N.B.B.M.N. is Nothing But Black Metal November, an annual series of short review columns which I’ve been administering since 2015 in various venues. It was initially inspired by online acquaintances who’d often spend November “only listening to black metal” or at least generally catching up on the releases they’d missed throughout the year until the well ran dry. This year I’ll curate a (mostly) alphabetical list beyond scouring old e-mails and Bandcamp. In an attempt to be more conversational these are more easygoing and casual than longform reviews, so relax and think for yourself. — If you find something you dig go tell the band on social media and support them with a purchase. If you’d like your music reviewed, read the FAQ and send promos to: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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Once again aiming to pull the human soul back to primal Olympia, Washington-based duo FAUNA return after thirteen years for a fourth full-length album which takes inspiration from the most ancient cave paintings known to man. ‘Ochre & Ash‘ relights their curious take on “Cascadian”-adjacent atmospheric black metal with alternating ambient rituals and longer-form guitar driven songs. Their work here takes a walk from cavernous realms (“Nature and Madness”) to sprawling release (“Labyrinths”) and some manner of cyclic transference beyond death. The most stunning piece here is of course the ~23 minute conclusion per “Eternal Return” with its chorale in the final third and extended intro though I’d enjoyed the entombment of “Nature and Madness” nearly as much. For an hourlong record from a band I’d forgotten existed this was surprisingly entertaining, a yank back in time from a couple of different angles.

It’d been the album cover art that’d drawn me to check out this latest EP from Netherlands-based solo act FÍR, a fairly new but prolific generator known for raw black metal/ambient fusion. First impressions dictated ‘Het sinistere oog‘ bears a traditional approach a la the drone of the early second wave while inserting their own atmospheric drift sans any too-forceful delivery. The weight of this release is carried through their guitar work which depends upon its flow between points of morbid suspense toward easier-going arcs and back again where unease and bopping jog-paced could thrum could be considered at once. “Eeuwige nacht op de horizon” is an example of this trade working incredibly well and “Wapen van elementaire duisternis” shows the potential for the impact of the song to fade over time within this type of oscillation. Not exactly my kind of deal but their work is very well executed and curated overall.

Turku, Finland-based duo FLAGG once again stab deeply at both the malevolent and melodic on this third full-length album sparking up ‘Diabolical Bloodlust‘ with one of its more inspired pieces, “Storming the Gates”, to great effect. From that point there are plenty of pieces which give room to breathe, “Morningstar Rising” for example carries a feasible mid-pace even with the rocketing hands of drummer Krzysztof Klingbein in tow, yet the vocals just don’t do anything here for me as a sort of backgrounded but always escalated crowing atop each movement. None of this is unusual for black metal in any sense but in this case vocal placement detracts from the directive of these arrangements for my own taste. It isn’t a bad album at all, though, another sharply writ but not exclusively traditional approach from the artist which makes good use of keys without fully cheesing out.

Although the name of solo atmospheric black/doom metal project FRYKTELIG STØY is Norwegian the solo artist behind it, Em Støy, is based out of Victoria, Australia and is probably best known for early contributions to black metal band Thrall. I’d generally had difficulty finding much of anything to say about their second LP ‘Incandescent‘, a perfectly decent atmospheric doom record which carries some manner of atmospheric sludge expanse (see: “Radiant”) while carrying a very “black metal lite” feeling through just a couple of songs, such as opener “Black Swan”. While I felt there were sound ideas here, such as the dissociative clangor of “The Ocean” or the haunting “Guide”, their execution is strained by ambition and particularly with regard to the vocals. Without any one clear knack on offer their efforts all become a bit backgrounded and despite a decent showing in terms of variety.

Swedish blackened death metal quartet GAM were originally known as Gävle-based troupe Vulture but after releasing a couple of EPs back in the 2010’s changed their name before releasing their debut LP back in 2019. That debut was pretty damned loud, a maximal approach where all elements were not only cranked but battering away at a sort of Marduk (or, Behemoth?) inspired approach to extremity. That much still rings true for this EP where songs like “Wounds of God” aren’t necessarily hitting Panzer division levels of slap but aim for stuffing the ear with as much of a wall of sound as possible. It doesn’t work nearly as well as the slower-burning grind of “Begging for the Whip” or the moshable, Jungle Rot-esque rub n’ rush of “Worship and Obey” after it but the full effect was compelling enough once I’d sat with all four pieces. If they’re not aiming for any sort of nuance I suppose they could go a lot harder at it, the whole deal hits far too middle of the road for my own taste.

