Black Metal Suggestions For Iceni

[BlutAusNerd]

Well, just as the topic suggests, I'm going to try to convert Iceni on some black metal that might meet his personal tastes a bit better than what I've been posting elsewhere. Anybody is welcome to come check this out, all of these bands do come highly recommended from me, they are just trying to appeal to a different set of expectations. Less overtly blasphemous and tremolo picked, maybe a bit on the progressive or avant-garde side, just stuff with different takes I guess. Aeternus - As I March: 5rK38-NFFe0 I posted another of Aeternus' songs in the regular black metal recommendations thread, but in case you haven't been checking through that thread (I'm assuming you haven't), here's another song of theirs. I'm not sure if Aeternus will meet all of your specifications, but are a unique and cool band that you should at least try out. Their lyrics are more focused around nature, night, mysticism, etc..., though it would become a bit more anti-christian later when they would evolve into a death metal band. Here though, they play a folky, sort of death metal influenced Norwegian black metal, and while blastbeating and tremolo riffs are here, they are in the minority and are different than what you would typically here. The drums sound more tribal than most black metal bands, with a sort of war-like feel, and most of the riffs are strummed rather than the standard tremolo picking, which combined with the somewhat folky melodies gives it that native feel. They also use low vocals rather than the typical Norwegian mid/high range, so maybe this will strike a chord with you. Altar of Plagues - Feather and Bone: t7PFnIlmCH8 Altar of Plagues are an Irish black metal band, featuring a large post-rock influence and progressive song structures. Their songs are long, layered, and complex, and the lyrics reflect the feel of the album, decaying civilization, separation from nature, naturalism, etc... Their songs are long, and do have sections that repeat a few times, but this is a technique that many black metal bands use to build tension and sink into the atmosphere. I know you've complained about this before, but these guys do keep it fresh, and hopefully it will help you get used to that style of songwriting and open you up to the more trance-like atmospheres black metal can induce with these passages. It's something that has to be felt more than heard, and I didn't quite get it when I was more into technical music, but it eventually won me over. Ancient Wisdom - No Tears at His Funeral: RYGNmQIWxT8 Ancient Wisdom were a somewhat atypical Swedish black metal band, using a much slower speed than most of their contemporaries, despite having a similar melodic palette. This is almost black/doom metal, sounding like a more black metal version of Katatonia's early works in places. As such, blast beats and tremolo riffs are almost non-existent, but they still have a distinctly Swedish black metal sound. I can't speak for the rest of their career, but this album is basically an ode to Swedish winters, all of the songs having to do with nature and night time during the winter. Arcturus - Fall of Man: dTp4k-iAGFo Yet another one that I have posted in Murph's thread, and I think I also recommended them to you in the avant-garde thread as well. Their 3rd album, the avant-garde masterpiece The Sham Mirrors is my favorite from them, but their debut comes in close. It's a progressive and intriguing take on symphonic black metal, with a great deal more classical influence in the keyboards, compositions, and guitars than any other symphonic black metal band I can think of. This is also a mostly mid-paced album, without a ton of blastbeats or tremolo riffs, and Garm's clean vocals are always a nice touch. His lyrics in Arcturus tend to be space oriented, but are a bit more natural on this album. Bal-Sagoth - Return to the Praesidium of Ys: SzscgOATa3I While it may be a bit of a stretch to include them in the black metal genre at this point, they might be a band that