Then comes “atmospheric black metal”. This tag alone bears a lot of weight, and I’ve decided to include all of the post-black and blackgaze releases under that umbrella term. There might also hide a few “avant-garde” or more experimental entities in there, but at the end of the day it was an arbitrary call to include them or not. When I first started this blog, I wasn’t much into black metal, but it’s one of the first new genres to which I warmed, thanks to the amazingly diverse and creative minds sowing their seeds on the fertile soil of black metal. And so here are the five best albums of 2021, according to me only.
Number Five: Olhava – Frozen Bloom VIDEO an amazing album in 2020, and they did it again in 2021! Congratulations!
Number Four: Windfaerer – Breaths of Elder Dawns VIDEO Breaths of Elder Dawn is an amazing atmospheric album.
Number Three: Der Weg einer Freiheit – Nokturn VIDEO Nokturn is no Finisterre , but it’s damn close! There’s a reason why the intro to the album is titled “Finisterre Ⅱ”. The band explores new territories, which might put off some people, but the album as a whole is an outstanding one in 2021!
Number Two: Cân Bardd – Devoured by the Oak VIDEO Devoured by the Oak . Ethereal, melodic, expansive… This album is a beauty!
Number One: Blurr Thrower – Les Voûtes VIDEO Les Voûtes is everything atmospheric black metal strives to be. The French band’s latest is a masterpiece that ought to be regarded as such and venerated for years to come. It’s emotional, purposeful, and poignant, and flies over all of the pitfalls of the genre. Truly, a gem.
Notable Releases Hover over foreign scripts for pronunciation and romanization.
Sunday, 31 January Aylwin – The Arch Holder 30:28California
Tracklist (click to display) 1. The Arch Holder [30:28]
Friday, 5 February Blurr Thrower – Les Voûtes 39:04France
Read our review.
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Cachot [12:12]
2. Germes Vermeils (feat. Gaétan Juif) [09:47]
3. Fanes [04:46]
4. Amnios [12:19]
O – Antropocene 41:37Italy
Tracklist (click to display) 1. イゾウ (IZŌ) [04:43]
2. Mare Morto [03:40]
3. C. [03:03]
4. Escluso [03:36]
5. Nebbia [05:56]
6. Fine [04:38]
7. Ira [03:42]
8. Crepa [01:53]
9. Era [10:26]
Monday, 15 March Bríi – Sem propósito 56:24DF, Brazil
Tracklist (click to display) Friday, 2 April Olhava – Frozen Bloom 59:01Saint Petersburg, Russia
Tracklist (click to display) 1. The Queen Of Fields [20:15]
2. Adrift [07:41]
3. Frozen Bloom I [14:43]
4. Frozen Bloom II [16:22]
Friday, 16 Spectral Wound – A Diabolic Thirst 40:12Montréal, Québec
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Imperial Saison Noire [05:17]
2. Frigid and Spellbound [07:02]
3. Soul Destroying Black Debauchery [06:20]
4. Mausoleal Drift [09:44]
5. Fair Lucifer, Sad Relic [05:09]
6. Diabolic Immanence [06:40]
Friday, 23 Cold Cell – The Greater Evil 48:33Basel, Switzerland
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Scapegoat Season [07:40]
2. Those [07:35]
3. Open Wound [07:08]
4. Armoured In Pride [06:40]
5. Greatest Of All Species [07:00]
6. Back Into The Ocean [05:37]
7. No Escape [07:16]
Spectral Lore – Ετερόφωτος 76:11Αθήνα , Greece
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Ατραπός [12:42]
2. The Golden Armor [07:33]
3. Initiation Into The Mystery [07:57]
4. The Sorcerer Above The Clouds [11:16]
5. Apocalypse [08:04]
6. Ετερόφωτος [09:30]
7. Terean [19:09]
Friday, 7 May Nature morte – Messe basse 49:31Paris, France
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Only shallowness [08:49]
2. White goat, dark hoof [05:33]
3. Knife [07:24]
4. T.S.O.C. [04:33]
5. Beautiful loss [07:23]
6. Night’s Silence [09:49]
7. Messe basse [06:00]
Thursday, 13 Oriflamme – L’Égide ardente 45:46Montréal, Québec
Tracklist (click to display) 1. La Dernière Aube [01:26]
2. L’Égide Ardente [08:29]
3. Un Mal Ancien [09:44]
4. Espoir Vaincu [01:58]
5. Sacrifices! [07:12]
6. Ultime Rempart [13:52]
7. Une Nuit Sans Fin [03:05]
Saturday, 15 May Panopticon – … And Again into the Light 71:03Minnesota
