Black Metal

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Dark Funeral - A Beast To Praise (2026)

    Dark Funeral - A Beast To Praise (2026)
    Dark Funeral - A Beast To Praise (2026)

    Unleashing all hell, today we have Sweden’s finest Black Metal outfit, Dark Funeral, delivering a swift and brutal 70-minute live release: “A Beast To Praise”. As one of the most punishing and yet refined BM outfits, the band’s live shows are full of sheer intensity and sometimes crafty pyro, creating a very dense and hellish atmosphere that is masterfully captured in the 13-tracks presented in this release.

    Opening with the devastating “Unchain My Soul”, we can immediately hear how crisp and clean the live-recording sounds with Lord Ahriman and Chaq Mol’s guitars being as piercing as on a studio recording. The pummeling drumming of Janne Jaloma masterfully frames the band’s onslaughts as they level the audience with blistering pieces like “The Arrival Of Satan’s Empire”, “My Funeral”, “Leviathan”, and one of of personal favorites “We Are The Apocalypse".

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Dymna Lotva - Vyraj (2026)

    Dymna Lotva - Vyraj (2026)
    Dymna Lotva - Vyraj (2026)

    Creating one of the most harrowing and eerie releases of 2026, today we have Dymna Lotva and their fourth full-length release “Vyraj”. Combining elements of Post-Black Metal with Doom influences, this release creates its own category as it is quite unique and engaging. Far from linear or normal, these guys know how to craft haunting music filled with crafty elements and some of the most intense vocals you’ll ever hear.

    Opening with the pummeling “Zory”, the band creates a very chaotic and yet magical atmosphere with hellish harsh vocals perfectly flanked by clean vocal arrangements. This weird vibe nicely continues to the equally chaotic and weird “Veha”. Which features even more dreamy vocals that contrast the overall madness of the band’s style. The guitars are quite sinister and well crafted, but it's the atmospherics that further elevate the band’s sound, like on the brilliant “The Boat of Despair”, a track that features none other than Aaron Stainthorpe and its oozing of magical melancholy.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hulder - Verbolgen (2026)

    Hulder - Verbolgen (2026)
    Hulder - Verbolgen (2026)

    Unleashing one of the most awaited Black Metal releases of 2026, today we have Hulder and their latest opus “Verbolgen”. After their 2024 breakthrough release “Verses in Oath”, Hulder and company return with a more vicious and refined release. Featuring nearly 50-minutes of music, this release is harsh, punishing, and yet very cleanly produced and highly atmospheric. For fans of bands like Primordial, Wolves in the Throne Room, Satyricon, this release will make you think you are listening to Scandinavian BM with hints of Cascadian BM.

    Opening with the instrumental “Drie Raven”, the band sets an enigmatic vibe with its strumming guitars and lush instrumentation. However, as soon as “The Crowning” rolls around with its sinister guitar riffs, that old-school Black Metal fury starts flowing alongside crafty atmospherics. The use of dreamy clean vocals alongside a drastic change of pace, create one hell of a sinister introduction to this release, and it’s only the second song.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Chamber of Unlight - Avernus (2026)

    Chamber of Unlight - Avernus (2026)
    Chamber of Unlight - Avernus (2026)

    Featuring one of the most stacked line-ups in Black Metal, today we have Finland’s Chamber of Unlight with their sophomore release “Avernus”. Featuring a fierce and yet melodic BM sound, this release unleashes over 35 minutes of crafty music with plenty of atmosphere and harshness. While not as flashy as outfits like Moonlight Sorcery or Vargrav, these guys have a very punishing BM core that happens to be adorned by crafty synths and melodic passages.

    Unleashing all fury with the whirlwind “One With the One”, we get a masterful guitar-driven piece with piercing atmospherics and a very raw and punishing vibe. Blistering past “Wraithlike”, and “Night Chasm”, we get that old-school Dimmu Borgir-meets-Tartaros vibe as the keyboards shine alongside crafty melodic riffs and pummeling drumming. The band’s sound is relentless, but masterfully adds melancholy and melody into the mix, creating a very powerful wall of sound.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Emptiness - Nowhere Speaks (2026)

    Emptiness - Nowhere Speaks (2026)
    Emptiness - Nowhere Speaks (2026)

    Creating a truly immersive and sickening listening experience, “Nowhere Speaks” delivers waves of minimalist textures layered in dissonant ways unlike anything you have heard before. Emptiness continues to surprise the listener with their highly evocative fractured approach to experimental Metal, while incorporating tons of decadent elements to perfection. For over 40-minutes, the listener will be challenged by this expansive and disturbing release.

