The North
The North Threads
Hulder - Verbolgen (2026)
I had high praise for 2024’s Verses in Oath by Hulder, awarding it all five available stars, no less. As is so often the case, when looking back at any release that I have afforded a maximum score to, I find it hard to stand by that rating afterwards as I drift away from listening to the album. So, I will park an intriguing revisit to that album for some point in the future to see if it really does live up to that level of implied quality. The fact is though, with Verbolgen, Hulder have produced another high-scoring record. My confidence levels in that statement are also high given that I am on about my tenth listen through and my vinyl copy arrived yesterday.
Having read a recent interview, I am aware that there have been some changes to how Marz has approached this album. Namely, in the sense that there has been a more collaborative approach to the writing of the record, with husband Sam afforded more input and a freer rein to develop ideas. There are also two drummers credited on the album. Live regular, Vapula occupies the stool for four tracks with former Aeternus and Gorogorth drummer Vrolok covering the remainder. My understanding is that Vrolok approached Marz and Sam about getting involved. High regard to be held in when someone of such repute within the scene comes to you with a request to collaborate. (Morrigan, also formerly of Aeternus did the album artwork incidentally).
Regardless of who does what individually on the album – and I can hear the difference in drumming style – the main reason that Verbolgen stands out is how enthused, invigorated and outright passionate the performance comes across as a collective sound. The sum of all contributions here may have managed to create one of the best black metal albums of 2026. The record really does have it all. Atmosphere, symphonia, blastbeats, a flute, a hurdy gurdy and an album arrangement to die for. The build on the record is only equalled by its temperance. The switch into a more epic soundscape around the mid-point of the album is noticeable. At the same time, within any track individually, Hulder can infuse variety of pace, tempo and instrumentation without ever killing momentum.
Able to wear a host of influences on their sleeves, Hulder carry a true air of authenticity. Whether it is the blistering and bludgeoning stylings of Horna and Gorgoroth, or the more dramatic elements of Emperor and Satyricon, Marz and company have an impressive array of references in their kitbag. And so once again I sit here with a maximum score seemingly one click away. However, I am going to be taking a much tougher slant on five-star ratings, meaning I am going to have to get super-critical. Although there is nothing wrong with it, album closer, ‘The Glow of Dawn’ feels underwhelming as an instrumental track to end on. It sounds very much like a finale to a record, yet for a record that manages to work up such high standards of songwriting, it does feel almost unnecessary.
4.5/5
Revenge - "Infiltration.Downfall.Death" (2008)
It's been a very long time since I checked out the third full-length from these Canadian war metallers who I generally like but rarely love & "Infiltration.Downfall.Death" is no different in that respect. The production job is very raw & noisy & so are the performances. I think one of the key factors in my unwillingness to fully commit to Revenge is that the vocals often feel ill-timed but they tick all my boxes on paper & are certainly brutal as fuck. I think this was probably the weaker of their three albums to the time but I still enjoy it.
For fans of Conqueror, Diocletian & Blasphemy.
3.5/5
I dug deep for my feature release nomination for The North clan this month, going back to 2013 and the debut full length by Irish black metal outfit, Slidhr. Deluge sees the duo of Deegan and Einarsson (drummer from Sinmara) release their own brand of darkness on the world and is a record I return to on occasion to revel in.
Feel free to comment below, or write a review as desired.
Taubra - "Therizo" (2023)
Taubra was founded in 2022 by swiss guitarist Berg, who also plies his trade as the multi-instrumentalist behind Aara. Now, Taubra are a new one on me, but I am quite familiar with Aara, particular the earlier releases and I would count myself as a fan. I got to hear the track "Rembrandt of Death" whilst compiling the North playlist (nice nomination Vinny) and I kept sneaking back to it as it stood out to me, so good vibes abounded as I dived in to check out the full album.