you would dig. They started out as a more typical UK black/death metal band, but evolved into this insane hyperbole of epic symphonic black metal. It's so ridiculously over the top, so loaded with grandiosity and cheese, it's easy to see why so many hate them. I love it though, it's almost epic power metal in places, with huge keyboards and uplifting riffs, but then gets more black at other points. Byron's vocals alternate between an over the top narrative style and more traditional black metal vocals, and the lyrics are almost entirely fantasy derived. Don't take this too seriously, just have fun with it. Covenant - The Sulphur Feast: e68pOOqM0yI Covenant were a typical Norwegian melodic/symphonic black metal band on their debut, but with Nexus Polaris, they definitely spread their wings a bit. The focus was shifted to a more astral and spacy atmosphere and lyrical theme, with MUCH better production than the debut and more creative vocals. The speed does pick up on this, but not in a typical tremolo/blasting way, and the melodies and keyboards are excellent. The drums here are handled by Hellhammer, just as Arcturus, which might be a decent comparison to this, but is still quite different. Diabolical Masquerade - The Eerie Obzidian Circuz: QjHObj8EWj4 Diabolical Masquerade is the black metal vehicle of Anders Nystrom, better known as the guitarist of Katatonia and Bloodbath. He's always used Diabolical Masquerade to display a different take on the genre, but starting with Nightwork, you could even call this avant-garde. Its riffs are much heavier and "riffy" than many Swedish black metal bands, with lots of chugging and guitar solos, but the avant-garde sides comes in with the keyboards and compositions. It feels a bit like an evil circus at times, and I know that you like a few bands that give off a similar vibe, so I'm hoping for good things here. The lyrics and atmosphere are all horror derived, and aside from one example which isn't that bad, the lyrics aren't really anti-christian. Immortal - Solarfall: meIh4oZ-hNs Everyone knows who Immortal is, but their sound has changed a great deal throughout the years. Their early works were more typical sounding Norwegian black metal, but starting with At the Heart of Winter, they adopted a much more epic and riff heavy approach. It's a bit thrashy, but still black metal, and pretty complex for Immortal, as well as being quite varied. The compositions are huge, the lyrics and music both just painting these grand wintery pictures, definitely give this album a chance. I feel that this is their best album, and I know many a non-black metal fan that loves it. In the Woods... - Heart of the Ages: WGJqSieL_nw In the Woods... began as a Norwegian black metal band, but quickly morphed into a progressive metal band. This album falls between those two periods, with black metal still in their sound, but progressive metal taking over. There are lots of clean, operatic vocals here, but when he does do black metal vocals, they sound pretty insane. Supposedly he didn't know the correct way to do them, and had a massive headache after recording the album. Anyway, I know you're big into proggy stuff, so hopefully this will strike a chord with you, as it's one of the most interesting, varied, and awesome albums from the Norwegian black metal scene. Master's Hammer - A Dark Forest Spread Around You: BBgGfQrZtOU Master's Hammer were one of the earliest Czech black metal bands, and one of my favorite black metal bands ever. All of their lyrics are in Czech, but I do know that at least their first album had a pretty Satanic bent. With their second album, Jilemnice Occultist, their lyrics are actually a narrative story about an occultist and mistaken identity of some kind, and the music has changed to match. Their riff heavy style is still here, but they became quite strange and avant-garde here, with lots of weird keyboards, bizarre riffs, and even more extreme and strange vocals. This one might not be a winner, but being one of my favorite bands, I have to try.