Ukrainian black metal legendry HATE FOREST return with an unrepentant, brutally scratched-out seventh full-length album in ‘Against All Odds‘, a showing of strength through absolute force which punishes the ear throughout its ~36 minute run. While I’ve been hoping for more Precambrian-style attacks over the last half-decade it has been wild enough to not only see this band return with a prolific release schedule but also make a bloodied mess of it with often less-than dynamic movement. The album title suggests clear enough the feeling meant to be conveyed by their grey-skied blizzarding through eight songs, an affront which is illustrated with due aggression. While the range expressed within their 2000’s releases is not reconstituted here we instead get an immediate, reactive black metal album which represents now rather than an accumulation of all traits and from my point of view this is a good choice in that it flows with suitably defiant energy rather than drowns in people-pleasing nostalgia.

Though they’ve undergone some serious refinement in terms of production values and road-tightened performance Rogaland/Bergen, Norway-based black metal quartet HEIMLAND still generally resemble the tradition of pagan black metal to some strong degree on this second full-length album. ‘Der Torv Moeter Hav‘ doesn’t dabble in keyboards or an outright folken edge so much as their own straight forward cut but that shouldn’t indicate they’re calling back to the usual classics. Here each song revolves around some manner of melodic lilt, with a few even breaking into what I’d consider black n’ roll interruptus (“Spre Mine Asker”) which to me recalls a couple of specific scenes of the late 90’s… without becoming stuck there in devout purpose. In this way think of Vried or Taake more than anything else as a general starting point. In terms of rallying more riffs than their debut, which I’d reviewed in full back in 2023, this record is a success as it generates more consistent interest overall. With that said it is probably too focused, lacking more than a “modern” atmospheric take on nostalgic sounds.

You’re a days ride beyond the last village, your horse is exhausted and your faculties are barely firing as you take refuge within a cursed fucking castle… This third full-length album from French musician Hyver (Tour d’Ivoire, Véhémence, et al.) is not just about the music, which is exceptional black metal/dungeon synth in its own right, but rather about the adventure it supplies as a sort of Choose Your Own Adventure or dungeon crawling mini-campaign which is presented in both English and French versions depending which you grab. What this means in practicum is potentially vexing on paper, basically narration provides choices in short dungeon synth pieces where you might select the fourth or seventh track as your choice where to go next within the castle. This means you’ll do yourself no good listening in order since the path is non-linear in every case. I am the exact right level of nerd to enjoy this process enough to run through every choice and I think it is not only brilliant but, yes… “fun“. If you decide to simply hang with the music here you’ll find the experience no less valuable as entertainment. If I could criticize anything here it is probably that the English script needed another pass to correct tense in just one or two instances.

Kristiinankaupunki, Finland-based solo act JUMALKYRPÄ were recommended to me as a melodic black metal band with a “weird soul” earlier this year and I would likely qualify that description with atmospheric bedroom black metal to some degree. Ostrobothnian Dweller‘s vision on is simple enough, an less than equal dance between floaty atmospheric dawdling and the inevitable burst into faster, often frantically scraped out movements. When it works (“Pimeyden Kyrvän Siunaus”) it is compelling but when it doesn’t (“Golgatan Riemujuhla”) it all flops out into an awful mess. Even if it isn’t all that serious or accomplished at face value there is a sort of personality to this work, helped along by the absurdly shit album art, which I’d found worth spending some time with.

If you remember the vocalist I was complaining about on Flagg‘s album earlier here he (Tyrant also of Malum) is again but this time being brilliantly suited for the ever-prolific Hyvinkää, Finland-based project KALMANKANTAJA who achieve their 28th full-length album (including one re-recording) since 2011. ‘Musta Aurinko‘ is an atmospheric black metal epic from a band I know very little about beyond maybe one Rauta interview from ~five years ago but it seems every few years I am rewarded by checking back in for another record in a different shape or style, in fact this is just the first of two released thus far. There is some manner of reach for the unattainable here, at least on standout “Rautavitsan Veritaika” to start, where the motion they create within cyclic-struck progressions creates the illusion of glowing ascent. This persists to some degree throughout but of course the title track (and “Hirsipuun Alla”, “Korottu Maa”) should cue your ears into something closer to Summoning inspired marching orders and folken black metal verses. I’d really enjoyed this album for that general soundscape, the fantastical glow that surrounds their work was appreciably immersive.

