Eternal Eclipse - Depraved Civilization - (2010) and Extinction and Isolation (2010)

Genre: Raw Atmospheric/Depressive Black Metal from Cascadia

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I record black metal on a Tascam 4-track and this stuff was only available on cassette up until a few days ago. So here I am, putting it up here and I also made a myspace which can be accessed through the "Info" link. Add me if you want. "Depraved Civilization" was recorded in January '10 and was the first thing I've ever recorded. "Extinction and Isolation" is just one song that I recorded a couple weeks ago.

Leech - Against Leviathain! - (2007)

Genre: Cascadian Black Metal

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I got this and Leech's first demo at a show about a month ago. 35 minutes of nature inspired music from one of Cascadia's better bands. This demo is comprised of two tracks with 3 bonus tracks, two of which are live songs, and the last being a speech.

Gnome - Under The Black Moon - (1996)

Genre: Ambient Black Metal

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I suppose I'm posting again now. Especially now that I'm predominantly listening to black metal again. Hello black metal, it's me. Sorry for betraying you.

Gnome is a mysterious one man black metal band from Japan. Two demos and a split were released in the bands career. Under the Black Moon is arguably the strongest release.

Two tracks span 25 minutes in this demo, the first being a black metal song called "La Foret", and the second is an ambient song titled "La Mer". The songs are long but not in any way boring and the production gives an atmosphere that makes me wish there was more recorded material from this project.

Alcest - Ecailles de Lune - (2010)

Genre: Shoegaze/Post-Rock/Black Metal

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New Alcest. Enough said.

Of course, highly recommended.

Alcest/Les Discrets - Split - (2009)

Genre: Shoegaze/Black Metal/Post-Rock

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Info (Les Discrets)
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I'll be gone for the weekend, so I figured I would leave you with a serious post and something to download.

Both Alcest and Les Discrets have new full lengths coming out next month, so here's the split of theirs that came out last November. Alcest brings a bit of black metal influence back in this as opposed to Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde, with unclean vocals back in the mix. Les Discrets have a good post-rock sound and is the project of a member of Amesoeurs. I'm looking forward to hearing more of their material when the full length comes out.

Hakenkreuz Nocturna - Eternal Introspective Winter - (2006)

Genre: Cold Depressive Black Metal

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Monotonous, and atmospheric, Eternal Introspective Winter is the first and only full length album from Italy's Hakenkreuz Nocturna.

I think my favorite thing about this album is that it reminds me of an atmospheric Transilvanian Hunger. The production values are pretty raw (always a plus), the guitar play pretty simple but effective melodies that still manage to show emotion, the vocals are quite grim, and the drums make good use of fast/blast beats, and slow passages.

There isn't one bad song on this album, an overall solid release. It's too bad this band has broken up.

Burzum - Belus - (2010)

Genre: Ambient Black Metal

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It's finally here. Belus is here. I literally got this about 20 minutes ago and as I'm writing this I'm just getting done with the third track "Glemselens Elv", so I don't have much to say yet. The first real song is a new version of the first track off of Daudi Baldr. The vocals are a little bit different from previous albums as it is only natural that a voice changes with age, but the vocals have never been the focus of this music.

As Varg has stated in interviews, this album definitely has a Hvis Lysett Tar Oss/Filosofem feel to it, but it is in no way a copy of either one. As I'm now half way through the 4th track I'm becoming more and more pleased with this album. Burzum is back and with a new unique sound, and so far it's everything I've hoped for.

Because of the respect I hold for Varg I urge everyone to pre-order Belus here.

Strid - End of Life - (1993)

Genre: Depressive Black Metal

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Far ahead of their time, Strid can be considered the pioneers of the depressive black metal sub-genre. They've released 3 songs in total. First this tape, with one 11 minute song entitled End of Life, and a two song EP simply called Strid.

This is recommended of you're curious about the beginnings of the ever growing depressive black metal genre.

