Written by Espi Kvlt
As we wrap up another year, I am here to bring you another list of black metal albums I loved (plus, as usual, one extra, because for some reason my actual AOTY never ends up being a black metal album; oh well). I have once again managed to narrow it down to 15 through some difficulty, so here’s to the kvltest bands that also didn’t do anything horrible this year (knock on wood none of them do next year, either).
15 Weald & Woe – For the Good of the Realm
After a three-year hiatus from The Fate of Kings and Men, Weald & Woe came back this year in a huge way. That previous album was a favorite of mine in 2020, and they have stepped it up tenfold with this new record, bringing the medieval aesthetic to the forefront via the instrumentation and really immersing the listener in a fantasy setting. The production on their latest effort has also noticeably improved, creating a listening experience that is not only atmospheric, but also a seamless listen, as one track glides to the next like its own cinematic masterpiece. Weald & Woe has found an amazing, unique sound that they had clearly been honing previously, and their effort was well worth it, as this is the best album thus far in their discography, and I am looking forward to where they take it from here.
14 Woe – Legacies of Frailty
Woe returns with another crushing album that is the kind of music I play when the frustration of the world simply becomes too much. The perfect backdrop for the crappy end to the crappy year, it dropped at the optimal time to enjoy it the most (late September). With punishing blast beats, tremendous riffs, and a powerful voice, this is a perfect example of a modern USBM album that will be adored for years to come. As a massive Hope Attrition lover, I was not expecting anything to beat it. I was proven wrong, and I could not be more grateful.
13 Krallice – Mass Cathexis 2 – The Kinetic Infinite
Krallice never misses, but this album in particular did something truly unique by releasing two EPs labeled on the tin as one LP. I have seen two EPs be released together as a set but this is the first time I’ve seen them released together as a full album like this. The first half of the album, the Mass Cathexis 2 portion, has a disturbing, brutal atmosphere that feels like gravity pushing you down to the floor and then pounding you in the head. It is the perfect follow-up to Mass Cathexis which also happens to be my favorite Krallice album with its particular flavor of spooky sound. The Kinetic Infinite half of the album dives into more technical territory, with the added bonus of synth bass. Synth bass in my black metal? It’s more likely than you think! Layered between the out of this world riffs, the smack-you-in-the-face drumming, and those gnarly vocals, the second half succeeds at its risk of sounding completely different from the first half but maintaining its stride. No dull moments here.
12 Underdark – Managed Decline
Underdark are back and they’re angrier than ever in this pummeling album of anti-capitalist, anti-neoliberalism fire. Starting with a track labeled “1972” and ending with a track labeled “2004”, the album explores the deterioration of the people forced to live under this hellscape, barely surviving day by day as our conditions only worsen. Anyone with a minimum wage job is going to be able to relate to this album, even those who don’t consider themselves extreme leftists. I resonate so deeply with the anger present here, and Underdark has once again delivered a great album, with stellar performances from all involved (particularly Abi’s vocals which are as earth-shattering and electrifying as ever, if not more so).
11 Hellripper – Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags
Hellripper’s latest album is without a doubt the most fun, headbangable album on this list. While music about depression and the state of the world is a great time and all, it’s nice to just sit down and listen to a record with songs about witches and goats and hellfire. Hellripper’s unique blend of blackened thrash and speed metal has been setting them apart for some time now, but it becomes the most polished its ever been with this new offering, delivering to us eight new songs of nonstop action. The fun parts of metal are all here in spades, with exciting riffs, nasty vocals, and lyrics that would land Hellripper in court for anti-Christian messaging in the 80s. If you want metal you can headbang to until your neck hurts, which I’m sure you do, then this is the record for you.
10 Agriculture – Agriculture
I love the spiritual sound of ecstatic black metal by the band Agriculture! No, but seriously, as someone whose favorite subgenre is DSBM, I get a kick out of enjoying this band who is the self-proclaimed opposite. The music reminds me a lot of Deafheaven, which is a huge compliment as that is one of my favorite bands, but though the comparison is there, they also very clearly have their own unique sound. “The Well” took me by complete surprised, and as it played, I found myself brought to tears. The rest of the album was built upon that foundation, and everything was hopeful despite the twinges of sadness. This truly is an “it’s always darkest before the dawn” type of sound, and I have found myself returning to it often in dark moments throughout 2023 as a reminder to keep going.