Tucson, Arizona-based solo project LAZER THRONE definitely have a shit name and thier first EP’s aesthetic was some generic AI looking trash… but you can tell the fellow behind it has put some serious time and money into making it a thing beyond that point. For this debut LP, ‘Tomb of the Lunar Oracle‘ we find the usual “funderground” USBM traits where a rock guitar solo is inevitably the focus of each song but but the groan and glisten of cosmic synth does a fine enough job of breaking the monotony of atmospheric tremolo-picked guitar shapes up. It is ultimately bedroom (or, “man cave”) black metal at the end of the day and lacks any real substance per the shortcuts it takes in terms of composition, watering all down with gimmickry and bluster, but I’d found “Dark Star Drinks Her Radiant Tears” a string enough lurch through a melodic/symphonic black idea in this context. The shredding included here is generic and a pain to return to on repeat listens, none of it arriving with a modicum of unique voicing, and this is probably the main reason I’d dropped this one nearly as soon as I’d picked it up.

LISTLESS is a solo project from Vancouver, Canada-based musician Aidan Crossley who is best known as the guitarist/vocalist for post-black metal band Liminal Shroud. On ‘Listless‘ he takes on the uncertain realm of depressive black metal, or, where the tentpoles for the sub-genre interact heaviest with dark metal and depressive rock traits. The intent here is something expressive rather than purely wounded and distant, so, while there are moments which resemble Woods of Desolation (“Bloodstained Memories”) to my ear this record generally speaks more to classic Lifelover in a less bloodied-up way (see: “Burning Sky”). What is missing here is the jagged, unlistenable edge of the underground, the over-dramatic ramping of desperation that’d birthed this sector. That isn’t to say it isn’t a solid album as the tone of the album matches its title but man, hitting “Futility” which is I believe just a couple fighting/breaking up over an instrumental just completely takes me far and away from what interests me about black metal or music in general. I hate to be the “Depress me, bro.” guy but I wasn’t feeling it.

Poznań, Poland-based quintet MARTWA AURA return with what is probably my least favorite, or, most unsettling album cover art of the year via ‘Lament‘. The music itself is initially rowdy yet bleak black metal which quickly begins to hone in on its own veering dementia, a claustrophobia inducing roll through largely fast-battered and swerving black metal grooves which make good use of both moderne and classic guitar temperament. The more dissonant they veer within songs like “Lament Drugi” the better whereas others trot toward blackened death brutality for better or worse. When they break up the wallop of the first half around “Lament Czwarty” things become a bit more compelling, they begin to take a few deeper breaths but overall these folks are locked into their attack to the point that the momentum cannot be broken. I don’t know if the drummer needed to hammer the fuck out of every second of this album but it was a solid enough beating either way.

Ghent, Belgium-based black metal quartet MATAVITATAU have devised some admirably flung nuance, their own ear-blurring brand of slow burnt ancient spellcraft here within these Latin-writ and eerily stepping pieces. ‘Numen Nescio‘ initially comes across tentative per its pacing, particularly via opener “Posse Mori” but this eventually resolves into something Urfaust-esque in sprawl (via “Elicior Tenebris”) as they beguile with each dramatic telling. The longer each thread takes to unravel the more interesting the context at least in the sense that the lyrics (in Latin) are pulled from the ancient world and given their own moment to depict here via largely gloomed-out vibes. While the guitar work has a sort of tentative atmoblack drawl to it it usually hits, for example “Calcanda Semel Via Leti” in particular goes flying as far overboard as possible and still reels in a decent riff.

‘Tidloes Naadesloes‘ is the type of record I’m always hoping to find in a late-year pile of overlooked dregs, some manner of representation for the riff-driven side of Norwegian black metal with menace set behind its eyes. Granted this fifth full-length album from the band is neither stock second wave gear nor a sheer flurry of attacks but instead carries its own groove from the start, particularly “Doedsfugl” where the bass guitar is a featured brilliantly in the context of a slower creeping piece. The more melodic streams of thought which direct “Hvisk Deg Vekk”, “De Sviande Ord Vaagar Ikje For Sitt Liv” and “Udyr” stood out to me most upon repeated listens but the first three or so songs on the album are likely a mostly complete representation of what to expect from the full listen otherwise.

The best is saved for last here as we hit upon actual riffs here via the debut full-length album from Athens, Greece-based black/thrash metal trio NECROCHAKAL who channel the late 80’s Brazilian and German scenery of old as part of their suggesting inspiration. This is foremost an imposing, hard-as-nails extreme thrash record built around ripping speed and tight performances whether they’re cutting through a two minute flamethrower (“Scapegoat Crucifixion”) or the bestial black abyss of “Orgies of Lust on the Mount of Skull” there are no smoke and mirrors applied to their action. I think I’d hit “Satanas Rebirth” and I was already in, not only for the guts-ripping quality of their path through the main riff but the sharp production values applied, particularly the clarity of the rhythm section. Otherwise the appeal here is again the riff and their work is more than worthy in its attack.

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