Call me a bumbling ignoramus, but for me the greatness of Anathema's early works is primarily associated with one particular musician: Duncan Patterson. I feel the same way with Antimatter, because contrary to popular belief that Leaving Eden is the magnus opus of the project founded by Patterson and Mick Moss, I feel those very special moments that can turn a good album into a real masterpiece only when both artists have participated.
It's the sophomore Lights Out that marks the most mature symbiosis of dark, atmospheric rock, gothic and trip hop in the band's impressive early phase and that best integrates the truly beautiful backing vocals of the two female guest singers. Needless to say, exactly 20 years after its release, also Moss' distinctive, warm voice has lost none of its allure.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: nikarg, X-Ray Rod, RaduP, Dream Taster

The aesthetics scream early 90s technical thrash/death, the music is the Painkiller/Naked City extreme jazz metal, so the end result is a loose and improvisational death metal album that feels as chaotic and manic as the sci-fi world depicted on the cover art. With involvement from members of Imperial Triumphant, Artificial Brain, and Cleric, and it being released on I, Voidhanger, Sarmat melt death metal to create something more free-flowing.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: nikarg

It's true that some of us tend to favor some genres over others and thus tend to notice originality in those genres more, and black metal is near the top of that list. But there are albums like Úpal that validate that bias with how original the sound feels. Black metal has been oddball, progressive, psychedelic, melodic, mystical, and fascinated with other cultures before, but Kostnatění take each of those aspects and find new ways to make the sound feel vital. Taking inspiration from oriental folk in more than just vibe, but also with all its songwriting quirks that feel alien to us, like all its microtonalities and time signatures. This is coming from a band whose take on the dissonant Deathspell Omega already felt out of the usual box, but this feels like it turned the box inside out.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: nikarg, Netzach, Nejde, musclassia, X-Ray Rod

It is more than likely that you missed this album when it was released about two and a half years ago. Even I missed it and I was familiar with their previous albums and was hopeful for the new endeavours. Tro has been playing often for these past two months. It's symphonic metal of the better kind, of the more interesting variety. From Sweden. In Swedish. Tough to pick a favourite but I'm leaning towards "Ett vingslag."

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: RaduP, Nejde

For most bands, saying that the instruments kinda blend into each other would be an insult, but Pa Vesh En are the only band I know who are so meticulous about the production and their soundscapes, that they can make it sound like the album takes place in a vast temple and yet still make it feel densely claustrophobic. There's more orchestral elements and more of a soundtrack vibe this time around to make Martyrs the most evocative and detailed of Pa Vesh En's releases.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: X-Ray Rod, Netzach

Leave any expectations you have from Avenged Sevenfold at the door, because Life Is Just A Dream… is pushing the band’s boundaries so much that it cannot be anything but divisive. It is one of the most ambitious and surprising albums of the year, and it is impressive how over-the-top it gets, regarding music genres blending together. To claim that its influences are broad would be an understatement; Mr. Bungle, Alice In Chains, Frank Zappa, System Of A Down, Pink Floyd, Dream Theater, Daft Punk, Faith No More, Frank Sinatra, Nine Inch Nails, Rush… there is no end to the list. This is an alternative metal act going progressive, avantgarde, pop, experimental, and, quite frankly, batshit crazy. Being a Jack of all trades is one thing, but also being a master of almost all of them, like Avenged Sevenfold are on this album… well, that deserves respect and applause. And taking the risk to scare away the fanbase in favour of evolution and growth deserves all the praise in the world.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Nejde, RaduP, ScreamingSteelUS, Starvynth

4 decades of crushing pain. 4 decades of blood-curdling violence. 4 decades of unrelenting anger. 4 decades of FILTH.

Swans' explosive debut album remains as vicious and uncompromising as it was back in 1983. A milestone within the annals of heavy music. It went on to influence plenty of bands within the industrial, noise rock, and metal scenes. But few acts can hope to ever reach this level of mad intensity. From the bludgeoning and creative percussion to the colossal bass. From the piercing guitars to the misanthropic and unstable vocals. Filth was specifically designed to harm the listener. After all this time, it keeps on delivering.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: RaduP, Auntie Sahar

That cover. The silver gate. Those riffs. That cover. Open the silver gate. Open it. Those riffs. Dark Fortress may have recently disbanded but their under-appreciated sound and albums are most definitely here to stay.

Eidolon might not be their most-rounded album yet it is their most hypnotic offering, The intensity of the songs is only rivaled by the groove of these same songs.

