New WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM Song: "Celestite Mirror"

My lords!

Great news comes forth from the throne room! Marco black metal stalwarts Wolves in the Throne Room have just unveiled a song from their upcoming album Celestite. This is set to be a departure from their old sound, yet still a familiar venture for WitTR fans: the duo's new album is going to be an experimental, instrumental work tethered to the themes and vibrations of their seminal 2011 opus, Celestial Lineage. The newly released track, called Celestite Mirror, sounds extremely promising: a vast, expansive ambient journey through dense woods, thick fog and bone-chilling blizzards; atmospheric synths, discrete bits of noise and barely distinguishable electronic ambiances all layer one on top of the other to create a magnificently beautiful work of art. 

You can consider me stoked for Celestite, which comes out on July 8th. This is going to be one of the best albums of 2014. Can't wait to hear it all! Check out the new song below and let us know what you think.

PLANKS - Funeral Mouth (2012)

Another band came by way of astute hardcore aficionado Volo, PLANKS hail from Mannheim, Germany and they play an eclectic mix of suffocating yet enthralling music. I wouldn't exactly describe it as Marco black metal, even though the post-rock elements and occasionally emotional lyrics would tempt me to. PLANKS cleverly enrich their music with long tremolo-picked parts which remind me of black metal, pounding doom-metal bits, as well as fast, crunchy riffs that bring some welcome aggression to the mix. The vocals are pretty much angry barks in the style of oh-so-many metallic hardcore bands, but hey, I can't really complain about that, can I? 

Instagram band pics. Can't fuck with that, either.

Luckily, this German trio does an outstanding job of combining these elements and making them fit well together, creating a really atmospheric record that's likely to appeal to a pretty wide range of tastes. Alternatively, you could ditch Funeral Mouth and go for their 2010 album The Darkest of Grays, if you'd like to skip the emotional foreplay and go straight to having your face fucked off by a much heavier sonic beast. Shit is INTENSE. 

Whichever route you wanna go, you can find it all on the PLANKS Bandcamp page, along with a whole bunch of split releases and stuff. Plenty of putrid meat to be gnawed off these bones.

Hope Drone - Hope Drone (2013)

TZEEEAC hall-of-famer and Tumblr scubadiver Gherasim was on a post-rock binge this weekend and sort of passed the bug to me, too. He showed a cool melodic post-rock band I can't remember right now and before I knew it, I had already listened to a bunch of bands and my day had gone by inexplicably. But hey, I just finished all my school work for the time being and I'm enjoying a week off everything, so I can afford to waste some hours listening to 16 minute songs and reading old newspapers.

Obviously, my mutant brain can't remember anything I listened to in the morning, so I'll just tell you about what I'm listening to right now, which is Hope Drone. This four-piece band comes all the from from Brisbane, Australia and it embodies the definition of post-black metal. Huge, sprawling distorted guitar riffs unfold like a vast jagged landscape clouded by a thick layer of fuzz. Rumbling drums bring forth a sense of unease and urgency. Touching melodies occasionally escape from under the blanket of murk and echoed screams erupt over this dismal place. The one-word song titles stand as testament to the bare-bones approach of Hope Drone. Nothingness, abandonment, death, silence, despair and hopelessness permeate the lyrics and cement the unnerving atmosphere of this album.

I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone finding him or herself in a foul mood. It might lead to bad thoughts. Still, this should be listened by yourself, in the dark, with the volume cranked all the way up. It'll take you places.

Sun Worship - Surpass Eclipse (2013)

Who's up for a quick Marco black metal fix? Sun Worship are an enigmatic band from Germany who apparently only release 2-song EPs. Their latest offering Surpass Eclipse consists of almost 14 minutes of post-black metal melodies delivered with great passion and skill. The atmospheric tremolo riffs abound, the drumming is heavy and hypnotic, the guitar tone is more buzzy than Marco after drinking a cup of coffee, the vocals are high screeches buried in the mix and I'm willing to bet the lyrics are about the sun.

