Black Metal

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    Grima - Nightside (2025)

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    Enigmatic Russian outfit Grima are finally back with their ravaging Atmospheric Black Metal with “Nightside”. Featuring a very bombastic and lush sound filled with raw and powerful emotion, this band manages to shine from the rest thanks to their unique atmospheric sound and fierce brutality. Carving their own name and path in a very crowded scene, this outfit delivers nearly 50 minutes of magical ritualistic music that is hypnotic and captivating.

    After the folky intro, “Beyond the Dark Horizon” quickly sets a hypnotic pace with crafty melodic guitars, an engaging tempo, and majestic keyboards that create a very immersive atmosphere as Vilhelm’s shrieks and growls keep things dynamic. Far from linear, songs like “Flight of the Silver Storm”, “Impending Death Premonition”, and “Skull Gatherers” explore mysterious atmospheric depths that feel very unique and enchanting, taking the listener into dark paths in the woods.

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    Havukruunu - Tavastland (2025)

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    Quickly taking the Pagan Metal Scene by storm, Finland’s Havukruunu have graciously evolved their sound in the last couple of years and with “Tavastland” they almost achieve perfection. With a very regal and explosive nature, the band’s fourth full-length release features eight tracks and over 53 minutes of lush and dynamic music that will have you marching towards battle while also headbanging until your neck hurts.

    Starting with the ravaging “Kuolematon laulunhenki”, the band creates a very effusive atmosphere with crafty guitar work, captivating vocal arrangements and an overall very explosive and engaging vibe. The band continues to showcase their masterful songwriting skills as “Yönsynty”, “Havukruunu ja talvenvarjo”, and “Tavastland” roll around with excellent melodic passages, an hypnotic tempo, and a plethora of epic atmospheric elements, just think of Ensiferum-meets-Thyrfing with some Bathory sprinkles.

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    Gràb - Kremess (2025)

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    Unleashing an elegant and masterful piece of Black Metal, today we have Germany’s Gràb and their sophomore release “Kremess”. Clocking in at nearly one hour of music, this release is full of excellent details that ooze melancholy and somberness alongside traditional BM elements, making each one of its eight tracks a true listening experience. If you like bands like Agalloch, (old) Ulver, Winterfylleth, and Empyrium, this is one release you should not miss.

    Opening with “Waidler” the band sets a very raw and yet atmospheric tone with harsh shrieks and ravaging guitar riffs that suddenly transport the listener to the early, and fiercest, days of Black Metal. However, there is always a melancholy infusion into the band’s music that keeps things far from ‘standard’ and provides them a signature style. On the album’s title track, we get a more somber approach with haunting atmospherics and dulcimer action, while the track quickly transforms with magical keyboards and a solemn pace that feels very visceral.

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    Malacath - Eternal Roar of the Thunder and Rain (2025)

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    Unleashing waves of old-school Black Metal, today we have Malacath and their latest offering “Eternal Roar of the Thunder and Rain”. Featuring a timeless and quite raw sound, this band delivers incisive BM for over 53 minutes with a few surprises. For fans of early Ulver and similar outfits, this release packs a mean punch while satiating primal urges.

    Opening with the album title track, the band unleashes its fury after an atmospheric build up. We instantly got 90’s BM vibes from this outfit thanks to the razor sharp guitar tones and the simplistic and yet effective structure. However, not all is as it seems as after a while this track suddenly transforms into Ulver’s “Bergtatt” with lush acoustic guitars thrown into the mix. The tempo is again picked up on “Call of the Specter”, a ravaging piece full of ferocity and enigmatic melody.

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    Ofnus - Valediction (2025)

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    Hailing from Cardiff, Wales, today we have Ofnus and their majestic blend of Melodic and Atmospheric Black Metal. With “Valediction”, their sophomore full-length release, the band takes their sound to a whole new level, blending elements from bands like Saor, Winterfylleth, to more craft influences of Enslaved, Agalloch, to create a very dreamy and yet pummeling style that is hard to come by these days. Treating the listener to almost one hour of music, this release packs a mean punch.

    Opening with the ravaging “The Shattering”, we get a taste of the band’s perfect balance of punishing aggression with fierce riffs, vocals, and drumming, alongside elegant atmospheric and some crafty proggy tempo changes. Taking a more dramatic turn, “Reflections of Delusion” starts with an enigmatic opening that slowly escalates into aggressive onslaughts and elegant atmospheric passages. The band does a great job in creating tracks that quickly change directions while always maintaining a high degree of atmosphere, as the stunning “Throes of Agony” delivers.