Discover - or re-discover - one of the foundamental bands in melodic black metal history.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Daniell, nikarg, Starvynth

I'll admit, Monumension and especially Madraum don't get the attention they deserve as the bridges between Enslaved's viking era and their current prog one. But when the first mellotron notes of "As Fire Swept Clean the Earth" hit, it's pretty clear that it's here that Enslaved finally came into their own progressive black metal sound. The soloing gets more melodic, the structures more intricate, the soundscapes more expansive, but there's still a neckbreaking quality to the riffing and a harshness in the vocals that Enslaved continue to play with, even twenty years since the release of this one.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Daniell, X-Ray Rod, Netzach, Dream Taster, Darkside Momo

What if Pink Floyd played atmospheric black metal? Doesn’t Black Medium Current’s cover art vaguely remind of The Dark Side Of The Moon? Doesn’t its music have this progressive structure, this floating feeling, where one song bleeds into the next, securing a flow that most albums don’t even come close to achieving? Doesn’t it sound immaculate? Aren’t the vocals infectiously quirky, despite the departure of Aldrahn? Don’t the electronics give that familiar avant-garde touch? Doesn’t the piano sound as demented as it has ever been? Is this album a surprise? No, it is not. Dødheimsgard have proved time and time again that they are capable of mind-bending music. Black Medium Current is both mind-bending and earwormingly accessible. An excellent entry point for the uninitiated, and my personal favourite of this spectacular band.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: RaduP, Ivor, X-Ray Rod, Dream Taster, Darkside Momo

Time to sound the alarm!

Happy 30th anniversary, Screams and Whispers.
May 11th, 1993 you have come to see the light of day.
It is so good to still have you around today.
Please stay with us as long as you can.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Netzach, RaduP, Yaniv, nikarg, Starvynth, X-Ray Rod, Darkside Momo

Before At The Gates locked into the impeccable groove that would yield their undisputed kingmaker, Slaughter Of The Soul, and leave an indelible impact on the evolution of melodic death metal and metalcore, they were an almost formless entity. Their first two albums are swarms of otherworldly chaos, creeping weirdness, shifting time signatures, unstable tempos, bizarre melodies, and lurching riffs and percussion that seem to change direction with each passing measure - so far-removed from the "angrier thrash" template of most early death metal as to be incomparable. While The Red In The Sky Is Ours typically gets more attention for these qualities, for me, With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness is the secret jewel of the band's discography: it has all of that unpredictability (plus a raft of undisputable classics and poetic, strikingly colorful lyrics), but it's all packed within the deepest, darkest, and most luscious production they ever achieved. The distortion is heavy but the tones are a luxurious purple-red-black, and Tompa's gutting shrieks are as frigid and biting as the void itself; you can feel time tearing itself in the riffs. This is a perfect illustration of the sound of burning darkness.

This magnificent album turned 30 this week, so take some time to pay special attention to the most underappreciated album of At The Gates's early work.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: Nejde, RaduP, Redel, Netzach, Daniell, nikarg, Starvynth, X-Ray Rod

"Screamo" is still used as a derogatory term simply because of how the name was misappropriated in the MySpace era, hence why you even have to have a term like "skramz" to even be accurate. This is a genre that I've been getting more and more into lately, and while stuff like Orchid, Pageninetynine, or Saetia might be the biggest staples in the genre, the one album that really knocked my socks off and became my favorite screamo album is the debut album of a band called Love Lost But Not Forgotten, released back in 2000, simply because it feels like it pushed the actual sound to its logical extreme. The lo-fi rawness of it, occasional burst of math rock groove, post-rock injections, chaotic dissonance, these all work to create a very viscous sound, but it is the blood-curdling vocals that push this album to the extreme. The band would release another album two years later, more mature and calculated, but it's the vitriol in this album that is forever etched in my mind.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: X-Ray Rod, ScreamingSteelUS, Netzach

The slow, plodding tension-infused riff that opens Rust, and the album itself gripped me the first time I started spinning this disk on my truck stereo back in the day. Seven banging tracks deep, some great riffs shifting between slower riffs and that tremolo necro style keep the listener on their toes. The album actually sounds fantastic. Tons of great quotable lyrics that you, too, can sing along with. If Fenriz and Nocturno Teddo were correct with their assertion "black metal is the devil's fuel", this album powered the lake of fire for the better part of the last 20 years... which, incidentally is how long ago they released this one.

Get fucked up and ready to die... at BandCamp!

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: corrupt, nikarg, X-Ray Rod, Nejde, Netzach

I can only agree with Radu's sentiment that "Marko Hietala is the one artist I always knew I needed a solo album from”. After a long and illustrious career in Nightwish that arguably raised that band to the immense level of popularity they enjoy, and with Tarot on indefinite hiatus after the death of their drummer, Marko decided to try his own wings with Pyre Of The Black Heart/Mustan Sydämen Rovio (yeah, it's bilingual, how about that?). Great results ensued: a melodic album full of hard rocking, slightly proggy cuts, excellent bass and vocals (as would be expected), and Tarot-worthy anthems.

Staff pick by:
Endorsed by: RaduP