Low Tones In Kvlt: The Best Of Bass Black Metal
Low Tones In Kvlt: The Best Of Bass Black Metal
Bassy black metal. Easy enough to understand: black metal with a distinctly pronounced role for the bass and in which the bass is noticeably audible.
Alphabetical order by band, one album per band. Recs appreciated and encouraged. Links for full streams when available.
Alphabetical order by band, one album per band. Recs appreciated and encouraged. Links for full streams when available.
1.
Abigor
- Time Is The Sulphur In The Veins Of The Saint: An Excursion On Satan's Fragmenting Principle
https://tinyurl.com/y65by4ak
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3.
Aluk Todolo
- Voix
Krautrock infused black metal (at times more of the former) with a heavy improvisational edge and an extremely tasty bass delivery. Very psychedelic rock inspired, bouncy, and intricate work here in the four string department. https://tinyurl.com/h3p2ty8
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4.
Angst Skvadron
- Sweet Poison
Spacey black metal that's pretty midtempo, groovy, and has a cheesy yet effective sci fi aesthetic to it. A bit like Oranssi Pazuzu, but rawer and not quite as intricate in the songwriting. https://tinyurl.com/yy5zvfqp
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6.
Black Narcisssus
- Beyond The Whispers Of Common Men
https://tinyurl.com/y52m385c
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8.
Fullmoon Bongzai
- Is All That You Deserve
This Greek band is W-E-I-R-D. They're admittedly more industrial than they are black metal, but the black metal influence to their sound is definitely there in the mix. This album is a puzzling journey through an electronic/black metal fusion in which the bass, while not necessarily as pronounced as on some of the other albums in this list, is still pretty audible and lurks devilishly throughout. https://tinyurl.com/yyus2eew
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9.
Gnaw Their Tongues
- Eschatological Scatology
Noise-heavy, abysmal black metal with no guitar, bass, and a host of swirling, electronic effects. With no guitar, as one could imagine, the bass gets all the glory here, summoning a delivery that is plodding, at times surprisingly catchy, and altogether hellish. https://tinyurl.com/y3rfy227
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12.
Hakuja
- Legacy
https://tinyurl.com/yyupaxup
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13.
Imperial Triumphant
- Vile Luxury
I'm bending the rules a little here, as personally I think Imperial Triumphant are more of an off kilter, Avant-garde death metal than they are black, and even then there's a hearty dose of jazz influence to their sound too. Nonetheless, I feel I'd be remiss in keeping this album off the list, as here bassist Steve Blanco is definitely the star of the show in my book. His work on this album is nothing short of intricate and thoroughly impressive. https://tinyurl.com/yy8hxfe2
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15.
Laster
- Het Wassen Oog
If there's one black metal band today that most appears to tap into the legacy of Ved Buens Ende, it might just be Laster. This peculiar Dutch black metal trio dub their approach as "obscure dance music." It can be upbeat, raw, and energetic at points, but then those more danceable moments will gradually take over, in which the bass comes to the forefront and things get a lot groovier and more interesting. https://tinyurl.com/yyslmfmc
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16.
Lurker Of Chalice
- Lurker Of Chalice
Although LOC has less material to go by than Leviathan, it's easy to tell with the material that with this project Wrest was focusing a lot more on ambiance and mood than anything else. As such, here the bass has a lot more room to breathe in the composition than with Leviathan, resulting in an approach where, while it's not necessarily the most dominant instrument in the mix, it's presence is still definitely felt, slowly creeping up your spine in the background. https://tinyurl.com/yxmyvprf
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17.
Mörkö
- Itsensänimeävä
A bizarre blackened doom band from Finland with psychedelic undercurrents. Bouncy, upbeat, and pleasantly audible bass delivery here, especially on the second and third tracks. https://tinyurl.com/yxajjbge
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18.
Murmur
- Mainlining The Lugubrious
Very raw and abrasive most of the time, this album does nonetheless have an eerie sense of ambiance to it, and plenty of moments in which the black metal aggression which forms the bulk of it gives way to more melodic passages in which the bass comes out a lot better. Much like the LOC delivery: low in the mix, but quietly spooky and helps a lot to make the overall songwriting a lot more unique than it would be otherwise. https://tinyurl.com/y6nzmvsp
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19.
Necromantia
- Crossing The Fiery Path
One of the originators of the "bass heavy black metal" approach along with Ved Buens Ende, this unusual Greek trio were one of the earliest examples of genuine experimental black metal. Two bassists, no guitar, and synth heavy, almost Castlevania-like atmospheres make this one of the most original albums of 90s black metal. https://tinyurl.com/yyq2xrna
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21.
