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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Neither entirely unique nor standardized in their impact Italian trio ORGREL return for another markedly melodious yet stoically comprised full-length in ‘The Abyssal Terror‘. The flow of their riffcraft is of immediate interest, generally set as the core melodic device a la label mates Mavorim though their work appears to be inspired by certain sects of late 90’s/early 2000’s French and Finnish black metal. No doubt they are especially good at those longer strokes of neatly shaped tremolo-picked movements, carrying the first three songs into some infamous rouse though once we’ve hit “Horned Tyrant” they begin to break things up into different type of pacing, some variation upon their vocal cadence and even a sort of black n’ roll riff or two which don’t hold up all that well by comparison. The Sargeist-esque swing of “Storming Souls” does eventually stand out a bit and closer “Steel Storm Apocalypse” is appreciably militant in its final escalation though this leaves the middle portion of the album somewhat dry upon repeated listening.

Spend a few minutes with OSGRAEF‘s debut LP ‘Reveries of the Arcane Eye‘ and you should have at least some sense of who’d created it as this record reeks of (likely main songwriter) Alex Poole‘s talents in the realm of black/death metal and R.F.’s (Triumvir Foul, Theurgion, et al.) vocals are instantly recognizable in this application. The one actor I’d not have guessed was actually the fellowe behind Wormlust who provides some manner of ambiance to these pieces. The style here is provocative from the outset, hitting loud and hard a la Musmahhu albeit in the context of black metal sans the HM-2 driven climb. Satisfyingly circuitous, voluminous in its atmospheric spread, and immersive within less formulaic structuring there is a lot to admire about the movement and dark sonic lustre of the trio’s work as they roar and trample through these songs. Though I couldn’t necessarily recall any given riff or movement here off the top of my head there are a few songs here (“Nox Luciferi , Liber Koth” and “Flesh Insignia” esp.) which I’d found myself returning to beyond the first few listens.

When folks send in Bandcamp codes for records that’ve been already released I typically have to toss them on the back-burner for a month at minimum since I work ahead and ‘ready released stuff has one third the reach of unreleased on the internet. So, I hadn’t taken a serious look/listen to Melbourne, Australia-based project OUROBORIC DEITY until earlier this month and it was surprisingly evocative of the included description of “black kosmische musik”, where fairly simple black metal arrangements were created using none of the usual instrumentation and for the sake of infusing them with elements of darkwave as well as krautrock/Berlin school. Artist Siliniez uses analog-sounding synth and electric organ tones to create both menace and psych’d out venture here, something that’ll likely appeal to industrial black metal fans as well as the more sci-fi leaning side of dungeon synth/ambient black metal. Without any guitars or human drums (probably) included my attention span was admittedly limited to start but the post-punk/darkwave inspiration found on “Anomie in Perverse City” and “Age of Vice and Misery” was infectious enough that I’d spent far too much time wrapped up in this one. An immersive, unique conception within its best moments.

Although ‘Songs of Hiraeth‘ is a compilation of songs given to several split releases between 2009-2011 this doesn’t necessarily rule them out as cast-offs or in-betweeners as this era of PANOPTICON would form the foundation for some of their best work. I don’t know that anything they’ve done beyond ‘Kentucky‘ (2012) and ‘Roads to the North‘ (2014) has inspired me as much, and if you enjoy his folken hand there is a new LP (‘Laurentian Blue‘) for you out simultaneously, but these songs generally recall that period of development beyond atmospheric black metal climes into increasingly meaningful and sincere works. Taken as a whole this work is erratic, chaotic in its shifting from ~10 minute post-black sleepers to five minute black metal rattlers but also clearly related on the greater Panopticon timeline. If you are a fan of ‘…on the Subject of Mortality‘ and nearby releases, or you just want these songs on vinyl I’d say definitely pick this one up.

Austrian act RAUHNÅCHT haven’t so drastically changed in the hands of Stefan Traunmüller (The Negative Bias) since the early 2010’s when they’d sort of broken out with their brand of atmospheric/pagan black metal but they have refined to an appreciable point here on album number five. The main draw for my own taste here is the dual rhythm guitar lines carried through much of ‘Zwischenwelten‘ where their arrangements find some appreciable harmony amidst the insertion of synth/keyboards and such. Initially we don’t get as much of the folken side of their work but within the second half of “Das Mark des Lebens” we get at least one strong hit of it along the way. If you are a fan of Lunar Aurora and ‘Microcosmos‘-era Drudkh you’ll likely enjoy this one, though I didn’t find anything so wildly striking that’d commanded deeper listening.

Western German thrashing black metal trio SADISTIC GOATMESSIAH aren’t likely to floor you with style or anything innovative here as they take on a familiar sound… but they do their dirty work quick and cheap with plenty of loud, forceful action on this debut LP. Belted out in barbarous voice and given to occasional black metal grooves fans of Nifelheim, Sabbat and post-2000’s Desaster will appreciate ‘Violence‘ has the right energy, and they cut some decent riffs here and there too, but those ideas quickly begin to hit redundancies and lose some of their impact as the record soldiers on. Songs like “Messiah of Death and Doom” alongside “Curse of Eternal Winter” speak to an enthusiastic and inspired thrashing/speed metal hand but there aren’t a ton of highlights in the running order for my own taste otherwise.