Sounds fun? It is, and it shows a band with great potential. Check out their self-titled EP as well then join me in hoping they are going to release a full-length album sometime. I'd definitely like to hear more from this band.

Recent Shit #6: Marco black metal

2013 will definitely go down in my own history book as the year I got back into black metal. After getting srsly bored with TRVE black metal and all the stupid corpsepaint and lyrics about killing yourself for Satan or whatever, I thought black metal was forever lost on me. And so it was, until I started exploring the other side of black metal, the one where the black, thick murk of black metal is mixed and matched will all sorts of wonderful things, like drone, ambient, post-rock or even electronic trance beats.

There are many sub-sub-genres of this type of music (post-black metal, atmospheric black metal, cascadian black metal and the list goes on), but I feel they are best described by the term Marco black metal. Meaning black metal that Marco could potentially listen to without being scared, black metal that he could relate to, because it's being played by goofy guys in plaid shirts and skinny jeans (like Liturgy, see above)  instead of some Norwegian freak with blood gushing out of his mouth. Black metal for the young, modern listener. 

So, in this Recent Shit column (it's been a while since I did one of these), I'm going to briefly talk about some of my favorite Marco black metal albums that I've listened to lately. So plug in your earbuds and read on, hipsters! This is all for you. 

deafheaven - Sunbather (2013)

deafheaven play raw, melodic post-black metal that's not afraid to get all emotional on you. Their singer, George Clarke, looks like a dude from Mad Men and seeing a guy dressed in tight jeans and a collared shirt scream and spit on stage is some next level shit, as far as black metal is concerned. One of the main selling points of this band, apart from the hypnotic instrumentals and snarling vocals that are perfectly buried in the mix, is the lyrical content. Songs about estranged father figures or being a kid and fantasizing about a perfect dream house are not your usual black metal-fare, but then again, neither is this band. Sunbather is their highly-anticipated sophomore album and it pretty much delivers everything I'd hoped for. The whole album was streaming in full on Pitchfork Advance, but now it's gone. FUCK!

Dragged Into Sunlight - Hatred for Mankind (2009)

This is cheating, kinda, because Marco wouldn't be caught dead listening to Dragged Into Sunlight, but they have become one of my favorite bands ever. This album is one of those affairs where every element is perfect and fits amazingly well within the whole. The buzzing chainsaw guitars, the superbly varied drumming and the absolutely vile vocal delivery make Hatred for Mankind an instant black metal classic. Also, Boiled Angel is one of the best song names ever. 

Altar of Plagues - Teethed Glory and Injury (2013)

I hesitate to even call this experimental black metal because that usually makes me think of weird black metal played with dulcimers and didgeridoos, but this album is, indeed, rather twisted, which is what the cover art brilliantly suggests. All I can say is that it takes more than a few listens to properly process it, but I think the extra effort is worth it. There are many things to be discovered here. Take the first step.

Coffinworm - Great Bringer of Night (2012)

Coffinworm take a more standard approach, in that their black metal is seamlessly fused with doom and sludge elements. It's violent and pitch black and extremely well produced. And they have a song called Spitting Into Infinity's Asshole. Need I go on?

Alda - Tahoma (2012)

If Agalloch is the soundtrack to winter, then Alda is the soundtrack to spring in the mountains. It's a similar brand of hypnotic, highly atmospheric black metal with some folk touches, only it has a warmer feel to it and makes you feel all cozy. The 14 minute album closer Wandering Spirit is my favorite track, but the whole album is solid. And I love the cover art. I mean, look at the faces on those trouts. They're absolutely mortified that they have found a human skull in their river! 

Ash Borer - Ash Borer (2011)

Cool name, cool band. These guys are pretty popular and I don't really understand necessarily why, but their music is totally legit so who cares? Huge, sprawling soundscapes of misery and hope are laid out through atmospheric tremolo-picked notes and venomous vocals and I enjoy them immensely. Get enthralled.