9 The Sun’s Journey Through the Night – Worldless
The Sun’s Journey Through the Night is a band I have loved for several years now due to their raw, cathartic sound. Their latest effort feels different, however. More polished with the raw elements replaced by solid production. This does not, however, take away from their chaotic sound, and thankfully only serves to elevate it, as the passionate rage, now heard clearly through the speakers, is roaring and demanding. Much to my surprise and relief, this new direction has allowed the band to flourish into defining their own sound when before, while great, they were lost among a sea of other great raw black metal acts. Moving forward, I expect incredible things from them, but regardless, this is an album I have returned to again and again throughout the year.
8 Panopticon – The Rime of Memory
I was absolutely floored by Panopticon’s latest album. A band that can somehow do no wrong despite releasing album after album, this one gripped me in new and more existential ways. Panopticon is a band of the people, and all of the previous albums felt like they were speaking to me directly as someone in this broken world, but this latest effort focuses a lot on death – both of the earth, and of ourselves. As I near my 30 th birthday and am constantly reflecting on my youth now, it couldn’t have arrived at a better time, comforting me through the dread and the fear as the cold winds blow through December and the plants also die around us. Reminding me that everyone on earth in time immemorial has felt the same way, and that it’s okay to be afraid. It is a blanket of snow upon me, a cold reminder that yes I will grow old, but nature is here with me, and she is growing older, too. My favorite release from this band’s perfect discography yet.
7 Imperium Dekadenz – Into Sorrow Evermore
I fell in love with this band when When We Are Forgotten released. I fell further in love with them when I went through their full discography and it was all amazing. And with this latest release, I love this band even more. The song “Aurora”, in particular, is one I listen to constantly and that is often stuck in my head due to its catchy as hell melody and unique vocal techniques implored on this track. While When We Are Forgotten retains its title as my favorite Imperium Dekadenz record overall, “Aurora” earns a new spot as my favorite Imperium Dekadenz song. It’s actually pretty rare that black metal songs are earworms in my brain. Despite being my favorite genre and despite how much I listen to it, that space is usually reserved for pop songs. But sometimes, something catchy happens in a black metal song, and it’s like magic, as is the case here. Overall, the rest of the album is just a solid Imperium Dekadenz record, and if you liked any of their other music, you’ll like this.
6 Sorry… – Self Inflicted Razor Cutting
Sorry… return with their original sound on this record, and while I did greatly enjoy last year’s Innocence.Love.Sadness, which was also on my AOTY list, and praised it greatly for doing things so differently, this raw, vulnerable sound was the sound that made me fall in love with this band in the first place, and I enjoyed it considerably. The vocalist, unafraid to go out of their comfort zone, does screeching on this thing that is aspirational to me personally, and it always blows me away that they’re always able to create those unholy sounds. A classic DSBM album, which Sorry… always manages to deliver.
5 Dawn Ray’d – To Know the Light
When I originally wrote my review for this album for Noob Heavy, I had no idea it would turn out to be Dawn Ray’d’s final album. Knowing that now, and relistening to it in preparation to write this list, honestly makes it even better. It was Dawn Ray’d’s best album yet in my opinion, and now, it stands as a testament to the legacy of one of the best RABM bands to come about. Every lyric is deeply resonant, every riff is electric, every pounding on the drum speeds up my heart. As the evil continues to wage on outside, Dawn Ray’d is a band that not only points it out, but also asks the listener to not give up hope and to do whatever they are able to create a better world. It would be a disservice to their memory to listen to this now with hopelessness and nihilism, and instead, it should be listened to as a powerful call to action, as it was always intended to be. “We are the ones of burning light,” screams Dawn Ray’d, and I could not agree more. The light has not gone out, and it cannot go out, as long as continue to wield it and strive for a better world.
4 An Autumn for Crippled Children – Closure
An Autumn for Crippled Children was last on my AOTY list in 2021, coming in at the number 15 spot at the time, but this year with Closure, they released my favorite album since try not to destroy everything you love, which is my longtime favorite. From the very first second of the album, distorted guitars and agonizing screams send shockwaves to the brain, making sure the listener is aware that this is not going to be an easy listen. However, amidst the harsh sounds, there is also a hopeful melody that emanates from An Autumn for Crippled Children’s music, and there is no exception here. Listening to this on nights where all seemed hopeless and I just wanted to turn on some DSBM to remind myself I wasn’t alone, this album was there to not only provide me that comfort I craved, but to also tell me that if I just keep fighting, the road ahead won’t always be so dark. I needed that a lot this year (as you can probably tell from the rest of my list), and this is one of, if not the, best album this band has released thus far.
