Cruel Life Inside: Eclipsis Vitae (2021) Despite having the name of a mid-2000s emo band, Cruel Life Inside are another package of reforms aimed at making something of “positive” black metal. We could spend all day descanting on what we mean when we say music is “positive” or “negative”, and whether black metal even conforms... Continue Reading →

Darkwave is another genre tag that is easy to dismiss as superfluous. But the more you dig, the more it becomes a useful way to cordon off a set of artists that arose out of the 1980s in the wake of goth, post punk, and the first wave of neofolk. Equally, owing to this broad... Continue Reading →

Sinoath; Research (1995, rereleased on Hessian Firm 27th March) “Reissue” is a dirty word in some circles. A way for labels to suck every last penny out of long dead artists, an endless cycle of dredging up old material in new wrapping. All the more need to reiterate the original and frankly nobler purpose behind... Continue Reading →

Allow me to indulge in a Wikipedia definition to kick this one off, which describes the avant-garde as “people or works that are experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society. It is frequently characterized by aesthetic innovation and initial unacceptability.” The reason for setting out the *define-your-terms* stall at the outset... Continue Reading →

HOR: No Birth nor End (2021) Greek black metallers HOR return with another compact selection of orthodox black metal with their difficult second album entitled ‘No Birth nor End’. Their approach to the form is worth paying attention to if for no other reason than to hear a classic style played with conviction. Both the... Continue Reading →

Plague Weaver: Ascendant Blasphemy (2021) ‘Ascendant Blasphemy’ is the debut LP from this Canadian outfit. It’s a forceful mix of cyclical Rotting Christ style riffs, with the oppressiveness of early Samael, and some riffs even reaching all the way back to Celtic Frost in their relentless and dronelike qualities, as if they being dragged along... Continue Reading →

The first iterations of symphonic black metal – or rather any black metal that leans heavily on keyboards – was too advanced for its time in many ways. The tech available and affordable in the mid-90s was limited and clunky when put in service of the grand operas many underground artists – those without label... Continue Reading →

Why did the UK never witness an enduring black metal scene? It’s a question nearly as old as black metal itself. And one that continues to be asked despite this particular hole being filled with a suspiciously Cradle of Filth shaped peg. But looking past fingers of blame, the fact that the UK never established... Continue Reading →

Ordo Cultum Serpentis: Derej Najash (2021) An extreme metal album with lavish ambient interludes is a fairly common thing. But what if someone came along and flipped this on its head? Why not write dark ambient music with the occasional foray into the metallic territory? As banal as such an endeavour sounds, there are many... Continue Reading →

Deepest gratitude to El Negro Metal for allowing Hate Meditations to publish the English language version of this interview with Mefitis. You can find the original version of the interview here, along with other great articles on underground metal. On the release of their brand new album 'Offscourings', Pendath and Vartha of Mefitis have been... Continue Reading →