The band hit an aggressive and vicious pose with some vibrantly brutal riffing thanks to a death metal style production job that beefs up their sound with a significant amount of bottom end and is perhaps a bit more bludgeoning than usual with the tremolo riffs not quite as dominant and high in the mix as you might normally expect. This pummelling viciousness is counterbalanced, though, by a degree of melodicism that gives it more memorability than an unrelenting blast-fest would and I am getting a decided Mgla vibe from a significant proportion of the material on offer. Vocals are provided by Norway's Ruben Haug who has been around the scene for many years and is a writer for the Heavymetal.no website. He does a damn good job too and has a ragged, barking scream that is aggressive, savage sounding and very much in your face.
We all know how far and wide the black metal umbrellaI spreads nowadays and it seems to widen every year as the genre always seems to be innovating, so I can almost feel a fair few black metal fans rolling their eyes and shrugging their shoulders at Taubra, but I have never hidden the fact that I am perfectly happy to listen to metal that isn't particularly original or groundbreaking as long as it is done well and provides some kind of buzz to my cynical soul and on that level "Therizo" hits the mark for me. It is powerful and aggressive-sounding, yet is still reasonably accessible and passes the test of getting this old dog nodding his head and pummelling imaginary kick drums in an ankle-strain-threatening flurry of flapping feet. What can I say, I love this sort of shit and I love metal that makes me feel alive as much as metal that makes me think, so a big thumbs up from me.
4.5/5 [86/100]
Dimmu Borgir - "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant" (1997)
I have to admit that I hated the first couple of albums from Norway's Dimmu Borgir when I first encountered them during my mid-90's trade trading days & nothing has changed much in that respect. The experience left me feeling far less than enthused about continuing to follow the band through their creative evolution, however I believe it was Ben that alerted me to the drastic change of musical direction with their third full-length "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant" & it tempted me back to see what the fuss was about. I wouldn't say that my initial listens saw my interest doing a swift u-turn as I still found myself struggling to connect with the band's brand-new & significantly more symphonic approach, however I certainly found it to be more palatable than the clumsy, incompetence of records like "For all tid" (1.5/5) or "Stormblåst" (2/5). It's only now though, that I've realised what my main issue with "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant" was & started to finally come around to its charms.
Whereas Dimmu Borgir's early releases took an intentionally lo-fi & primitive approach to melodic black metal, "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant" is an altogether different beast, this time going for a huge symphonic sound full of gothic romanticism & grandeur. The lineup had changed a little with bassist Brynjard Tristan (Old Man's Child) being replaced by Nagash (The Kovenant/Troll/Carpe Tenebrum/Chrome Division/Covenant) while the other core members who recorded Dimmu Borgir's 1994 "Inn i evighetens mørke" debut E.P. were all still present. The prestigious Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy/Pain/Bloodbath/Lindemann/Lock Up/The Abyss/War) would be charged with engineering & mixing the album & had begun to make a name for himself as a talented producer over the previous 4 or 5 years. This would appear to have been a good decision as he certainly played a role in presenting Dimmu Borgir as a more exciting yet also more accessible option for extreme metal fans.
Upon revisiting "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant" for the first time in decades this week, I was immediately challenged in the same way that I was back in the day, only this time I feel that my increased patience allowed me to overcome an obvious failing that had previously tainted my vision of the overall album. You see, "Embrace Darkness Triumphant" begins with the three tracks that contain by far the most challenges for my personal taste & it had previously been hard to overlook them when assessing the holistic package. It's only with several repeat listens that I've come to this realisation & discovered that the remainder of the record is really pretty decent. The use of Stian Aarstad's keyboards in those earlier songs tends to veer into overblown & cheesy spaces while there is a lot more brutality & substance to the other seven songs, particularly the blast-tastic "Relinquishment of Spirit & Flesh" which very quickly drags things back out of the abyss after the disappointment of the opening trio & is easily my pick of the bunch. All of the remaining tracks are worth hearing although none of them quite reach essential status, generally being let down by a weaker section here or there. It's hardly surprising that the general consensus seems to be the complete reverse of my position on the tracklisting as I'm simply not the target audience for a record like this one.
