A Full Remix Makes Deafheaven’s ‘Sunbather’ Worth Revisiting
Deafheaven’s Sunbather was the first time a black metal act broke through the clutter of heavy metal releases to be appreciated outside of the genre’s fans.
Deafheaven’s Sunbather was the first time a black metal act broke through the clutter of heavy metal releases to be appreciated outside of the genre’s fans.
After an unimpeachable run of Scandinavian black metal and folk albums across the 2010s, it’s not yet clear what Myrkur will be here in this decade.
Primordial’s music is painfully emotive. Musically, vocally, and thematically, they span nihilism, grief, anger, acceptance, and regret on How It Ends.
Horrendous have returned refreshed and once again intent on twisting death metal into new forms on their daring LP, Ontological Mysterium.
Metal’s Imperial Triumphant create a type of fusion that marries black/death metal with jazz from across its history. The band discuss their favorite jazz LPs.
In “Götterdämmerung”, black metal band Zeal & Ardor carve out an empowering Black position from Nietzsche’s response to a rotten nihilistic culture.
Already noted for their determination to challenge themselves and their listeners, Liturgy’s 93696 shows them refusing to settle for less when more is possible.
Exemplified by the new album 93696, Liturgy have moved ever further out into space all their own, tethered only by a slender cable to their sonic point of origin.
In this month’s best metal albums, experimental mystics Locrian re-awaken, sonic chameleons Boris revisit an outlier, and Bloodbox blur the lines between organic and synthetic.
Above & Below take the industrial route with “Ghosts”, relishing the mechanical precision of the genre and its cold detachment.
This year things off in a furious manner with the Finnish black metal scene spotlighting two releases. Doom/death had an excellent representation. The outer edges feature post-metal, Boris, and rich jazz-metal.
We are lucky to have received such an excellent bunch of records under what has been an incredibly stressful year. These are the 20 best metal albums of 2021.