3 Valdrin – Throne of the Lunar Soul
Valdrin are back, baby! I am a certified Valdrin simp, never shutting up about how much I absolutely adore this band, and somehow, some way, they keep exceeding my expectations. Not only is this their third masterpiece in a row, but it’s their best one yet. While it’s hard to compare masterpieces with each other, this new record made my heart pound from the first second and did not let me go. Honestly, the story of the Valdrin universe is not something I ever paid attention to or realized I was supposed to be, but this third installment is incredibly story-rich with lore about the hero, Valdrin, including a callback to the second album with the song “Two Carrion Talismans”. This has forced me to go back and listen to their entire discography with learning the story in mind, and I do not mean this as a complaint, as I now feel closer to this band than ever, becoming a fan not just of their music but of this story-rich experience, both of which they do exceptionally well. But worry not, you don’t need to know the Valdrin lore to enjoy this album, as it is a gorgeous blending of blackened death melodies that serve up a large helping up masterful moments that, despite the album’s enormous runtime, still feels too short.
2 Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze – The Fractal Ouroboros
Having just written my review of this album about a week ago, I don’t really have anything more to say other than what I already have, so I will summarize it briefly: Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze burst onto the scene with their debut LP, Offerings of Flesh and Gold, and it remains one of my favorite albums of all time. But then, just when I thought that maybe they’d be a band who drops a perfect album and vanishes, they came back with The Fractal Ouroboros, an absolutely incredible, heavy album with experimentation that paid off in spades. The entire album feels like a ritual and as you listen to it, you start as an outsider but slowly become part of the ritual, until everything at the last two tracks must perfect sense and you are fully present in this moment with them. This is not only a masterpiece of RABM, but a masterpiece of black metal in general, and I am so grateful this band returned to deliver their second perfect album in a row.
1 None – Inevitable
Anyone who read my review of this album should not be surprised to see it in the number one spot for my list this year. None have taken their previously laid groundwork of their own unique flavor of DSBM and perfected it on what I believe to be their career-defining album, turning this from another DSBM album into simply a None album. With quiet, experimental moments, long piano sections, and the use of spoken word, None have truly elevated the entire subgenre of DSBM with this album, and my standards have been risen greatly by this alone. There is a full nine-minute track that is clearly to me meant to be someone’s suicide, and between that and the track that comes before it, “My Gift,” a subgenre that tends to hit me extremely hard has never hit me harder than with this glorious piece of art. As a suicide survivor, it is triggering and I have to mentally prepare myself each time I listen to it, but it is so cathartic to listen to, and I see my own struggles in this album like None other. Not only a career defining album, but also a genre-defining album.
Actual AOTY: Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter – SAVED!
Well, friends, it happened again. My actual favorite AOTY was not a black metal album, and it would be doing a great disservice to not include it. I must confess that after my initial listening of SAVED!, the first album from Reverand Kristin Michael Hayter, previously known as Lingua Ignota, I didn’t like it. However, despite not liking it, I wanted to listen to it again for some reason. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So, I listened to it a second time. And then a third. And then a fourth. And then before I even noticed what was happening, I realized I adore this album. And then I had a realization: the reason I didn’t like it at first was because it sounds like something I shouldn’t be hearing. An old record found in an abandoned church where a cult has died by mass suicide. It’s uncomfortable. This isn’t for me. But after several listens, it became for me. I became immersed in the world of this album. I became a person sat in that church listening to Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter singing these sweet hymns. And she became a godlike figure to me, and I couldn’t stop listening to her sweet words, a fully entranced cult member. This album is uniquely immersive, more so than any other album I’ve ever experienced. Now, every time I listen to it, I am back in that church, and I am fully a cult member who knows what my fate is. Aside from incredible storytelling, the mixing of this album is also something that goes above and beyond. I saw a tweet posted that detailed how they used destroyed tape to get the effects especially present on the first track, and it was inspirational. Not only is this album unique in its story but its also unique in its delivery, and I hope this sets an example for many artists to come about the importance of mixing in the process and how your album can go from a concept album to an immersive story experience just by mixing it slightly differently. I have listened to this album front to back nearly daily since it released, and I hope there is more to come from the newly born Reverend.