfold The Sky" is played at blistering speeds, creating an extremely chaotic and hateful sound while still managing to be melodic. The distortion on the guitars is total fuzz. It sounds like a fart played through a bunch of effects pedals.
Goatfire, from Italy, plays evil as fukk black thrashing death. The intro to their side is some sort of whack-ass techno sounding beat, but don't let the rave music fool you, it leads into pure debauchery and sin.

Arkha Sva / Black Stench - Split [LP] (2006)

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An interesting split between Japan's Arkha Sva and Finland's Black Stench.  Not the most unified sound between the two, but I think the world could use more contrasting splits.

Arkha Sva are the stars of this split with their 18 minute long track "Destroy Them All", a staple of Japanese black metal, and a cover of Vlad Tepes.  Black Stench contribute a few songs or something.  Not too important.

My copy of this record has a warp along the outer edge so I cut out the first minute or two of ambiance from Arkha Sva's side and left Black Stench intact but the first song is pretty much all fucked.  Apologies.

Peste Noire - La Sanie des siècles - Panégyrique de la dégénérescence [LP] (2006)

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Ah, Kommando Peste Noire. The Black Plague. The Noire Peste. The mighty KPN.  Despite the goofiness that the lead member Famine injects into this band with an oversized plastic syringe, Peste Noire's debut album has captivated many and brought freedom to others.  It has caused riots and unified nations.  Brought diplomats to their knees and yet ended wars after a single disharmonic riff.

I may stubbornly try to fight goofy with more goofiness, but that's not what I'm here to provide; for a good laugh I recommend reading the interview with Famine over at Diabolical Conquest.  Regardless of the cheese and drama about who got credit for what, this is a beautiful album.  Like, on a scale from 1 to 10 it's Vivaldi's Winter.

However, after all the Neige fanboys latched unto Peste Noire, Famine forsook writing anything pretty sounding ever again.  Because apparently, in France, sanitizing your "scene" is more important than making your music.  Each new album is another handful of sand in their starry eyes, so get a hold of the only nice sounding Peste Noire album while you get a chance, cause I can guarantee that any more output from this band will be nails on a chalk board.

Triumphant riffs, disgusting vocals, Spanish guitar, solos that actually fit the music, and Famine wielding a crossbow.  What's not to love?

Obsequiae - Demo [MC] (2009)

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Three tracks of some of the most beautful black metal and proggy-doom from Minnesota. I saw this duo about two years ago. It was two guitarists and a drum machine in a dark room. They played without any vocals, but it was still one of the best shows I have seen. This tape is just as good as that show, if not better. It has vocals, and some of the best riffage and drum programming I've heard. I'm not sure if this is still available. Bindrune put it out, limited to 100. This is copy #100. Enjoy.

Satanic Warmaster - Carelian Satanist Madness [PicLP] (2005)

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Satanic Tyrant Werwolf's LLN-worshipping opus.  Despite controversial and arguably marketable political beliefs, Satanic Warmaster has captured the ear of many a black metaller with his catchy melodies and harsh sound.  "My Dreams of 8" is one of my personal favorite black metal tunes of all time, as the melody is hauntingly intoxicating and the vocals are spot on.  Definitely a must have for any fan of raw black metal.

As a side note; every rip I've heard of this album seems to skip and bug out on track 3 - True Blackness.  Rest assured that this is not just a hand-me-down of the same ol' buggy rip.

Drowning the Light - Of Celtic Blood and Satanic Pride [PicLP] (2007)

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Drowning the Light's masterpiece.  This album needs no introduction.

Ripped from the Picture Disc released by Zyklon B in 2010.

Drowning the Light - The Blood of the Ancients [LP] (2009)

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Since firmly establishing his place amongst the titans of the Black Metal scene with his 2007 releases "Through the Noose of Exist[e]nce" and "Of Celtic Blood and Satanic Pride", Drowning the Light mastermind Azgorh has been releasing cult albums with a vampiric fury.  The downside of Azgorh being so hyperactive in releasing material is that some complain his albums are stale, having maybe one or two unique songs and the rest filler.  However, The Blood of the Ancients does not suffer from lack of creativity.  I view it as a new wave of DTL; stepping away from his usual of heavy symbol crashes and Xasthur-ish leads, Azgorh has been branching out and experimenting with a much more epic sound.  Normally I hate that description in metal, but there is no other way to explain his new style of half-clean, half-growl melancholic vocals gutted between beautiful keyboard melodies.

Truly beautiful and overflowing with melancholy, "The Blood of the Ancients" brings a new element to the follow-the-leader nature of black metal.