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    Saor - Amidst the Ruins (2025)

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    Unleashing their best album to date, today we have Saor and their sixt full-length release “Amidst the Ruins”. Featuring nearly one hour of lush and high-octane Atmospheric Folk/Black Metal, this release delivers five majestic tracks filled with dynamic tempo changes and dreamy melodic arrangements. With each track over 8 minutes long, and most over 11 minutes in duration, this release shows a band perfectly growing into their element while incorporating more elegant elements into the mix.

    Opening with the lavish title track, Andy Marshall fiercely delivers blistering riffing and drumming that temporarily subsides for more folky and atmospheric passages. The track expertly grows into melancholic passages filled with dreamy traditional wind and string instruments. Real instruments give this release a very organic vibe as tracks like the opener and “Echos of the Ancient Land” incorporate dramatic string instruments into very harsh guitar driven melodies, and highly melancholic slower passages.

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    Zéro Absolu - La Saignée (2025)

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    What is colder than a glacier you might ask? Well it certainly has to be Zéro Absolu. Moving away from the drama of their original band name being stolen, Valnoir, François Duguest, Hugo Moerman return alongside Indria Saray (Alcest live) and R.R. (Regarde les Hommes Tomber) with a crushing release “La Saignée”. Featuring a lush and yet demoralizing sound, this outfit continues the antics of their previous band’s first two releases and delivers over 30 minutes of captivating Black Metal.

    Only featuring two tracks, the release opens with the title track, unleashing 20 minutes of an emotional rollercoaster. Featuring some elements of early Alcest, the atmosphere is quite dense and yet lush and expansive. Alongside crafty riffs and fierce raw onslaughts of harsh Black Metal scream, this song perfectly balances melody and aggression while creating a captivating backdrop to some spoken word sections, dramatic tempo changes and even some shoegazey passages alongside dreamy clean vocals. All of this with a very cathartic and expansive style.

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    Izrod - Ulica, trnje i kamenje (2025)

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    Delivering a swift kick to the nuts, today we have Izrod and their crushing EP “Ulica, trnje i kamenje”. Featuring 18 minutes of punishing Black Metal, this Bosnian outfit is ready for war with an incisive and pummeling release. Crafting a dense atmosphere, this EP showcases a very vicious band with a knack for Nihilism and a sound to back it up. If you like bands like Königreichssaal and The Ruins of Beverast and their dense and harrowing take on the genre, this release will be for you.

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    Harakiri for the Sky - Scorched Earth (2025)

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    This Austrian outfit has been constantly growing into their melancholic sound with each release, and so has the fan base and reach. With “Scorched Earth”, Harakiri for the Sky reaches a new plateau as their sound is polished, their delivery is impeccable and they still manage to throw in a few curve balls to longtime fans. If you are looking for polished Post Black Metal, this is certainly one of the best releases of 2025.

    Opening with “Heal Me”, we get a very playful melodic mixture of synths, crunchy riffs, and a solid duet between Tim Yatras and J.J. The band’s melancholic capabilities quickly take center stage with the lush “Keep Me Longing” and its nearly 11-minute duration. We particularly enjoyed the powerful riffing that creates very crafty melodies alongside that sense of restlessness that the band always creates with their music. Another perfect example of this is the epic “Without You I’m Just A Sad Song”, another long piece that is full of tempo changes and very cathartic moments, particularly the clean passages.

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    Unreqvited - Pathway to the Moon (2025)

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    As one of the most anticipated releases of 2025, Unreqvited finally returns with the highly melancholic and head turning “Pathway to the Moon”. Perfectly expanding on their Post-Black Metal/Shoegaze style with some more dreamy and ethereal elements, this release delivers over 40 minutes of some of the most engaging and goosebump-inducing music we have heard in quite a while. If you are a fan of the ban or the genre, you will certainly not be disappointed.

    Opening with the ethereal “Overture I: Disintegrate”, we get a very moody start with dreamy clean vocals and lush piano arrangements. This nicely transitions into the fierce “The Antimatter”, which showcases the band’s duality as it quickly escalates into a brutal onslaught of harsh Black Metal frostiness, flanked by lush atmospherics and a very melodic vibe. This song masterfully transitions into more restrained territories, fully unleashing clean vocals alongside dramatic arrangements. Surprisingly enough, this track gave us some later Dimmu Borgir vibes at times.

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