5. Whoredom Rife – Winds of Wrath

Hailing from Trondheim, Trøndelag the Norwegian torchbearers Whoredom Rife is one of the rising forces within the Scandinavian black metal scene, and their third album “Winds of Wrath” brings back the cold icy majestic feeling of the pure Norwegian black metal a la Emperor, Keep of Kalessin and Satyricon. The album offers six blazing tracks of epic black metal where the frosty set of the guitar riffs and grim black metal growls is encapsulated by relentless drumming and the fierce blizzard of the blistering riffs and the scathing rhythm is attained through the Nordic trademarks. The horde of darkness has been reborn at the heart of Trondheim. Read my full review here. 

4. Hooded Menace – The Tritonus Bell

Perhaps the most anticipated release of this year that I waited for was from the Finnish doomsters Hooded Menace. The sixth chapter “The Tritonus Bell” is, without doubt, their most monolithic crushing offering to date, this time Hooded Menace gives the fans a definite tone of the heavy metal. The kind of musty atmosphere that the guitars create conjure deep melodies especially when the tempo becomes slow the music illustrates themes of dusty cobwebs embedded between heaps of skulls. Obviously, any fan of death/doom metal will completely fall for its outstanding quality, “The Tritonus Bell” brings us another classic installment from these Finnish masters at its heaviest sound, Read my full review here.

3. Sijjin – Sumerian Promises

Sijjin‘s debut album “Sumerian Promises” is one the more unique albums that had an instant impact on me, from start to finish the song spews an ancient feeling of raw death/thrash metal bolstered by spectacular guitar work and aggressive drumming performance. There is a natural crossover between death and thrash metal where the trio explores a varied style of underground extreme metal specifically when death metal and thrash metal were intertwined. The debut album sees the trio developing a cult persona, embodying the brutal sound of death/thrash metal offering an authentic style of the early eighties death metal. This is highly recommended if you like raw death metal with huge influences from the early Morbid Angel. Read my full review here.

2. Seth –  La Morsure du Christ

“La Morsure du Christ” marks the golden age for the French black metal outfit Seth who has returned with a brand new album. The newest masterwork retrieves the nostalgic hallmarks of the melodic flair of the first album “Les blessures de l’âme” from the flawless rhythmic work of the guitars and the elegant keyboard accompaniment performed in the dramaturgic style of the nineties black metal. “La Morsure du Christ” beautifully emphasizes the majestic and the grim screeches, the songs are carried in the exuberant form of tremolo picked-riffs. With the epic majesty of the symphonic crescendo and the gothic synth texture that outshines the blazing riffs, the sextet conjures the forgotten art of the second wave of black metal. Read my full review here.

1. Cradle of Filth – Existence Is Futile

The 13^th albums from the British institution Cradle of Filth had to be my favorite album of the year, since their album “Hammer of the Witches” the band redeemed itself and took drastic steps to refine the craft in a way that matches the trademark flamboyance. “Existence Is Futile” is a unique amalgamation of multiple metal styles which combines symphonic gothic, and modern aesthetics of melodic black metal. Cradle of Filth conveys superb musical arrangements and the performance here is top-notch. The album is full of hits and songs like “Necromantic Fantasies”, “Black Smoke Curling from the Lips”, “Discourse between a Man and His Soul”, and “How Many Tears to Nurture a Rose” are dark and wonderfully bewitching. Read my full review here.