Black Metal Essentials: Wolves in the Throne Room, “Two Hunters”

The problem with much of the black metal being produced today is that many bands sacrifice thought and substance on the altar of style. Take Dimmu Borgir. While Dimmu is certainly a good, theatrical metal band, they’re not what I could honestly call black metal. They’re more of a black metalesque Kiss – with intricate songs and style [...]

Black Metal Essentials: Mayhem “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas”

It has been a long, bitter winter and the frostbitten weather and lack of sunlight has given me a seemingly endless craving for black metal. But, in my musical wanderings in the winter woods, I’ve discovered something important — a lot of what passes for contemporary black metal is utter crap. I won’t name names here, but [...]