Tag Archives: avant-garde black metal

Best of Avant-Garde Black Metal 2021

by Dæv Tremblay

Avant-garde black metal is when expectations are defied, challenged. The listener is a gladiator fighting an arena full of wolves, bears, and lions. So, let’s see which albums managed to kill me this year.

Number Five: Issolei – Devouring Current



Devouring Current was released in two parts, but I’ll take it whole. The album is filled with intricate, banger riffs that are only at home on the fringes. While the album is more in line with the norms of the genre than the others on this list, it does such a good job of it that I could not let … Read more

Malthusian – Across Deaths

by Matt Matheson

The Music

The Words

Five years after tantalizing the death metal world with their MMXIII demo and three years removed from another promising EP, Below the Hengiform, Ireland’s quasi-supergroup Malthusian has finally delivered a full-length that lives up to their monstrous potential. Members of the quartet have roots in Altar of Plagues, Mourning Beloveth, and Wreck of the Hesperus, among other acts. Malthusian’s musical mission, as their moniker suggests, is to spread a prophetic warning of overpopulation: the idea that human growth is unsustainable and will lead to a global catastrophe as our resource usage exceeds … Read more

Inhumankind – Self-Extinction

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

The Spanish duo of Pablo Selnik and Àlex Reviriego, Inhumankind, was one of the surprises of the Spring. It would seem indeed rather bare to have a flute and double bass duo alone play songs inspired by black metal! Fortunately, the two musicians are joined by three competent singers: the harmonized vocals of Celeste Alías and Marta Valero, and the growls of Eric Baule. At first, I didn’t expect much — many projects claiming to bridge classical music and metal have come and gone without any memorable release —, but Inhumankind are able to keep … Read more

Chaos Echœs with Mats Gustafsson – Sustain

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Mats Gustafsson is a giant in the world of free and avant-jazz. One of his latest works, on Fire! Orchestra’s Ritual, is just purely mind-blowing, as is the album in its entirety. Seeing his name alongside Chaos Echœs, one of the best contemporary forward-thinking black metal bands — their album Mouvement made it onto our February recommendations —, is just as much as a surprise as it is cause for excitement.

The collaboration, titled Sustain, is made of two parts of equal length that achieve a deranging, dense atmosphere that’s as far from … Read more

Tele.S.Therion – Luzifers Abschied

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Tele.S.Therion is a self-described acousmatic black metal ensemble based in Italy, with members from various European countries. They have been making music since at least 2009, and Luzifers Abschied is their eighth and latest release, from 2017. So… what is acousmatic black metal about, exactly? Simply put, it’s a “veiled” collective improvisation. The band refers to how Pythagorus would give lessons behind a veil, so his students would better concentrate, but I find the analogy here to be questionable, at best. How Tele.S.Therion operates is that each musician will add their improvised performance to a recording … Read more