Tracklist (click to display) 1. …And Again Into The Light [04:25]
2. Dead Loons [11:26]
3. Rope Burn Exit [08:32]
4. A Snowless Winter [12:10]
5. Moth Eaten Soul [07:39]
6. Her Golden Laughter Echoes (Reva’s Song) [01:55]
7. The Embers At Dawn [12:40]
8. Know Hope [12:18]
Friday, 18 June Sundrowned – Become Ethereal 41:35Haugesund, Norway
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Babel [06:44]
2. A Scent Of Glimmer [03:43]
3. Ethereal [05:27]
4. La Tristesse Durera Toujours [05:57]
5. The Eternal [02:37]
6. Ruins [04:46]
7. Monarch [05:18]
8. O Dom Da Fé [07:03]
Friday, 25 June Kollapse – Sult 41:20Aalborg, Denmark
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Drift [05:18]
2. Knæler [06:00]
3. Drukner [07:40]
4. Byrd [05:24]
5. Libido [05:27]
6. Der, hvor jeg tænker, er der altid mørkt [11:31]
Tuesday, 24 August Ambien – Visitations 24:05Fairfax, Virginia
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Grayscale [04:19]
2. Within the Noise [03:47]
3. Likeness of a Wasp [04:13]
4. Torture the Sky [04:49]
5. Green Moon [06:57]
Friday, 27 Our Place of Worship Is Silence – Disavowed, and Left Hopeless 39:25Los Angeles, California
Tracklist (click to display) 1. The Conspiracy Against Cruelty [02:45]
2. Covenant of the Fallen [05:37]
3. Fury Divine [07:58]
4. Disavowed, and Left Hopeless [05:44]
5. Mdłości II [04:03]
6. From The Noisome Pestilence [06:23]
7. The Scourge [07:13]
Windfaerer – Breaths of Elder Dawns 63:30United States
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Oxalá [08:05]
2. Depletion [11:19]
3. A Forbidden Path [01:26]
4. Into the Mist [07:50]
5. Astral Tears [05:47]
6. Starcrossed [09:12]
7. Orchard [01:21]
8. Longing to Ascend [10:10]
9. Entombed in Glacial Waves [08:20]
Sunday, 29 August Trhä – Endlhëtonëg 53:40Unknown
Tracklist (click to display) 1. lhaja endlhëjëdahhe nu jahadlhjanva gjëri ha [09:14]
2. endlhëdëhaj [10:14]
3. endlhëturhën [09:36]
4. endlhëtonëg [24:36]
Friday, 3 September Trna – Исто́к 63:19Saint Petersburg, Russia
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Istok [07:35]
2. Echoes Of The Past [06:43]
3. Shining (feat. Gaerea) [12:42]
4. Burning Bridges, Shattered Dreams [09:00]
5. Hearts Turn To Stone [06:45]
6. Rebirth [07:36]
7. Shining (Instrumental) [12:58]
Friday, 24 September Still – { } 55:08Hull, UK
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Droves [06:07]
2. Continued Suffering of an Endless Night [03:41]
3. We Were Ghosts (All Along) [06:51]
4. All But Lost [04:04]
5. Half Hands Won’t Hold [06:51]
6. A Pendulous Spirit (Part One) – The Great Expanse [04:21]
7. Drift [05:57]
8. Blear, Amidst [06:26]
9. Ever { I.I.MMXVI } [10:50]
Friday, 8 October Eos – Les corps s’entrechoquent 63:09Quebec City, Québec
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Nier le corps, nier les jours [14:59]
2. Sommeil [07:48]
3. Ruines [12:18]
4. L’éther [12:19]
5. L’écho des corps [01:18]
6. Les corps s’entrechoquent [14:27]
Friday, 15 Noltem – Illusions in the Wake 40:49United States
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Figment [08:32]
2. Illusions in the Wake [06:47]
3. Beneath the Dreaming Blue [07:49]
4. Submerged [01:55]
5. Ruse [08:47]
6. On Shores of Glass [06:59]
She Said Destroy – Succession 53:40Norway
Tracklist (click to display) 1. To Ourselves The World Entire [06:13]
2. Eyes Go Pale [04:52]
3. Our Will Be Done [04:24]
4. You Will End [02:38]
5. Greed Witches [04:11]
6. Sharpening The Blade [05:42]
7. All The King’s Horses [04:18]
8. Collapse [04:56]
9. Not Only Bridges [03:59]
10. Ruin [04:05]
11. Succession [08:22]
The Silver – Ward of Roses 41:56Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Tracklist (click to display) 1. …First Utterance [00:54]
2. Fallow [05:30]
3. Breathe [05:01]
4. Vapor [09:17]
5. Gatekeeper [03:24]
6. Behold, Five Judges [06:23]
7. Ward of Roses [04:02]
8. Then Silence… [07:25]
Friday, 22 Épiphanie – L’Aube 37:34Québec
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Ouverture [01:12]
2. Le poids du silence [11:26]
3. Incandescence [05:57]