Vestiges / Panopticon - Split  

Finally, there's this fantastic split between Vestiges and Panopticon. The first is a young band formed in 2010 playing atmospheric black metal about nature and stuff. And they're pretty damn good at what they do. Their side of the split is made up of two songs flowing seamlessly one after the other, morphing into one single journey through the woods. As for Panopticon, you might remember it as that one-man band who made that banjo black metal album about coal miners in 19th century Kentucky. On this split, however, Austin Lunn is going on a more traditional route and conjures up two beastly tracks of buzzing tremolo riffs and anguished screams, as well as a Suicide Nation cover. Everything available right here.

Alright, this is it so far. Please, let me know what you think of these bands. Is Marco black metal the best new trend in metal? I certainly think so! I'm always on the hunt for more bands that sound like this, so feel free to drop me any recs here or on Facebook. 

Until next time!

Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain (2006)

Possibly the quintessential Marco black metal album, Ashes Against the Grain by Agalloch is a true masterpiece of atmospheric black metal with post-rock and shoegaze elements. I'm 99% sure that Marco would have no trouble at all listening to this and that he might actually enjoy it during a forest trip. After all, the music is as far removed from black metal as possible, with only the tremolo riffs reminding us of its ancient ancestry, as well as the slightly growled vocals, which are more soothing instead of grim and threatening. Also, there are is no obnoxious Satanic imagery to be found here. Only blissful lyrics about nature, mountains, lakes, forest and walking naked through the snow. It's okay, Marco, there's nothing to be afraid of.

I might see them live in about three weeks or so. If I do, I'll be sure to write a long-winded report of that magical evening. Until then, I leave you with their bandcamp page. Shhh... no tears, only dreams now.

Austere - To Lay Like Old Ashes (2009)

Today's Marco black metal feature is Austere, a project of the highly prolific Australian musician Tim Yatras. This has got to be one of my favorite black metal albums ever, for several reasons:

• It's atmospheric as fuck. 
• Despite being sometimes labeled as depressive black metal, it's probably some of the most uplifting-sounding black metal you will ever hear. 
• The drumming is super nice, full of various fills that manage to keep things interesting for the whole duration of the rather long tracks. 
• The vocals, man! Creepy, melancholic and uniquely melodic, Tim Yatras' pterodactyl shrieks complement the beautiful music perfectly. 

Sadly, Austere's output was limited to only two full-length albums and a handful of small releases. I will tell you right now, this music is downright addictive and it's perfect night-time listening so, if you crave more of it, allow me to direct you to Germ, Tim Yatras' latest solo project, which is just like Austere, except infused with electronic trance music. It is just as amazing as it sounds. 

http://eisenwald.bandcamp.com/album/to-lay-like-old-ashes

deafheaven - Roads to Judah (2011)

Guys? Hey guys?

I'm getting hella into hipster black metal or, as I like to call it, Marco black metal, because I always imagine that this is the kind of black metal Marco would be able to listen to without hiding under his bed in fear and perhaps even enjoy it. Marco black metal is melodic, emotional, highly atmospheric, it usually has raspy vocals with clean vocals  always being a possibility, it has tons of tremolo-picked riffs and it definitely has some post-rock and shoegaze influences. Marco black metal bands include deafheaven, Agalloch, Wolves in the Throne Room (he even reviewed one of their albums back when we were writing in our native Black Language of Mordor), Fen, Alcest, Liturgy and maybe even these assholes, who didn't even name their band and instead use a black bar as a name.

Expect to see a lot of posts about these bands in the near future and also some stuff about drone metal bands. Shit is about to get real post-modern in here, bitches!

Today we start with the aforementioned deafheaven and their debut album titled Roads to Judah. If you've ever wanted to hear black metal played by people who look like extras for the show Mad Men, this is the band for you and this is their bandcamp page. Look at those fucking hipsters!

An Autumn for Crippled Children - Only the Ocean Knows (2012)

Emotional and atmospheric post-black metal/shoegaze with banshee vocals, hypnotic drumming, sharp guitar riffs and some really cool synth work - An Autumn for Crippled Children have hit me right in the feels with this album. It's pretty much perfect and warrants thousands of repeated listens. 39 minutes of harsh sounds and pure bliss which will guide you through an amazing journey. I suppose it's somewhat similar to Austere, just with shorter songs and slightly dirtier vocals. Hipster black metal? For sure, but it sounds great and I have no trouble recommending this to everyone interested in this sort of music.