Oranssi Pazuzu
- Värähtelijä
Oranssi Pazuzu are one of the unquestionable kings of bassy black metal, all thanks to the talents of bassist Toni Hietamäki. There really isn't any one album in their discography where the bass performance is better than others, but I just personally enjoy Toni's lines on this album more than the others. Fat, warm, spacious bass tone that is deliciously audible in the overall mix without overpowering the other instruments. https://tinyurl.com/z7qln8e
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22.
Skáphe
- Untitled
This little 22 minute EP seems to be a lot more ambient-influenced than Skáphe's earlier work, and features a considerably more up front role for the bass. Once again, the music on this album seems to really tap into the LOC legacy, as the goal of the bass here isn't to really pummel you or dominate the other instruments, but to serve as that extra, eerie layer backing up the other instrumentation with its eerie lines. https://tinyurl.com/y4lzsytk
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23.
Sólstafir
- Masterpiece Of Bitterness
Atmospheric, somewhat folky Icelandic black metal in which the bass has a nice role in the overall mix and rumbles along fairly audibly across all the tracks. Admittedly the bass here isn't as pronounced as it is on a lot of other albums on this list, but hey, at least it's not just following the guitar lines note for note and is actually audible.
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25.
Susvourtre
- Demo 1996
https://tinyurl.com/y54bbt4p
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26.
Thecodontion
- Jurassic
Dual bass black metal with no guitar. I imagine this is something like what Horse Latitudes might sound like if they played black metal, but even better. Really distinct and pretty wicked sound. https://tinyurl.com/yywgb86f
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29.
Ved Buens Ende
- Written In Waters
Another originator of the "bassy black metal" style, Ved Buens Ende established a lot of important staples for experimental black metal, even if they ultimately only left us this one debut. Dissonant, bouncy style in which the bass creates pretty intricate lines and is pleasantly audible in the mix, an approach that would only be further expanded upon with Virus, something of a spiritual successor to VBE. https://tinyurl.com/y6839o5q
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30.
Wormlust
- The Feral Wisdom
The debut of this powerful Icelandic one manner took a strong lesson from LOC with the bass delivery, but even seems to expand upon the LOC legacy for something much grander in that realm. Swirling psychedelic black metal where the bass is crisp and actually quite in the forefront on several occasions. Absolutely delicious. https://tinyurl.com/y5lz5yta
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Disclaimer: All top lists are unofficial and do not represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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Comments
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Posts: 1175
I've been ordered to comment on this list and recommend Ustalost.
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 Posts: 5989 |
Posts: 5989 Written by Mercurial on 13.07.2019 at 22:16 Tee hee  I admittedly didn't listen to that album as much as I probably should have when it first came out, I can't recall it too much and how pronounced the bass on it really was or wasn't. Time for a revisit then!
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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Posts: 1175 |
Posts: 1175 Written by Auntie Sahar on 13.07.2019 at 22:18 It's an album I hum the bass along to, so fairly bassy. I feel like I've heard a lot of other bassy black stuff lately so will have a think.
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Posts: 5989 Written by Zap on 14.07.2019 at 00:31 I consider them more sludge than black, personally. Might go on here eventually
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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Posts: 3653 |
Posts: 3653 Written by Auntie Sahar on 14.07.2019 at 00:37 I would agree with you if we were talking only about the first two full-lengths, but Lede was definitely mostly black and that album had some tasty bass lines.
---- I hate bonus tracks
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Posts: 5989 Written by Zap on 14.07.2019 at 00:42 I'll make a note to revisit it then, haven't spun it in a while
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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 Posts: 8301 |
Posts: 8301
Necromantia did not have the career they deserved. There are albums I need to check out but I like so much of the stuff in this list, hence the thumbs up 
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Posts: 5989 Written by nikarg on 14.07.2019 at 01:42 Agreed, pretty underrated band. I really love the black metal bands who were experimenting a lot with the sound of the genre early on, like back in the late 80s, early 90s. Necromantia, Ved Buens Ende, Woods Of Belial, ones like that.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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 Posts: 841 |
Posts: 841
Salivating over this list, since I love a bit of a focus on bass. Dunno if it really fits, but I remember Gnipahålan having good bass.
---- You are the hammer, I am the nail building a house in the fire on the hill
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 Posts: 43 |
Posts: 43
What about An Autumn For Crippled Children? As album rec, go for Only The Ocean Knows.
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 Posts: 9648 |
Posts: 9648 Written by Ludicus on 18.07.2019 at 20:31 Cut the crap and come to Rolo Tomassi
---- Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking One day there will be no heart at all?
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