The vocals of front man Shagrath (Chrome Division/Fimbulwinter/Nocturnal Breed/Ov Hell/Ulver) are a highlight along with the more frenzied drums parts of Tjodalv (Abyssic/Susperia/Old Man's Child) while the riffs of rhythm guitarist Erkekjetter Silenoz (Insidious Disease/Nocturnal Breed) often draw upon the influence of symphonic black metal godfathers Emperor during their stronger moments. Those keyboards rarely reach a level where I find them to be more than tolerable however they don't often leap over the borderline into theatrical shenanigans outside of those first few tracks, generally staying within spaces that I can at least deem to be acceptable even if I would prefer that they weren't there at all a lot of the time.
There's no doubt at all that "Embrace Darkness Triumphant" was Dimmu Borgir's best release to the time & took their careers to an entirely new level. For me though, their finest hour would not come until the early 2000's with records like "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia" & "Death Cult Armageddon" when they'd toned down the theatrics a bit. It's easy to see how some of your more elitist black metal fans might claim Dimmu Borgir as "gateway" act off the back of a release like this one but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, we all needed an entry point & it doesn't immediately mean that Dimmu Borgir are entirely bad. They're not, They're just not the same animal as your Mayhems or Marduks.
For fans of Old Man's Child, Cradle of Filth & Carach Angren.
3.5/5
Here's my updated Top Ten Symphonic Black Metal Releases of All Time list:
01. Emperor - "In the Nightside Eclipse" (1994)
02. Emperor - "Live Inferno" (2009)
03. Emperor - "Live at Wacken Open Air 2006 - a Night of Emperial Wrath" (2009)
04. Emperor - "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" (1997)
05. Cradle of Filth - "V Empire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein" (1996)
06. Emperor - "Reverence" E.P. (1997)
07. Cradle of Filth - "Dusk... & Her Embrace" (1996)
08. Dimmu Borgir - "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia" (2001)
09. Dimmu Borgir - "Death Cult Armageddon" (2003)
10. Samael - "Passage" (1996)
Unfortunately, my old Darkthrone "Transilvanian Hunger" long-sleeve now has enormous holes in the elbows & I've finally laid it to rest so that I receive the sheer joy of replacing it with another awesome band shirt.
Bethlehem - "Dictius te necare" (1996)
I first encountered Germany's Bethlehem through the mid-90's tape trading scene through their 1993 demo tape & 1994 debut album "Dark Metal" (both of which I quite liked) which led me to track down their sophomore record "Dictius te necare" through the same channels once it hit the shelves. It saw Bethlehem adjusting their sound somewhat, mainly off the back of a lineup change that saw vocalist/keyboardist Andreas Classen (Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult/Shining) being replaced by new front man Rainer Landfermann (Pavor) whose psychotic howls are the main talking point with this release. The blackened doom metal instrumentation isn't all that different to what we heard on "Dark Metal" but it's the over-the-top theatrics of Landfermann that the clear focal point & will ultimately decide on your reaction to "Dictius te necare" as I think it's fair to say that he's more than a little divisive. He is also the main catalyst for the album's DSBM credentials as he sounds like he's in all sorts of agonizing pain on these seven tracks. Personally, I think the album needs him too as the riffs & single-guitar lineup aren't all that exciting but I do really enjoy the deep, stripped-back atmospheric material that pops up from time to time on most tracks. The doomier material is also where I think Bethlehem are at their best with lengthy closer "Dorn meiner Allmacht" being the clear album highlight in my opinion. I can't subscribe to the general consensus that "Dictius te necare" is some sort of classic release but it's certainly worth a listen for those with a penchant for the doomier & more depressive side of black metal.
For fans of Silencer, Shining & Forgotten Tomb.