Njiqahdda - Serpents in the Sky (2013)

A new year has begun and Njiqahdda apparently have some self-imposed album quota to fill, because they're already released one full-length album and one EP. The former is called Serpents in the Sky and continues the band's tradition of playing mystical, astral post-black metal with hypnotic, drawn-out compositions and reverberated vocals. This one sees the band's sound becoming more conventional and articulated, incorporating lyrics sung in English, recognizable song structures and even guitar solos, which bring their music back into the human realm and away from the cosmic depths the band usually frequents.

It's definitely a solid Njiqahdda album, but there's probably 30 more of them planned for release in 2013, so I guess I'll wait and see what else they come up with before making my mind. You can listen to it in its entirety by clicking on the video below.

Woods of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light (2012)

I deem Canada to be The Bestest Metal Country of Forever. There are so many amazing metal bands hailing from this icy wasteland that it's not even funny anymore.

My most recent discovery - and you can tell by this that I am the master of being late to the party - is the final album by Woods of Ypres, a Canadian band that's had more line-up changes than Marco has had late-night pasta cravings. The main dude behind the band was David Gold, who was the mastermind behind the band. So when he passed away last year, everything crumbled down and Woods of Ypres had to call it quits. I've only known the band for less than 24 hours and I'm already super bummed out about this.

:(

Anyway, Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light instantly hooked me and made me love this band without even having any knowledge about their previous stuff (which is obviously something I will be working on during the next weeks). Woods of Ypres' music borrows from melodic black metal and doom metal, combining tremolo-picked riffs, melodic surges and some flat-out rocking moments into one outstanding and highly atmospheric package. David Gold's clean, double-layered vocals are simply outstanding, having a certain warmth to them that make you feel cozy and comfortable, even when he's singing about always being second-best, loving but not being loved back, dying and becoming nothing and other equally sad subjects. In fact, the lyrics are nothing short of poetry and are one of the main selling points of this band. Some of my favorite bits are these:

(When) nature comes collecting, it doesn't care at all about you

Nature comes collecting, it doesn't care at all to know you

(When) nature comes collecting, it doesn't care to hear your story

Nature comes collecting, and only wants you for your body

(Keeper of the Ledger)

Life... life... so life is precious, after all 

Respect the body, for it is all you really are

Life... life... so life is precious after all 

Protect the body, for it is all that keeps you on

(Death Is Not an Exit)

A moment of silence... but not one moment more

The dead are to be forgotten, we are here to be adored 

In the bleak life and modern times, under grey skies and electric light

Mortal men are living gods, more real than any god ever was

Adora vivos - our people are civilized...

Love the living while they're still alive 

Adora vivos - our people are civilized... 

We shouldn't worship the dead

(Adora Vivos)

David Gold's emotional and deeply personal lyrics are backed by various violin, cello and piano arrangements, which also offer extra layers of melody to every song, further weaving a tapestry of ambiances that left me speechless and teary-eyed upon first listen. Okay, maybe that's too much, but there is no denying that these songs have some miraculous power over me. I think this album will become my rainy day music. 

I'm really glad I ignored my instinct to blow off this album based solely on the cover art (which is pretty bad) because if I hadn't, I would have missed out on what has now become one of my favorite 2012 releases. And it came out on the 13th of February, which also happens to be my birthday. Yay.

Farsot - Insects (2012)

It's November again, which can only mean one thing - I'm freaking out because 2012 is almost over, list-mania is upon us and I realize once again that I have managed to listen to a fraction of all the awesome music released this year. Which is why my write-ups might become shorter for the next month or so, because I will be too busy listening to a lot of shit I've never heard before. 

Speaking of which, we were thinking of doing some more podcasts, since they're fun and we love hearing ourselves talk. Thing is, they are also very time-consuming and we'd rather record new episodes only if there's positive feedback about them. And by that I mean if there's anyone who actually listens to our drunken ramblings. So please let us know in the poll at the top of the page if a new episode of the TZEEEAC Podcast is something you'd be interested in. Thanks!