SAKNA is the sole work of Solemn a teenaged Ontario, Canada-based fellowe who spent 2006-2011 creating ‘De Syv Dødssynder‘ before taking his own life. From what I’ve gathered his work was recompiled, mixed/mastered and digitally released through his brother’s efforts back in 2024 and today it receives a double vinyl LP treatment from Hypaethral Records. While the first impression given by this work is that it will be an outright tribute to Sognametal (re: Windir in particular) marked by a unique crossover of folk and black metal muse found on “Del I – Helvete” but lengthier pieces inspired by depressive black metal (“Del II – Skaersliden”), black/doom and other such pursuits strike even harder on the path through.

The work here lives up to the artist’s name in the sense that there is a serious solemnity given to most all of these pieces though we do find some celebratory and aspirational turns within “Himmel” and “Alltid”, partially due to the focus on harmonized lead guitars per the artist’s key interests, there is a Windir cover (“Soknardair”) included just as well. There is a lot of album here at ~65 minutes and some of the extended pieces are certainly taxing at their given juncture, most of them bonus tracks, but overall I think this serves an admirably complete-as-possible document of work that was thankfully saved. When a person passes away it is too easy to miss, or, become overwhelmed by the lifetime of “things” left behind and even harder to tribute what mattered to that person. I’ve much admiration for the amount of work put into making this album a reality as it reflects loudly the life, emotions and aspirations of the creator.

Radiating inner turmoil and the viscerally scraped-out self-examination resultant avant-garde black metal quartet STRIGIFORM depend upon the concussive force of dissonance in clash to convey the splattered, mayhemic psyche intended as the central focus of this debut LP. Named for a genus of poisonous flowers and adorned by a painting depicting some manner of evisceration ‘Aconite‘ is brief in taking effect at just ~34 minutes in stretch but these well-experienced folks (re: Thirst Prayer, Vertebra Atlantis, et al.) do accomplish some admirable potency via always-spiraling detangle lead by the guitar work in particular. That said the earlier portions of the album, well, most all of the whole deal incorporates a strong bass guitar presence which walks along in peak Immolation-esque stagger. Though the full listen largely takes place in one locale and doesn’t necessarily depict wholly separate space ’til closer “Knell of Nethermost Withdrawal” this ends up feeling like a perilous destination and it comes with a bit of a clangorous fight as its third act. The guitar work is somewhat repetitious in effect for my own taste but that doesn’t stop this one from being sublimely entertaining.

Santiago, Chile-based solo act TÉLEOS bring an ancient dramatic hand to melodic black metal on this debut full-length album, an examination of human rationality and the dire paths offered by the fluid nature of experience… explored through philosophical discourse and oft piano-heavy accompaniment. The fellowe behind this project has been fairly prolific since the early 2010’s in various projects but has also contributed to mixing/mastering records from Fatalys, Kexelür, and Ecologist in recent years and you’ll find guest vocalists from each band also featured here. The tone of this record is not fatalistic and in fact ‘Lvmen Deorvm Vltra Lvnam Sitorvm Tandem Evanescit‘ may hit as strident in its charge through mid-paced, sometimes hymnally droning pieces and in this sense the influence of Scandinavian black metal in the very early 90’s can be felt alongside a galloping and tumbling sense of momentum. To my ear this reads as a sort of heavy metal charge in most cases (re: “Solivm In Inani Sempiterni”) but as we hit “Labyrinthvs” it registers as something more subtly atmospheric/symphonic in its trample. Though I get a bit lost in the second half as the song types begin to merge in shape and cadence this is yet a fantastically entertaining, thoughtfully applied black metal record.

If you’d skipped out on Italian duo TENEBRAE IN PERPETUUM‘s latest album because their last record (‘Anorexia Obscura‘, 2019) was a raw, obnoxious eye-crosser beyond their earlier reputation for speed and cruel tradition you’ll likely find this one more palatable… or, less experimental. If you appreciate their earlier Debemur Morti releases such as ‘Antico misticismo‘ that same bullet-speed blasted out ‘Under a Funeral Moon’-level drone exists here without totally commitment to making the listener bleed from the ears. Not every song here hits as well as the last but if you prefer a black metal album to persist with variations on a singular, cold and callous tonal reap then there should be some brilliant immersion to be gained from sitting with this taxing ~44 minute run through ‘Vacuum Coeli‘.

Viamão, Brazil-based solo act TRANCE OF THE UNDEAD return I think nearly five years beyond the last record of theirs I’d reviewed (‘Chalice of Disease‘, 2019) and this one is an EP which collects new material, a re-recording of a song from that first LP, and a solid Mayhem cover. While the fellowe’s work remains submerged in the fog of death worship here there is a bestial whirlwind occurring across these engrossing yet bluntly achieved ~36 minutes. “Retribution for the Dead (Astral Punishment)” is especially lethal in this sense while still managing to be more than a brutally hammered-through drone. Though I think I’m more interested in a new Cursed Excruciation album from the guy I’m way more interested to hear what is next from this main project after hearing these new (and some renewed) songs.

Montreal, Canada-based quartet VESPÉRAL have left behind most, not all of their punkish spirit for this second full-length album as they incorporate more synth/keyboards into dramatic maudlin phrasing. While this congests some parts of ‘La mort de l’âme‘ into crossed-up tonality their work still retains some manner of lament despite some pieces faintly resembling the charge of bands like Departure Chandelier. Side A is kind of dry beyond the first couple of songs, not a mess but still all over the place without clear focus but this is all corrected by the second half where they’re more in stride. “Souffle Glacial” is especially strange per its clean vocal charge, suggesting a sort of post-punk meets street punk informing their overall change on this album. Though I was impressed by their first record back in 2023 this one seems even less sure of what it is, or what they collectively want to do with their sound.

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