    This album is more of a continuation of 2014’s “Nothing but the Whole”, as the release has that cavernous and more Avant-garde Black/Death Metal nature. Bringing back that darker and more punishing side of the band, tracks like “The Threat”, "Nowhere Speaks”, and the vicious “Darkness Commands”, layer crafty distorted guitars with minimalist rhythms and some enigmatic vocals. The band’s Black/Death Metal elements shine more than in their recent release, and create creepy tracks like the playful and funky “Words to Wind”.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Inferno - The Anthropic Sophisms (On the Heights of Despair) (2026)

    Inferno - The Anthropic Sophisms (On the Heights of Despair) (2026)
    Inferno - The Anthropic Sophisms (On the Heights of Despair) (2026)

    Unleashing unrivaled cavernous darkness, today we have Czechia’s Inferno and their ninth full-length release “The Anthropic Sophisms (On the Heights of Despair)”. Featuring a crushing sound that is a mixture of Blut Aus Nord, Oranssi Pazuzu, Deathspell Omega, and some Akhlys, this release is as brutal and atmospheric as they get.

    Opening with the fierce dissonant riffs of “Fission of the Soul”, the band creates a very chaotic and yet piercing atmosphere that slowly builds up to deliver waves of devastating melody and harsh vocals. Clocking in at around 10 minutes, this piece sets a very hypnotic and oppressive vibe that blends into the decadence and obliteration of “Dekranos Katexochen”. With all tracks being quite long, the band can explore different movements and moods while creating a cohesive pummeling experience.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hammerfilosofi - Secundus Adventus (2026)

    Hammerfilosofi - Secundus Adventus (2026)
    Hammerfilosofi - Secundus Adventus (2026)

    In order to keep the momentum going after the crushing release of their 2025 opus “Signum”, Hammerfilosofi returns with a two track EP that features ‘reforged’ versions of two of the most intense tracks of said release. Not your average remaster or re-interpretation, these tracks underwent a brand new mix and master, alongside a re-recording of the drums by Dystopian. If you thought their original versions were intense, just wait to hear them here.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Sojourner - Gateways (2026)

    Sojourner - Gateways (2026)
    Sojourner - Gateways (2026)

    Creating a very atmospheric and epic blend of Gothic and Black Metal, today we have Sojourner and their third full-length release: “Gateways”. Featuring a fantasy inspired theme, this outfit delivers seven tracks of lush and elegant music filled with masterful contrasts and a hefty dose of heaviness. Greatly enhancing their sound and improving since their last release, this outfit creates a very dynamic and engaging release that any fan of their earlier work will love.

    Quickly setting a very melancholic vibe, “Dawnrays” opens up this release with solemn piano arrangements that quickly transition into Doomy territories. The addition of Heike Langhans on vocals, changes the band’s sound slightly, but it adds more emotional depth to the female vocals, rapidly showcased by opener and “An the Paintings Fall”. There is a certain magic to Heike’s vocals, and it is very cool to hear them in a different concept than her other work with Draconian, Remina, and Lightfield Reverie.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Hecate Enthroned - The Corpse of a Titan, a Lament Long Buried (2026)

    Hecate Enthroned - The Corpse of a Titan, a Lament Long Buried (2026)
    Hecate Enthroned - The Corpse of a Titan, a Lament Long Buried (2026)

    Hailing from the UK, Hecate Enthroned, for the uninformed, or just too young, was one of the few bands initially labeled Cradle of Filth clones back in the day. While there are similar elements between the bands, particularly the dramatic shrieks that the vocalists used, these guys kept on their own path and continued to release high-octane Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal. Only making us wait seven years between releases, “The Corpse of a Titan, a Lament Long Buried” is a testament to the band’s impressive timeless sound that is both crushing and lush.

    After a mood setting intro, “Spirits Stir Within Our Ancestors Tombs” properly kicks off the release with the band’s usual bombastic style of lush keyboards alongside Joe Stamps signature shrieks. The guitar work of Nigel Dennan and Andy Milnes is excellent, creating very incisive riffs and superbly melodic parts, as “The Arcane Golem”, “Steed of the Still Water” and “Pwca” come around. While the dramatic keyboards create very dense and magical atmospheres, they are never overbearing and allow all other elements to shine through them.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    AntiHuman Industries - Accelerated Death Impulse (2026)

    AntiHuman Industries - Accelerated Death Impulse (2026)
    AntiHuman Industries - Accelerated Death Impulse (2026)

    Unleashing 35 minutes of Industrial Black Metal hell, today we have the debut release of Finnish super group AntiHuman Industries, titled “Accelerated Death Impulse”. Featuring Spellgoth and VnoM from Horna (and many others) fame, Syphon from True Black Dawn, and Corvus from Korgonthurus, this all-star outfit delivers some of the most decadent and crushing tracks from the genre since the days of Diabolos Rising, Malignant Eternal, and Mysticum.

    Blasting this release wide open with “Loop of Cosmic Horror”, the band sets a very dystopian cyber punk-esque vibe with the samples and electronics in this piece. The madness continues as the band pummels through tracks like “ErrorHuman”, “Brain Noise”, and “Eerie Curiosity” with blistering speed alongside crafty tempo changes and dramatic atmospherics. With a hearty Black Metal core, there is no lack of aggression.

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