Here we are, already back in Album of the Year season. And what a year it was! For heavy music at least, I shouldn’t have to tell you about everything else. Yet again I am not simply putting the next set of albums that would follow my main list but albums that have not been covered elsewhere here at Nine Circles. Also in case you missed it, check out my mid-year recap as that might as well be part one of this list. Let’s dive in and examine some of the many hidden gems this year had to offer.
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Despite being released back in March, this is a very recent discovery of mine. If the album cover screams ’00s/’10s tech death, you’d only be partially right; Ukrainian duo Torturer in fact play some very solid melodic black/death metal on third full-length In Madness. Production-wise it has more in line with aforementioned tech death — a tight, compact sound with a punchy snare drum — but when it comes to the riffage there’s a lot more blackened elements at play than you’d expect (not to mention the raspy, Ihsahn-esque vocals). More than a few times this album feels like ’99-’02-era Immortal decided to play a little less sloppy (non-derogatory!) and become a death metal band, dialing down the epic, ice-cold atmosphere in favor of brutal precision. A nice obscure find thanks to Toilet ov Hell‘s Sepulcrustacean.
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Kaatayra may no longer be releasing new music, but that doesn’t mean Caio Lemos has put on the brakes. His collaborative project Vauruvã unleashed their third album Mar de Deriva this year, yet another force in progressive black metal that incorporates plenty of sounds from their native Brazil — flute, folk guitar, field recordings, and more. The production on this album is the very definition of lush, aided in particular by the dreamy synths; I can only imagine that this is what looking up at the stars from the Amazonian canopy feels like. Lemos, Brazil’s musical counterpart to Austin Lunn — both in authentic folk-inspired sound and pace of output — absolutely knocked it out of the park with this release. Expansive, melodic, and catchy, Vauruvã have done it once again.
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The Siege of Sorrow’s Gate, the debut EP from New Orleans duo Wolventhrone, is an interesting inclusion for my own tastes. This is melodic black/death metal that feels very modern, for lack of a better word. Big, chunky guitar production and vocal stylings that almost enter deathcore territory — not sure of the pedigree of the band members, but I can see them coming from that world — yet thankfully there are absolutely no breakdowns, clean choruses or the like to found. This is furious, in your face black metal with great shredding solos and an impeccable ear for melody (on closing highlight “The Stars Still Whisper Your Name” in particular). The melodic side of the genre need not draw exclusively from the well of the icy ’90s legends in order to push forward, and I eagerly await what’s in store for this band.
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Taking a detour into the lo-fi realm of raw black metal, another recent find comes from Norway’s Aftoktonia and their debut demo Ashes of the Astral Rite. This takes the characteristic walls of chords the genre is known for to its extreme, becoming a suffocating mass of muted guitar and distant vocals anchored by incessant blast beats; yet the sound on this demo ultimately feels a lot more cozy than you might expect (especially the few moments of respite in the form of soft, nostalgia-oozing clean guitar). The secret ingredient that makes Astral Rite stand out is the ethereal synths that mirror the guitars, elevating the razor sharp riffs with bright, eerie melodicism as opposed to the held chords in the manner of the ’90s symphonic classics. Not being as familiar with this side of black metal it may have been long-established, but aside from Trhä I hadn’t heard keyboards incorporated in such a way. A great debut that’s already been followed up with two splits and two full-lengths.
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Staying once more within the lo-fi world, Austrian musician Homvncvlvs has had a very busy year with his main project Mysterivm Xarxes — three splits, two EPs, and two full-lengths — but my favorite of his releases was from the more atmospheric project Ald Daedroth. If the giant mushrooms, Red Mountain, and the silt strider on the cover didn’t give the setting away, this album is described as a “personal tribute to the dying beauty of Morrowind.” Like the previous album in this list, Corpvsarivm is raw black metal with a large synth component, though cozy is the last word I’d use to describe this release. Drenched in dark melancholy, this album is filled to the brim with riffs both atmospheric and headbang-worthy, a fantastic drum performance that holds the momentum across three 11+ minute tracks, and glittering synths that counteract the rest of the sound. For a wealth of great black metal, be sure to check out the entirety of Homvncvlvs’ material.
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I think this was the only release in the funeral vein of things I listened to this year (haven’t found the time yet for Stygian Bough: Volume II), but it’s a doozy. From the young Norwegian quintet Gloombound comes their debut Dreaming Delusion, a release that combines just about everything you could ask for in funeral/death doom: grandiose organ, subtle piano, delicious fretless bass, bursts of ferocious blasting death metal, and some truly epic guitar solos. I’m reminded of a less experimental Dream Unending, and I swear that’s not just because “dream” is shared between that band and this album. The title track in particular is probably one of the best songs I’ve heard this year, a snail-pace rollercoaster of emotion from its soft start to the haunting, string-backed melodies of the finale. As good as the more standard death doom-y tracks on this album are, I see a beautiful future ahead for this band if they stick with the sound of the bookend tracks.
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Dropping just over a month after Arkhaaik’s incredible Uihtis, Arrows is the newest project from the fantastic minds behind the Swiss collective Jünger Tumilon. Described as a non-conceptual, creatively liberating endeavor, Yearning Arrows; Cloven Suns shares some traits with its immediate predecessor —being that it is plodding black/death/doom — but trades in the crushing Bronze Age ritualism for something both mechanical and psychedelic, almost bordering on stoner territory at times. This is what you get upon reanimating the prehistoric beast of Uihtis and injecting it with paranoia and anxiety befitting the modern moment. Yet another banger from a group of musicians consistently releasing great music.
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I don’t think I’ve yet discussed a project from prolific Australian black metal musician The Seer. Lament in Winter’s Night’s Whereunto the Twilight Leads was a 2024 entry I discovered far too late, but his guitar work on that album set a new standard for me in what the rawer side of black metal is capable of. After a series of demos/splits, his project Harlot’s Nest recently released their first EP Optical Maladies of the Weak and Poor. Keeping his trademark bright guitar riffage while focusing energy in an synthy goth rock/post-punk direction (if the cover wasn’t a hint), the switch-ups from somber crooning to raw melodic black metal make this this one of the most unique releases I’ve heard this year.
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I love me a good second-wave throwback band; not counting Stormkeep, Achathras are one of the best I’ve heard in a while. A rare in-house release from publisher and merch maker Cult Never Dies, A Darkness of the Ancient Past makes no bones about proudly wearing its influences on its sleeve; particularly the melodic/symphonic artists of that era like Old Man’s Child, Obtained Enslavement, Covenant, and more. But in contrast to bands of today who can’t quite capture the dark magic of that time they succeed in crafting epic riffs and a mystical, nocturnal atmosphere. It’s not quite a sequel to Far Away from the Sun or Nightside Eclipse, but nevertheless puts a lot of other ’90s black metal retreads to shame. For another solid black metal throwback released this year I would also recommend Sepulchre – Psalms Unto Caesar.
Supplementing this list, I’d like to give one last shoutout to some additional favorites among the amazing bands and albums I had the pleasure of reviewing this year. While these didn’t quite make it on my final list, that’s only because there’s only so many albums that can fit. Eternal hails to all of you!
- Wardruna – Birna
- Wurmian – Immemorial Shrine
- Onirik – Curling Serpents Under Stone
- Weald & Woe – Far from the Light of Heaven
- Veytik – Carmina Aerea in Aetate Ferrea
- Haxprocess – Beyond What Eyes Can See
- Old Machines – The Cycles of Extinction
- Ildaruni – Divinum Sanguinem
- Greve – Bleknat Bortom Evig Tid
— Colin