[ReturntoCarthage]

He'd probably be into stuff like Vintersorg, Foudre Noire, ...And Oceans, Borknagar, Morgul, Ved Buens Ende, Solefald, Manes, Age of Silence That sort of stuff, not to much else to offer here. Primordial, Darkest Era as well for more melodic stuff with clean vocals

[BlutAusNerd]

He'd probably be into stuff like Vintersorg, Foudre Noire, ...And Oceans, Borknagar, Morgul, Ved Buens Ende, Solefald, Manes, Age of Silence That sort of stuff, not to much else to offer here. Primordial, Darkest Era as well for more melodic stuff with clean vocals

I figured he would probably like ...And Oceans, but likely AMGOD and not their black metal albums, so I didn't post it here. Borknagar is folk metal, the only thing black metal about it is the vocals, which is why they're not here, and I posted Age of Silence and Solefald in the prog/avant-garde thread. Manes avant-garde stuff isn't really metal, but their black metal stuff is a bit more satanic than I figured he would enjoy, despite being in Norwegian. Haven't made it to the others yet.

[forge]

Mayhem and Immortal are two of my favorites.

[deathstorm]

i like immortal old mans child

[BlutAusNerd]

i like immortal old mans child

You should check out the videos here and in the other black metal recommendations thread and expand your horizons.

[Iceni]

Bal-Sagoth always struck me as funny, but I'll give the song you put here a listen. I like what I've heard from In The Woods, so I looks forward to that track. It's funny you should mention Master's Hammer, I've heard them too and they're interesting but I don't remember liking them too much. I'm listening to Ancient Wisdom right now. Aeternus was great.

[deathstorm]

i also like emperior too

[Metalhead Steve]

I'm honestly liking all of ...And Oceans' albums, except "The Symmetry of I and Circle of O" The Kovenant's "Nexus Polaris" seems like a fucking masterpiece. Age of Silence is really... odd... I like it. Kind of using this thread to check out more black metal myself. I'm getting more and more into it, but there's too many Satanic bands that I'm trying to drift away from... For reasons that aren't appropriate for this thread. I'll just say I've had my share of experiences, one based around Old Man's Child...

[Iceni]

In The Woods... and Altars of Madness were a bit too placid for me, though not bad. I don't like Arcturus that much. Bal-Sagoth was funny, and fairly good too. Aeternus, Covenant and Diabolical Masquerade were my favorites from this set of recommendations. I'll be looking into the albums more.

[BlutAusNerd]

Re: Black Metal Suggestions For Iceni

In The Woods... and Altars of Madness were a bit too placid for me, though not bad. I don't like Arcturus that much. Bal-Sagoth was funny, and fairly good too. Aeternus, Covenant and Diabolical Masquerade were my favorites from this set of recommendations. I'll be looking into the albums more.

For Aeternus, you can go with any of their first 3 albums to find that sound, though the first two are slightly better than the third. That's probably the only album you need from Covenant, the first being pretty minimal and straightforward, and their later albums as The Kovenant are not very good industrial metal. I love all of Diabolical Masquerade's albums, but you would probably take to Nightwork and Death's Design best. The first two are different, but not so strange and original as the last two, but do have awesome Katatonia gone black metal melodies that I greatly enjoy. Death's Design isn't really black metal, it's like Nightwork, but way more avant-garde and spazzy, interesting stuff. I'll post some more when I get a chance, maybe we'll make a black metal fan of you yet. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

[BlutAusNerd]

Re: Black Metal Suggestions For Iceni

I'm honestly liking all of ...And Oceans' albums, except "The Symmetry of I and Circle of O" The Kovenant's "Nexus Polaris" seems like a fucking masterpiece. Age of Silence is really... odd... I like it. Kind of using this thread to check out more black metal myself. I'm getting more and more into it, but there's too many Satanic bands that I'm trying to drift away from... For reasons that aren't appropriate for this thread. I'll just say I've had my share of experiences, one based around Old Man's Child...

The Symmetry of I, Circle of O is their most chaotic album, so I can see why some don't like it, and why conversely it's the only album of theirs that others like. I like all of their albums, but Cypher is my least favorite. Even the techno/electronica metal album A.M.G.O.D. was great, totally different than what I had expected, but catchy and intriguing at the same time. And yes, Nexus Polaris is awesome, and along with Troll's Drep De Kristne gets my vote for Nagash's best work. Those albums easily but out what he did with Dimmu Borgir, and he was involved with making some of their best albums. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

[Iceni]

For Aeternus' date=' you can go with any of their first 3 albums to find that sound, though the first two are slightly better than the third. That's probably the only album you need from Covenant, the first being pretty minimal and straightforward, and their later albums as The Kovenant are not very good industrial metal. I love all of Diabolical Masquerade's albums, but you would probably take to Nightwork and Death's Design best. The first two are different, but not so strange and original as the last two, but do have awesome Katatonia gone black metal melodies that I greatly enjoy. Death's Design isn't really black metal, it's like Nightwork, but way more avant-garde and spazzy, interesting stuff. I'll post some more when I get a chance, maybe we'll make a black metal fan of you yet.[/quote'] I'm listening to Death's Design in full right now and it's great so far. I think I'll put this on when I'm drawing later, it'll help a great deal. I also listened to a bit more from Covenant on that album and I liked it. Diabolical Masquerade in general are shaping up to be my favorite of these.