4. Froids d’hiver – Première partie [05:15]
5. Jours d’été – Seconde Partie [04:50]
6. L’impasse – Douce Brise [08:54]
Feral Season – Rotting Body in the Range of Light 44:47California
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Tied To The Sun [06:33]
2. Methuselah [09:27]
3. Rotting Body In The Range Of Light [07:06]
4. Seized In Emerald Grief [06:17]
5. Thickets [08:21]
6. The Sigil Of Snags [07:03]
Vukari – Omnēs nihil 24:59Chicago, Illinois
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Despondent [05:20]
2. Omnes Nihil [06:57]
3. The Weight of Dejection [03:37]
4. Saturn in the Eighth House [09:05]
Friday, 29 October Vivid Illusion – Vivid Illusion 54:24United States
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Goldenrod [03:29]
2. Tarnished Memories [11:01]
3. Patience [02:03]
4. The Sentinel [07:06]
5. Departure [03:24]
6. Beacon [11:07]
7. First Time Seeing With My Eyes Closed [05:22]
8. Saguaro [10:52]
Friday, 5 November Glassing – Twin Dream 45:33Austin, Texas
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Spire [03:37]
2. Burden [07:01]
3. Absolute Virtue [04:10]
4. Faint [01:18]
5. Twin Dream [06:37]
6. Godless Night [06:06]
7. Doppler [02:20]
8. Among The Stars [03:08]
9. Where Everything Is Still [02:22]
10. True North [04:14]
11. At Long Last [04:40]
Malebranche – Morcelé 52:11Montréal, Québec
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Lente intrusion d’une épine qui ne sortira jamais [08:27]
2. Urgence aveugle, lames glissantes [06:43]
3. Mise à nue d’une masse inerte [07:40]
4. S’usent les trachées [07:54]
5. Les cendres refroidies ne sont bonnes qu’à boire [08:05]
6. Morcelé [13:22]
Mystras – Empires Vanquished and Dismantled 63:00Αθήνα , Greece
Tracklist (click to display) 1. The Nightingale [04:15]
2. On The Promises Of Angels [07:57]
3. Ah Ya Zein [02:12]
4. The Fall Of The Kingdom Of Jerusalem [14:26]
5. Cheragheh Zolmezalem (Oppression’s Fire) [07:36]
6. To The Builders! [09:49]
7. Wie Schändlich Es Ist [02:19]
8. The Favor Of The Saints [06:47]
9. In The Company Of Heretics [07:39]
Friday, 12 Cân Bardd – Devoured by the Oak 57:36Switzerland
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Echoes of the Moss [05:02]
2. Une Couronne de Branches [10:31]
3. Devoured by the Oak pt.I [08:34]
4. Devoured by the Oak pt.II [08:50]
5. Crépuscule [09:52]
6. Spleen by the Pond [02:46]
7. Autumn Shore [08:25]
8. Blomsterkransen [03:36]
Friday, 19 Der Weg einer Freiheit – Nokturn 47:39Würzburg, Germany
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Finisterre II [01:50]
2. Monument [06:45]
3. Am Rande der Dunkelheit [08:17]
4. Immortal [06:50]
5. Morgen [07:00]
6. Gegen das Licht [11:12]
7. Haven [05:45]
The Temple – The Temple 41:28Auckland, New Zealand
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Prophecy Omega [09:13]
2. Hell Incarcerate [06:05]
3. Martyr Of The Tyrant [06:27]
4. Pale Horse Of Pestilence [04:45]
5. Wolf In The Vortex [07:29]
6. Void Of Scars [07:29]
Friday, 26 November Kaátaíra – Inpariquipê 48:11Brasilia, Brazil
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Tiquindê [08:39]
2. Inpariquipê [10:31]
3. Ãráiãsaiê [07:04]
4. Dundararaiê [08:21]
5. Iasá [13:36]
Friday, 3 December Aquilus – Bellum Ⅰ 61:27Melbourne, Australia
Tracklist (click to display) 1. The Night Winds of Avila [02:12]
2. Into Wooded Hollows [08:54]
3. Eternal Unrest [13:14]
4. Moon Isabelline [05:36]
5. The Silent Passing [08:37]
6. Embered Waters [03:58]
7. Lucille’s Gate [09:08]
8. Empyreal Nightsky [09:48]
So Hideous – None but a Pure Heart Can Sing 32:00New York, New York
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Souvenir (Echo) [06:22]
2. The Emerald Pearl [05:55]
3. Intermezzo (3) [04:31]
4. Motorik Visage [11:12]
5. From Now (Til The Time We’re Still) [04:00]
Friday, 10 December Ethereal Shroud – Trisagion 64:15UK
Tracklist (click to display) 1. Chasmal Fires [27:47]
2. Discarnate [13:54]
3. Astral Mariner [22:34]
Best of 2021 01/01 – Best of Afrobeat
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