As for today's post, it's 1 AM and it's the third night in a row when I can't sleep, so I might as well listen to some music from 2012, right? I have chosen Insects by German black metallers Farsot for my nocturnal listening, and it's pretty damn good. Over the course of some long-ass songs, these guys foretell a future in which mankind has finally given in to its destructive instincts and blew the planet apart with their nuclear weapons and reality shows, leaving whatever is left of it to be ruled by insects, the sole survivors of the apocalypse. I don't know what the cover art has to do with all of this, but okay. I guess the music falls in the atmospheric black metal category, given its hypnotic, repetitive riffs and discreet, subdued drumming. I'm not really sure what compels me to listen to it, as it seems pretty standard fare. Must be the tight execution and the no-frills attitude of the band members, who seem perfectly content with keeping it pretty down-low and not making too much of a racket. 

This must be the kind of black metal librarians listen to. 

Germ - Wish (2012)

Black metal is fucking dead.

Okay, okay, back up. That might be a slight overstatement but, at the very best, black metal is squirming around in moribund agony. I mean, does anyone seriously care about traditional black metal anymore? Is there anyone who actually gets excited about grizzly dudes in corpsepaint shrieking about frozen landscapes and dark forests? Maybe there is. All I know is that, save for Inquisition, I can't remember any old-timey black metal band who managed to impress me during the last two years or so.

No, oldschool black metal - TRVE BLACK METAL, if you will - is a disappearing breed. Nowadays, in 2012, the hot thing to do is take the basic elements of black metal and breathe new life into them, by mixing them with elements that belong to other genres. Wolves in the Throne Room came up with the cascadian black metal genre. Njiqahdda took black metal and steered it towards an ambient sort of zone. Panopticon merged black metal and bluegrass, combining fast tremolo riffs with jumpy banjo melodies. Horseback - Marco will fill you in on them later - added drone and some Americana twang to black metal and turned it into something amazing. Dordeduh are doing a great job of rekindling the folk-black metal love. Krallice are awful and boring and I don't really care about what they did to black metal.

So what's the deal with Germ? Well, it's a one-man project from a guy who is also in a bunch of other bands I'm not gonna pretend I heard about. But with Germ, he decided to take black metal places it's never gone before. So how does black metal/post-rock/shoegaze/electronica/synthpop sound? Pretty damn horrible, right?

I can tell you're very excited about all this.

Well, no, because this unlikely mash-up is actually fucking great. There were so many ways this could have gone bad, but everything is just right. It's like a sonic Noah's arc, where a bunch of totally different sounds live in harmony with each other. You have your buzzing tremolo riffs alongside electronic dance beats. Piercing pterodactyl shrieks are followed by emotional clean vocals that remind me of The All American Rejects or some shit. The long-winded song structures of post-rock reside peacefully with short synth-based interludes. The lyrics revolve around space, galaxies, planets and love, man. You can tell that this is a different brand of black metal simply because I showed Marco a song and he liked it.

So I think Wish is one more nail in black metal's coffin. Nobody cares about grim frostbitten necroforests anymore and hipsters have invaded the genre, just like they have invaded everything on this planet. Luckily, some of them manage to actually produce original and interesting music that shatters the boundaries of black metal, reshaping it into whatever the hell they feel like reshaping it. In this case, synth-pop infused black metal. I can dig it. There's no point in crying over the good old days.

Panopticon - Kentucky (2012)

Well, this has taken me by surprise. Black metal has been fused with many things - death metal, thrash metal, crust, hardcore, j-pop, you name it - but so far no one has had the tremendous cojones of mixing it with old-timey bluegrass music.