3.5/5
Gorrch - "Stillamentum" (2026)
Gorrch are over fifteen years into their existence and are only just getting around to their sophomore album. The duo of Chimsicrin (drums, vocals and keyboards) and Droich (guitars and bass) make for a quite a melodic take on the sound stylised by DSO. They lack the foreboding edge of the DSO sound, forming a more urgent and dashing movement to the music with a frankly excessive use of the tremolo. Nonetheless, the comparison is unavoidable.
Over only six tracks, the repetition of the guitar does get a little tiresome, however. That sounds like a dumb thing to say for a black metal record, given that repetition is a key factor of black metal in general. However, I do feel that the tremolo is simply overused, certainly across the first half of the album at least. For the latter three tracks there does appear to be a little more variation, and the album improves for it.
The drums are perhaps the best part of the whole album for me. Well produced and unobtrusive, yet at the same time they are as varied as they are prominent. I do not get the sense that they are particularly complex in their patterns, yet the skill of the musician is still obvious. The other standout from the second half of Stillamentum is the use of dark choral vocals. Their inclusion gives tracks a ritualistic theme that grabs the attention well.
Eleven years between records is a long time, and I have not heard their debut record to know how marked a difference, or not, there is to what goes on throughout Stillamentum. Both members have roles in other bands I can see which may explain the huge gap in output. I cannot say that Stillamentum suffers in any regard, more that it labours somewhat. If the guitars could match the drums in both variety and positioning in the overall sound, then I would enjoy the album more. However, this is not a bad record by any means, and I will be keeping an ear out for album number three if it ever arrives.
3.5/5
When I check out the RYM charts, it's generally pretty clear that older releases receive much higher ratings than modern ones. The reasons why that occurs is a discussion for another time, but it might help explain why I get pretty excited when I see a recently released album moving right up the charts. Vothana's Action Now, Assured Future was sitting at number 50 on the all time black metal release chart when I stumbled across it, holding a position just below Wolves in the Throne Room's Two Hunters and just above Darkspace's Dark Space III. Anything sitting amongst that sort of company must be pretty special....right?
Having listened to this release a bunch of times over the past couple of weeks, I can only express my utter bewilderment. I'll give the album credit for sounding unlike anything I've heard before, but I think there's a good reason for that. If a controversy-seeking history teacher convinced the high school band to perform an 80 minute National Socialist black metal opus in Vietnamese, I can only imagine that it might sound something like this. The vocals are loud yet repetitively indistinct, the drums switch between typical black metal battery and a completely un-black metal marching band oompa skip, and while a decent black metal riff occasionally pops up, the vast majority appear to replicate the sort of rousing, pompous propaganda music you might hear at a old school pro-war march. If that somehow sounds interesting to you, then go for you life, but I have much better ways to spend 80 minutes of my time.
All this said, I'll leave you with a couple quotes lifted from RYM reviews, so you can at least get a balanced view...
"Vothana, honest to god, makes some of the BEST black metal I have ever heard, raw, fucking powerful, incredibly emotive, whilst always being heavy but catchy as shit, doesn't matter that the songs are basically 10+ minutes these songs are AWESOME!!!"
"This imo is easily the best album ever made, i urge everyone listen to it along with the rest of vothanas material its seriously lifechanging."
Kvelertak - "Kvelertak" (2010)
The debut album from this Norwegian crew offers a fairly enjoyable example of the black 'n' roll style, combining blackened hardcore screams with really well produced & executed punk & hard rock instrumentation. The energy levels are excellent throughout & one can easily pick up the influence of classic hard rock artists such as AC/DC, Motorhead, Jimi Hendrix & Led Zeppelin along with flashes of black metal aggression. This isn't generally my sort of release on paper but I can't deny that it's been beautifully done & has kept me engaged for the majority of its run time.
For fans of Owls Woods Graves, Wormwitch & Zorn.
3.5/5