The North Release of the Year Contenders thread

Hi everyone.

With only one month to go until we announce our release of 2021 for each clan (which will once again be based on our site ratings), Ben & I thought it'd be worth highlighting five key releases contending for each title in order to give everyone the chance to investigate some (or all) of them this month if you wish to. These were some of the more highly regarded releases in the black, folk & Viking metal space last year:

Ethereal Shroud - "Trisagion"  {English atmospheric black metal}

Panopticon - "...and Again Into the Light"  {US atmospheric black metal}

Mare Cognitum - "Solar Paroxysm"  {US atmospheric black metal}

Spectral Wound - "A Diabolic Thirst"  {Canadian black metal}

Suffering Hour - "The Cyclic Reckoning"  {US black/death metal}

A few I'll champion here:

Trhä - Endlhëtonëg (Atmospheric Black Metal / Ambient)

Stormkeep - Tales of Othertime (US Symphonic Black Metal)

Untamed Land - Like Creatures Seeking Their Own Forms (US Atmospheric Black/Folk Metal)

Another big year for The North in general, tons of fantastic albums.

For me, in addition to the Panopticon and Mare Cognitum albums, I would like to mention:

Kanonenfieber - Menschenmühle

Les Chants de Nihil - Le tyran et l'esthète

Paysage d'Hiver - Geister

Archgoat - Worship the Eternal Darkness

As Xephyr rightly says, it was another great year for black and blackened metal.

Given the high ratings from most of our regular contributors, I thought I'd better check out Panopticon's "...And Again Into The Light" record for myself before the end of January & I can see why it's so highly regarded. It was certainly a grower for me as a) I've never been entirely comfortable with Lunn's approach to black metal due to the focus on country/folk elements & shimmering melody & b) I initially struggled with the limitations in Lunn's drumming skills, but repeat listens saw me being able to see through those obstacles & gain access to the gooey centre they encompassed. While there are no weak tracks included, I don't find the first three tracks to be as appealing as the rest of the album which is very solid indeed. That appears to be a taste thing though as fans & critics seem to regard a couple of those early tracks as album highlights but it definitely meant that I needed a couple more spins to overcome the initial feeling that this was just another mildly enjoyable Panopticon release. The blasting death metal-influenced "Moth Eaten Soul" is upsurprisingly the one that appeals to me the most & I think the deeper vocals are slightly more effective than Lunn's usual black metal shrieks. I also really enjoy the more stripped back post-rock inspired sections which are beautifully done. The parts that I find to be less appealing are the more orchestrated metal sections which I feel sound a bit more pretty & uplifting than I'm comfortable with from my black metal. Still.... this is a high quality extreme metal record that I rate more highly than our recent feature release in Panopticon's 2012 fourth full-length "Kentucky".

4/5

Mare Cognitum - "Solar Paroxysm" (2021)

Last year's fifth album from Californian atmospheric black metal solo act Mare Cognitum is a high quality affair that showcases an artist with a ridiculous amount of raw talent right across the instrumental spectrum. There's no sign of a weaker track in this solid 56 minute/five track exercise in blasting melodic black metal. In fact, Jacob Buczarski just seems to go from strength to strength with the hugely climactic atmosphere of closing number "Ataraxia Tunnels" being my album highlight. I have to admit that Mare Cognitum's sound is a little more melodic than I'm comfortable with & that was always going to see my rating potential being limited but I can't deny the professionalism in the song-writing & execution here. The one thing that I will say though is that apart from one track (i.e. the very strong "Terra Requiem") this is not even close to an atmospheric black metal release so it took me a couple of listens to reset my expectations. 80% of the tracklisting is pure melo-black metal in my opinion. Still... I'd probably take this album over the likes of "Trisagion", "Le tyran et l'esthète" & "…And Again Into The Light" so it's doing a lot of things right.

4/5

The only suggestion I wasn't able to check out last year was Kanonenfieber's Menschenmühle and while it would have made my list, it didn't hit me as hard as I initially thought it would. The war motif is nice, and I can see why Sonny enjoyed it so much given his high praises of 1914's 2021 album, but I think it's a step down from even Les Chants De Nihil for me, and that album ended up slipping down my list quite a bit. 

I'm glad you've been checking these out Daniel, there's a ton of variety in the albums listed here. Maybe stay clear of my Stormkeep and Untamed Land picks since those two albums are way more in my preferred lane of Black Metal, but we've really got a great selection in The North this year. 

The last of the clan's AOTY charts I have a vested interest in and it might be the strongest of the bunch.

Ethereal Shroud almost stole this one at the end of the year, but I have to give it to old reliable Austin Lunn and Panopticon's ...And Again Into the Light. If I had more time with Ethereal Shroud I might have given it top honors, but do not let that deter you; it is a great album. Panopticon's album is of the quality one has come to expect from Lunn with progressive songwriting and I greatly appreciate it.

Spectral Wound - "A Diabolic Thirst" (2021)

Aaaahhhhh.... here we go. Some straight down the line classic black metal in the vein of the Norwegian second wave & it's done really well too. I love Spectral Wound's sound; the screaming vocals, the icy cold buzzsaw guitars, the consistently blasting drums...  You shouldn't expect anything drastically different here but damn it's a well executed package. Unfortunately there are a few bouncy rock beats included on tracks like "Frigid & Spellbound" & "Soul Destroying Black Debauchery" that taint their impact a touch. There's a stronger sense of melody than many of their contemporaries too. Not enough to command the Melodic Black Metal tag that I see on our database mind you. These minor quibbles aren't enough to curb my enthusiasm for what is essentially a representation of a band that's glorifying & basking in the essence of true black metal though. I think Mare Cognitum still have top spot for the year for me in the black metal stakes thus far with Ethereal Shroud coming in a close second but I'll give this one third spot ahead of Les Chants de Nihil & Panopticon. Just check out tracks like the massive album closer "Diabolical Immanence" or the dark as fuck album highlight "Mausoleal Drift" if you want to feel true black metal atmosphere.

4/5

Nordicwinter - Le dernier adieu

Sedately paced atmospheric black metal from Canadian solo project Nordicwinter with nary a blastbeat in sight. This doesn't make it a bad record by any means, in fact it's a decent listen for any atmo-black afficianado, but neither is it going to set the gates of heaven ablaze. I was particularly enamoured of the distant-sounding vocals, which I really like in atmospheric black metal as they give the impression of ghostly voices heard on the wind. I would have liked a few pacier and more aggressive sections as overall the album feels almost too laid back and muted, but as I said it is decent enough, albeit fairly innocuous black metal.

3/5