Cue Panopticon, a one-man band from Louisville, Kentucky, whose latest album, also called Kentucky, manages to successfully marry atmospheric black metal with old fashioned Americana sensibilities, resulting in a brilliant mash-up that will surprise you with how good it actually is. The album's main focus, believe it or not, are the political and social turmoils related to the coal mining industry in XIXth century Kentucky. A strange and somewhat obscure subject, for sure, but also one that hasn't been explored in black metal, as far as I know, which makes it feel fresh and interesting. There are two main categories of songs on Kentucky: 

• Long-ass post-black metal songs that run for over 10 minutes, comprised of distant banshee screeches drowning in a sea of fuzzed-out guitar riffs with varied drumming and flutes and keyboards providing beautiful atmospherics.

• Acoustic banjo-driven working-man anthems with clean, nasal vocals, which, as far as I'm concerned, are the highlight of this album. Especially Come All Ye Coal Miners, with its energetic banjo melodies and beautiful fiddle and upright bass work. 

These two kinds of songs alternate happily on the album without the contrast between them being  too jarring. One minute you're listening to harsh black metal, then the next you're dancing on a tree stump to the sweet sounds of old fashioned bluegrass tunes. It's perfect. It's also gimmicky as fuck, but I'm willing to let that slide and enjoy the music. Kentucky is certainly one of 2012's most interesting albums and I can already picture it on my end of the year list. I can also picture the advent of more strange lyrical themes in black metal: firefighter black metal, police man black metal, sewage worker black metal, hot dog vendor black metal and also the urban black metal tag to encompass it all. Can't wait for these!

and no kfc jokes were made that day

Lurker of Chalice - S/T (2005)

American sweetheart Wrest is best known for his one-man black metal project Leviathan, which I'm sure most of you are already familiar with. Wrest's side project, though, is the one that really interests me. The mysteriously-named Lurker of Chalice is a musical entity that tries to provide another side to Wrest's music. Whereas Leviathan pukes forth hateful, misanthropic black metal about suicide and the world's end, Lurker of Chalice instead focuses on creating sonic landscapes and exploring the ambient side of black metal. It's a damn shame that Wrest chose to focus on his main project while leaving Lurker of Chalice to... lurk in the shadows, having released only one full-length album under this moniker. It had the potential to  become an amazing thing.

Wrest - black metal overlord and professional tattoo artist.
SICK!

The self-titled debut album is a highly atmospheric work, combining the harsh sounds of black metal with ambient elements and various vocal samples. It's not a particularly easy listen, as most songs tend to be on the long side, with repetitive guitar parts and monotone drumming, but giving it a careful listen is well worth the effort. The guitar riffs are dense and claustrophobic and they feel like a thick fog enveloping the songs, through which the drums and vocals are struggling to shine through. Wrest's vocals are deep, echoed growls which are sometimes counterbalanced by various chanting, as well as by the clear vocal samples he employs. The atmosphere, then, quickly becomes suffocating, transporting you to a place of deep sadness and despair, with just a touch of hope and optimism hidden under all the grime.

Songs like Piercing Where They Might, Spectre As Valkyrie Is or This Blood Falls as Mortal Part III are the absolute best on the album. The last one, in particular, has captured me in ways I never thought possible. The song begins with an ambient synth layer on top of which an ethereal female voice softly talks about feeling hollow on the inside. A brief piercing sound follows and gives the signal for the guitars and drums to kick in. The beautiful, moody guitars are cleverly outweighed by Wrest's nightmarish vocals, worming around in the background, while the drums follow a simple pattern that lends a hypnotic quality to the whole track. The song manages to draw you in and compels you to fall into a deep trance - which is why I heartily recommend you to listen to it at night. It'll be magical.

Or horrifying. 

There's no sign that Wrest is ever going to revive Lurker of Chalice, which makes me wanna reach the tenth sub level of suicide (see what I did there?) because this is one of those musical projects that has managed to bury itself deep inside my soul and chain me until the end of time. It's a damn shame, like I said earlier, but I'm retaining a faint glitter of hope that maybe, someday, LoC will make an unexpected appearance. It's possible. Stranger things have happened.

Sigh... Maybe I'll give True Traitor, True Whore a listen.

