Having faced their share of tragedy and trauma, Poland's Blaze of Perdition return with their off-kilter style of black metal. Near Death Revelations eschews traditional song structures and catchy riffs, creating discordance in a way that recalls Deathspell Omega as well as the similarly forward thinking Ulcerate and Mitochondrion. The decision to continue after the death of one of their bandmates couldn't have been an easy one; but it's obvious that Blaze of Perdition have a unique take on black metal, one that the sometimes stubbornly derivative genre would be poorer without. [$7]
The mysterious one man band Abyssal also presumably look to Ulcerate and Mitochondrion for inspiration. They don't have Jamie Saint Merat's arsenal of cymbals, but Antikatastaseis makes up for it with martial drums, shoegazing riffs, and eerie keyboards. Atmospheric and unsettling, this is a glimpse at the next generation of death metal. [$7.49 CAD]
Even for the weirdness that is French black metal, Peste Noire are pretty freaking out there. La Chaise-Dyable has folky rhythms, Greg Ginn-style skronk, whistling, and even an accordion; all topped by mainman Famine's bizarro Attila Csihar-ish vocals. This is an album that will test your capacity for crazy gibberish. [$7]
If all this avant-noir is leaving you discombobulated, Nadiwrath should serve as a welcome palate cleanser. Circle of Pest is straight-forward black metal with a few rawky touches that absolutely smokes recent albums by Taake and 1349 that tread a similar path. Very few things in life are making me as happy as this right now. My favourite black metal album of 2015. [€4.90]