[Iceni]

Just thought I may as well post an update. I went through the Austrian metal collection on Encyclopedia Metallum and happened across Locus Neminis, a symphonic black metal group that I enjoyed a great deal. I recently listened to a couple of French folk/black bands and there were two good ones. The first was Aes Dana, who managed to create a good ambience and a nice rhythm, which compensated for the fact that they use a lot of blast beats. The second was even better: Bran Barr is a savage group that make excellent use of bagpipes and crafted some unrelentingly punishing songs.

[BlutAusNerd]

Re: Black Metal Suggestions For Iceni

Just thought I may as well post an update. I went through the Austrian metal collection on Encyclopedia Metallum and happened across Locus Neminis, a symphonic black metal group that I enjoyed a great deal. I recently listened to a couple of French folk/black bands and there were two good ones. The first was Aes Dana, who managed to create a good ambience and a nice rhythm, which compensated for the fact that they use a lot of blast beats. The second was even better: Bran Barr is a savage group that make excellent use of bagpipes and crafted some unrelentingly punishing songs.

I've heard of Bran Barr, but never heard anything from any of them. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

[Iceni]

I've heard of Bran Barr, but never heard anything from any of them. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

_rjMAyjnRL0 Let the bagpipes fill you with awesome.

[BlutAusNerd]

