Ultra Silvam: The Sanctity of DeathOut 25th February on Shadow Records / Regain Records Ultra Silvam gut the bracing melodicism of Swedish black metal, remove the regal innards, explode the restrained dignity and poise of a Dawn, Dissection, or a Sacramentum by condensing this riff laden style into dense, violently short bursts of razor-sharp metallic... Continue Reading →

Despite the unrelenting feeling of acceleration, a strong case could be made for culture moving at a much slower pace today than thirty years ago. The sheer quantity and speed at which content is produced in contemporary life leads to a static zeitgeist. Singular artefacts and symbols take time to reach a level of popularity... Continue Reading →

Following on from the article ‘Death metal for the general listener’ – an attempt to recast death metal as an inherently experimental form of music – I wanted to write up a similar list for black metal. This proved more challenging than expected however, because - despite their closely knit histories - black metal is... Continue Reading →

Benthik Zone: εἴδωλονOut 28th January on Onism Productions Any Star Wars fan worth their salt will have seen the footage of George Lucas discussing the jarring transitions at the finale of ‘The Phantom Menace’ with editor Ben Burtt and producer Rick McCallum. The cloaked panic on their faces as Lucas responds to the observation that... Continue Reading →

Krolok: Funeral Winds & Crimson SkyOut 21st December on Osmose Productions The second LP from this Slovakian outfit takes the trappings of black metal rendered on the murkier side and combines this with old school punk, a meeting of mysticism and aggression that demonstrates the lengthy shelf life one can garner from a unique atmosphere... Continue Reading →

#38 - Daniel Lake (USBM Book): Daniel Lake, author of 'USBM: A Revolution of Identity in American Black Metal', joins Necropolis for the formal episode about his book. USBM has always been a point of confusion in terms of its placement within the black metal lexicon. It is often reviled by its European counterpart but... Continue Reading →

By Daniel Lake, out on Decibel Books The BBC is often accused of bias from both the left and the right. Many claim that this is a good thing, an indication that its reporting is honouring its core tenet of impartiality. So it would seem with Daniel Lake’s recent book ‘USBM: A Revolution of Identity... Continue Reading →

Metalheads – including this one – can sometimes have a weird relationship with teleology. We log certain incidental styles and artists only with a view to how they influenced where we are today. Our need to go back time and again and plot the evolution of metal and its subgenres, logging the significant releases and... Continue Reading →

Cmpt:  Krv i pepeoOut 21st December on Osmose Productions Following on from ‘Mrtvaja’, a debut EP that rivalled many of the lofty full lengths to be released in 2021, comes Cmpt’s debut album ‘Krv i pepeo’ (Blood and Ash). This mysterious Serbian outfit retains its anonymity, and beyond some exposition around this project’s dedication to... Continue Reading →

#37 – Byrin Dall: Prolific musician Bryin Dall (Thee Majesty, Hirsute Pursuit, Throbbing Gristle, etc) joins to discuss his innumerable projects, background, personal experiences, insights, gay culture, etc. Special guest co-host A.j. Martinez (owner of Propaganda Palace in San Antonio) joins to lend his expertise on Bryin’s exploits and industrial music.