GGUW - Gegen Gravitation und Willensfreiheit

Here's a short but nonetheless disturbing release of schizoid black metal from the fetid pits of SVN OKKLT.   This 13 minute EP which translates to "Against Gravity and Freewill" is a haunting atmospheric black metal offering that sounds like the soundtrack to waking up from a coma, only to find yourself buried in a wooden coffin deep underground. These three tracks to an excellent job of conveying a sense of dread and despair that would probably turn even the most upbeat person into a manic, suicidal mess.

Also, what the hell is that thing on the cover?

Njiqahdda - Nji. Njiijn. Njiiijn. (2008)

UGH. Please excuse the lack of updates, the final exams are once again upon me and every professor down at the uni is busy finding new ways of raping my sweet butt cheeks. As a direct result of that, listening to dumb metal has taken a back seat to studying my ass off with deadmau5 as background music. That Cattle Decap album is seriously the only metal I listened to during the last week or so, which bums me out. Whatever.

I'm now taking a break to sneak in a post about a band you may not have heard of, lovingly called Njiqahdda. They're an atmospheric/psychedelic/ambient post-black metal duo from the US and they play some of the most soothing black metal I've ever heard. You won't find any of the genre's usual staples here (i.e. lyrics about goats, praising Satan, killing priests, wearing gauntlets and corpsepaint), the band instead dealing with nature, astral projection, meditation, spiritualism, becoming one with the Universe and things like that. I suppose the easiest way to compare them is with Wolves in the Throne Room, but the music is much more quiet and subdued, even though there are plenty of harsh, filtered vocals and pounding drumming to be heard. All their songs have a hypnotic quality to them, employing various chanting vocals and repetitive patterns to convey a sense of grandeur and nothingness. It's like the soundtrack to wandering across an infinite barren landscape or finding yourself stranded on a distant planet.

Njiqahdda's songs are written and sung in a unique language the two nameless members have developed themselves, which is why you're seeing all these weird words that apparently don't mean anything. Add to this the unconventional cover art - check out the artwork for the Nil Vaaartului Nji EP, it's the polar opposite of a black metal cover - and the truckload of various albums, singles and EPs these guys put out every year and your hipster alert should be flashing red, telling you to steer clear of this. I'm going to ask you to go against your better judgment and give Njiqahdda a listen anyway. You might be surprised to find it's pretty damn good.

Or at the very least, it works well as background music for when you have to stay up all night studying for some shitty exam that comes only a day after the last shitty exam. Fuck those dickheads.

Summoning - Oath Bound (2006)

Summoning was one of the first black metal bands I ever really gotten into, in a time when I was younger and the discovery of black metal had opened up a whole new musical territory for me. I went through all the mandatory bands like Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone and all that jazz, but none of them has ever managed to hold a candle to Summoning as far as I'm concerned.

The band consists of just two dudes from Austria who call themselves Protector and Silenius and who are really going the extra mile in preserving their band personas, as their band photos often depict them as otherworldly wraiths enshrouded in cloaks or as dead warriors, impaled to death in some elven forest. They're total J.R.R. Tolkien nerds and it's really hard not to love them for that, because they pour their hearts and souls into making music that captures the amazing atmosphere of the Lord of the Rings books. Relying mostly on melodic keyboards, buzzing guitars that drone in the background, programmed drumming that sounds like a thousand war drums being beaten inside a cave and growling choirs, Summoning's music is the very definition of Tolkien metal.

NERD ALERT!

Words like epic and majestic come to mind when trying to describe their music, but you really have to give it a spin for yourself in order to truly appreciate the authenticity of how they sound. The atmospheric keyboards, the massive drumming, the uruk'hai choir vocals, the lo-fi production, the lyrics that deal exclusively with Middle Earth lore - it's a dork's ultimate musical fantasy.

Oath Bound is my favorite Summoning album, but you really can't go wrong with any of their releases. Many fans claim that Stronghold is their best album, followed closely by Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame, but whatever. They're all exceptional and they all follow the same musical recipe, so you'd better put your mithril armor on and stand up defiantly against the armies of marauding orcs. Summoning is the best soundtrack you could ever hope for.

Oh, and did I mention they wrote a whole song in the Black Speech of Mordor? NERDGASM. Check it
out below.