Negura Bunget - Tesarul de Lumini: v-SCyXecLZg Negura Bunget are a Romanian pagan black metal band with quite a unique and somewhat progressive take on the genre. It's hard to really pinpoint what is so truly different about those, because the folky integrations with black metal are far from uncommon, and progressive leanings are becoming a bit more prevalent, but these guys just throw it together in a way that's totally unlike anything I've ever heard. Everything about this is top notch too, the production and musicianship are very clear and professional, but there are still some nastier sounding passages with blast beats and tremolo riffs. I can't speak for the band's entire discography, as I only own this album and the one prior to it, but it's fucking great, and I think you'll dig it. Nokturnal Mortum - On the Moonlight Path: ZwpSj5ZD9Hs Nokturnal Mortum are one of Ukraine's best and most well known symphonic black metal bands. They use keyboards in a similar way to many symphonic black metal bands, but are folkier than most using keyboards this way, and also much more aggressive. I'm not quite as sure about this one, since the production isn't as strong as many I've listed earlier, but musically it's a bit like Anorexia Nervosa, but while that band is good, I think this band is excellent. Don't mind the album titles, the lyrics don't deal with anything satanic, but they do occasionally get into anti-christianity and (where most people get hung up on this great band) racism. It's not all that prevalent, and many of their lyrics are in Ukrainian, so other than a few examples (like The Call of Aryan Spirit) you wouldn't notice. This one will be pushing some boundaries, but try to listen with an open mind, because I personally don't think that anybody does symphonic black metal as well as these guys do. Ophthalamia - Black as Sin, Pale as Death/Autumn Whispers: yDLZsm-oJAU Ophthalamia are a very interesting and odd Swedish black metal band. They were almost a super group of sorts, with members from tons of other bands like Dissection, Edge of Sanity, Abruptum, etc..., but they really sound like none of those bands. This is sort of a doomy and progressive take on black metal, with a bizarre story to match. The lyrics all center around the fictional world of Ophthalamia which the band created, and the albums are stories of the land. There are many different styles of, well, everything on offer here, and the songs are constantly changing. There are tons of shifts in tempo, tone, texture, and a ton of different riffs here. Even if you don't like it, I guarantee that you'll agree that these guys are one of a kind. Primordial - Empire Falls: Y0YX1PHIZr8 I can't for the life of me remember if you already knew of Primordial or not, but if you don't, you should certainly hear them. Their early works were when they were at their most raw and black metal, but despite the increasing presence of clean vocals and folk elements, I would still call these guys folk black metal. Anyway, these guys definitely sound Celtic, but in a way that is simultaneously uplifting and somber, with soaring vocals and structures, but a melancholic and somewhat doomy overtone. Most people seem to point to this album as their best effort, and though I do slightly prefer Spirit the Earth Aflame to this album, this definitely gets my vote for their later material. There's a reason why this was on nearly every best of list in 2007, it's just that good. Rivendell - Rivendell: ALM5wRYydg4 Rivendell are an epic folk/black metal band, not unlike countrymen Summoning. There is plenty of native instrumentation and folky song structures here, but there's still enough black metal in their sound to place them here. Some vocals are clean, some harsh, as with the music itself. Maybe not true black metal and a bit more viking, but if you dig this then perhaps I'll post some more of that stuff too, since it seems I'm not winning you over on a ton of pure black metal. Anyhow, try them out, let me know what you think. Sacramentum - ...As Obsidian: jTMDtx02SQE Sacramentum are a Swedish melodic black/death metal band, and are one of my favorites that play the style. Their sound is similar to that of Dissection, though I have recommended these guys in lieu of them because their lyrics are much less satanic than Dissections. As the genre suggests, this does have some sonic similarity to melodeath, so I'm hoping the familiar melodies will be helpful in getting you into more black metal. Satyricon - Havoc Vulture: 2xZpKAAjvsM Satyricon are a pretty well known band, but this period of their works seems to often be forgotten and/or reviled by most of their fans. After producing what many consider to be their best works with their first 3 albums, they made Rebel Extravaganza and Volcano, both of which were original, adventurous, and somewhat progressive works that I really enjoy. The fast parts are still here, but it's not as blast heavy as their older works, and the riffing style is totally different. You may still enjoy their folky early albums, but I figured that for your tastes, this would be the best place to introduce you to the band. Shining - Låt oss ta allt från varandra: hH6R_7xfj0w Shining are known as forerunners in the depressive/suicidal black metal scene, and not without good reason. Some may cite Kvarforth as a total douche, which seems hard to deny from his interviews and antics, but being a good black metal musician does not mean that you're a good person. I quite like their style, especially on this, their magnum opus V - Halmstad. They started down this heavier and more progressive direction on the album preceding this one, but they took everything to the next level here. The result is an album that's bleak, disturbing, and despondent, so if you can deal with the depressing and suicidal tone, this could be a winner. Summoning - Nightshade Forests: UgjJvZbaHVs Summoning are one of the most well known Austrian black metal bands, and it's not hard to see why. They have a pretty unique sound, combining an epic and folky black metal base with some huge, grandiose keyboards that paint an expansive sonic picture. Their lyrics are very Tolkien inspired, and the sound here does certainly transport you to the lands described in Tolkien's books. The result is something quite medieval and fantastic sounding, but it's also very compelling and memorable. Tartaros - Images of the Mystic Sphere: EmpzKQ3kDpg Tartaros were a short lived, but pretty cool symphonic black metal band from Norway. This is a one man band by Charmand Grimlock, who played live keyboards for Emperor for a while. The sound here is similar to that of Emperor, but the lyrics are not satanic, so I thought they might satiate your craving for their music. This is sort of complex and weird symphonic black metal, and while Emperor are a good point of reference, Tartaros still did things their own way. Definitely enjoyable, I just wish they had produced more material.

[Iceni]

Eesh. I'll get back to you on this, this will take a while. So far I've made my way through Opthalmia, Rivendell and Sacramentum. I didn't like Opthalmia much, I'd heard them before but didn't really think too much of them. Sacramentum was certainly enjoyable, and I really liked Rivendell. I've heard Summoning before and I liked them so I hold high hopes for the track you posted.