Ildjarn - Forest Poetry - (1996)

Genre: Raw Black Metal

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Ildjarn, in my opinion, is one of the more respectful bands from Norwegian scene in the early 90's. A one man band, Ildjarn plays a very raw, minimalist style of black metal. This album in particular is very raw to the point that it's unlistenable to most, and most of the songs sound quite similar, but in this case it just makes the album as a whole stand out more.

Ildjarn recorded until 1997, and officially ended in 2005. The main motivation for ending the band is that his 4-track broke.

Through The Pain - Time Heals Nothing - (2009)

Genre: Depressive Black Metal

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This is the first full length from Through The Pain. Here we have four tracks of slow, depressing black metal that at times is somehow hopeful. Dwell In Agony and Absence of Will are the two tracks that stand out.

A great debut full length for fans of depressive black metal.

Velvet Cacoon - Genevieve - (2004)

Genre: Ambient Black Metal

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55 minutes of trance educing droned out ambient black metal. Portland's Velvet Cacoon is one of the most notorious controversial black metal bands in the modern scene, but blah blah blah, we've heard it all a million times. They're one of my favorite bands and this album in particular is one that originally sparked my interest in black metal.

Guitar noise will drone on and on as the drums pound on the down beats while Josh, sounding like Gollum, will whisper strange incantations.

I highly recommend this one if you don't already have it. In my opinion, the best ambient black metal album of last decade.

Alcest - Tristesse Hivernale - (2001)

Genre: Black Metal

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Everyone should be familiar with Alcest. Here is the first demo before it was a solo project and involved members of Peste Noire. This one definitely has a more "black metal" sound than later releases.

Amesoeurs - Ruines Humaines - (2006)

Genre: Black Metal/Post-Rock

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We all should be familiar with Neige (Alcest, early Peste Noir, ect.). Here is another Neige project formed in 2004. This is Amesoeurs first release, a 3 song EP. I came out in 2006. You'll hear a very melodic black metal sound on this EP with post-rock, and even some post-punk influences. The last track is noteworthy for it's mostly an acoustic arrangement and female vocals.

Korium/Trist(Cze) - Split- (2007)

Genre: Raw/Atmospheric Black Metal (Korium) - Depressive/Atmospheric Black Metal (Trist)

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First off I'm mostly just posting this two song split for the Trist track. So, this starts off with the Korium track called Drowned in the Lake of Marble Crosses. This is raw atmospheric black metal with a much heavier sound than what you'll hear on the Trist song. The vocals are lower growls, and the guitar provides some alright riffs throughout its 13 minute length. Overall, nothing really blew me away on this one.

Now, as just mentioned the Trist song is why I'm posting this. It's titled Snění, which translates to "Dreams" or "Dreaming" in Czech, and this alone is a good description of the song. It's very dreamy, the guitar drones on and on throughout in a way that reminds me somewhat of the song "To Here Knows When" by My Bloody Valentine at times. The screams are painful, and the drums and guitars monotonous. Although Trist is put into the "Depressive" black metal category the riffs here are contemplative and in a way, uplifting.

This is highly recommended for the beautiful song Snění by Trist.

Draugadróttinn- Where The Sea Gives Up Its Dead - 2010

Genre: Black Metal/Shoegaze
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Here's a nice gem I came across tonight. This is what seems to be the first and only release so far from Draugadróttinn, a one man band from Montana, USA. There are 4 droney songs of fuzzy guitar, super distorted vocals, and the occasional acoustic thrown in. There's a definite Alcest and Drudkh influence here and I would highly recommend this to any fan of that sound. I hope to see more from this project in the future.

Self-Inflicted Violence - Fell Into The Veil Of Darkness and Extinction (Compilation)- 2009

Genre: Depressive Black Metal/Shoegaze/Post-Rock
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Great compilation of two demos from the UK's Self-Inflicted Violence. They released a full length in December '09, but these demos are a much better listen.