Ulver - Vargnatt (demo 1993)

It's hard to describe the sound that Ulver purvey in their first demo, I suppose many would refer to it as depressive and avant-garde as this seems to be the case. The demo's first track  'Her Begynner Mine Arr' is quite an interesting composition, the music starts with a slow and steady riff and quickly progresses into essential blast-beats and Garm's very peculiar vocals make it hard to place the demographic of which they are trying to appeal. The rest the album supports quite well especially the next few tracks leading up to 'Nattens Madrigal' (not to be confused with their posthumous black metal album) the track certainly conveys the feeling of being one with the night that is certain, it's starting tone is exceedingly dreary and atmospheric, and possesses a certain eeriness, then it slowly slides into very heavy black metal riffs but unlike those to other Norwegian second wave black metal bands at the time, Garms vocals loose and heavy fit the track very well it gives it a complete feeling to it, the composition is well worthy of the title. It maintains within every deep polyphonic riff the true meaning of darkness and despair. Overall this demo is highly underrated and well deserving of praise which it hardly gets.

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Goatlord - Reflections of the Solstice [1991] + demo 1987

This is perhaps one of the most underrated extreme metal albums ever. Not because it's drenched in obscurity - it's not - but because it's one of the best extreme metal albums ever, something which is rarely recognised. This is a vicious blackened doom album with hints of death metal here and there, but more importantly, it's an album which features fantastic songwriting. A lot of these songs are perhaps more famous for having been covered - both Coffins and Necros Christos have covered 'Acid Orgy', Gospel of the Horns and Nunslaughter have both covered 'The Fog', etc. However, the originals are wonderful in their own right - the above two are brilliantly written slow burners, while the pace is picked up a little in 'Chicken Dance' and brilliant closer 'Sacrifice'. If you don't like choruses in extreme metal, this isn't for you, otherwise, if you haven't heard this, fill a void in your soul.

Sample (Sacrifice)

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Sulphur Aeon - Swallowed By The Ocean's Tide (2013)

German cultists Sulphur Aeon released their debut album, Swallowed By The Ocean's Tide, earlier this year. And man, does this thing rule. The album opens with Lovecraftian chanting, and fans of his works will recognise the eldritch abominations spewed throughout this record. Plunging us beneath the waves of the sea, the album drags us right into the heart of R'lyeh with horrid, dissonant riffs, punishing drums, and beastly vocals. The solos are atypically melodic in this album, but this is not a complaint. This is a pleasure for any fan of black/death metal, and doubly so for any Lovecraft fan (although the two are usually intertwined). Not one to miss for those looking to complete their 2013 collections.

"I'a, Cthulhu! I'a, Yog-Sothoth! I'a, Hastur! I'a, Shub-Niggurath!"

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Preteen Deathfuk - I Don't Remember (2013)

 Coming right out of the woodwork (well the United States underground Black Metal scene) Preteen Deathfuk's I Don't Remember is some of the most intense Blackened Crust/D-beat you'll ever have the exact pleasure of hearing. I started listening to the band earlier this year after finding a torrent for them, of course seeing the name Preteen Deathfuk drew me in, if that doesn't then I don't know what else would, this album is an instant cult classic. It's raw, brutal assault of blast-beat drumming and harsh recessed vocal gives the whole album all of the material needed to be an instant classic amongst any Blackened Crust aficionado. Not to mention their cover of Anal Cunt's I lit your baby on fire, is also noteworthy. (Note: There are two different alternative cover art designs for this album, I found this one more preferable).

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Void Meditation Cult - Sulfurous Prayers Demo (2011)

Void Meditation Cult (Formerly known as Sperm of Antichrist) is a black metal band out of the frostbitten lands of Ohio. Before you skip over this because you think this is just some wannabe-Yooper bullshit, let me say that this is one of the best black metal demos to be released in the past few years. Unlike their demo released under Sperm of Antichrist, Sulforous Prayers utilizes both throaty harsh vocals and ghastly whispered vocals, combined with a perfect blend of lo-fi and heaviness, to create an experience similar to that of a demon summoning. If you're looking for a band with vocals unique to itself, then you've found what you're looking for.

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Sample

Bone Awl - Meaningless Leaning Mess (2007)

Bone Awl bring to the table a complete disregard for human life and musical soundstages. With elements of both black metal and grindcore, Meaningless Leaning Mess is a 38 minute album composed of 18 pissed-off tracks, each as unrelenting as the next. Simply by listening to and downloading this album, you can gain some fantastic, lo-fi, blackened grind along with some extra obscurity points on the side. Is that the cymbal being hit or is that just fuzz from the lo-fi production? Well, that's for you to find out.


Sample


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Slutvomit - Swarming Darkness (2013)

Do you like your death metal lean? All the fat trimmed, all the gimmicks thrown out the window, all the bullshit out of sight? Then Slutvomit's debut, Swarming Darkness, is for you! The band plays a style of deathrash laced with black metal and I'll be damned if this doesn't make you want to bang your head and punch shit. This album doesn't fvkk around, it gets right down to brass tacks. With a slew of unstoppable riffs and shredding solos that just keep. on. coming., this album is for any extreme metal fan.

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Basarabian Hills - Spirit of The Native Land (2013)

Not many people prefer more Ambient orientated albums. Nonetheless This one-man Ambient/Atmospheric Black Metal project which was started in 2011 in Făleşt by only member whom goes under the pseudonym of 'Spirit of the Forest', definitely peaked my interest when I saw "Spirit of The Native Land" on one of my usual torrent sites. The whole album blends a wonderful ethereal feeling of solidarity and loneliness, it all blends into a nice mixture of depression and solitude, giving the listener the notion of being at one with nature. The overall experience is definitely worth it, if you're into tracks as long as 13:45, much of the album is instrumental and consists of minimal vocals (but hey it's ambient black metal what do you expect). All in all I put this album up there in the top ten of my AOTY list.

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Hades Archer - For the Diabolical Ages [2011]

Whenever two people make a noise quite this potent, it's quite a special feat indeed. Admittedly, when one of them is also a member of Force of Darkness, it's less surprising, but notable nonetheless. For the Diabolical Ages is this Chilean two-piece's call back to the days of old, both to the legendary Cogumelo scene (Sarcófago, Chakal, Sextrash et al.), and to a lesser extent to Blasphemy and the other Ross Bay Cult bands. The effect of this is a relentless black metal-oriented assault, but with an acute awareness of the need for hooks in good music. Although the follow-up The Curse Over Mankind wasn't quite up to the same standard, its nearly equivalent quality means that any future Hades Archer release is likely to be one of the black metal highlights of the year.

Sample (Sodoma Eden)

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