February 2023 "The North" Playlist - Metal Academy Radio

1. Thy Darkened Shade - Noxious Witchery of the Titans (from Liber Lvcifer II: Mahapralaya, 2023)

2. Deafheaven - Tunnel Of Trees (from Roads To Judah, 2011) [Submitted by Daniel]

3. Leviathan - Within Thrall (from Scar Sighted, 2015) [Submitted by Sonny]

4. None - A World, Dead and Gray (from Life Has Gone On Long Enough, 2018)

5. Barshasketh - Ruin I (from Barshasketh, 2019) [Submitted by Vinny]

6. Summoning - Aamongandr (from Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame, 2001) [Submitted by Daniel]

7. Satanic Warmaster - Duke's Ride (Ride of the Spectral Hooves) (from Aamongandr, 2022)

8. Drudkh - Resurrectiónem Mortuórum (from All Belong to the Night, 2022) [Submitted by Sonny]

9. Decayed - Archdemon (from Resurrectiónem Mortuórum, 1996) [Submitted by Sonny]

10. Melechesh - Ghouls of Nineveh (from The Epigenesis, 2010)

11. Svartidaudi - Burning Worlds of Excrement (from Revelations of the Red Sword, 2018) [Submitted by Vinny]

12. Fellwarden - Sun of Ending (from Oathbearer, 2017) [Submitted by Vinny]

13. Hoplites - Ὁ τῶν δακρύων ψεῦδος (from Ψευδομένη, 2023)

14. …And Oceans - The Collector and His Construct (from As in Gardens, So in Tombs, 2023)

15. Gnaw Their Tongues - All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity (from All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity, 2009)

16. Nocte Obducta - Atme (from Nektar - Teil 2: Seen, Flüsse, Tagebücher, 2005)

A solid month on the North list this month.  Really impressed by Hoplites, Decayed and None tracks.  Not so hot on that new Drudkh, and those ...And Oceans or Nocte Obducta tracks.  However, I skipped none of the list (not even Deafheaven).

Over recent months I have been neglecting both the Metal Academy monthly playlists and black metal generally, so this afternoon the weather was kind enough to allow me to spend an afternoon in the garden carrying out some much-needed maintenance and thus providing an excellent opportunity to check out this month's playlist for the North. First off, bang-up job Ben, I really enjoyed it and I think it has helped restoke my black metal fire! I was never once tempted to hit the skip button and considering the list contained both Summoning and Gnaw Their Tongues, that is saying something, although both tracks were interesting enough and count as better ones from those two acts, at least for me anyway.

The Drudkh and Leviathan tracks nailed it for me (unsurprisingly as they were both my suggestions in the first place) and the new Thy Darkened Shade track is excellent - as is the album. I quite enjoyed the Deafheaven track which seemed more aggressive than I remember them being and both Vinny's suggestions of Barshasketh and Svartidaudi, along with Nocte Obducta (who I have never heard of before) really piqued my interest. 

I have been looking forward to checking out the Hoplites album, with the track here adding to that anticipation and I am a big fan of Melechesh, so a track from Epigenesis will always be welcome. The only real disappointment was the Satanic Warmaster track - it's ok, but not on the same level as their previous album (from all of eight years prior).

Nice work, Ben and much appreciated. Hopefully I will now be able to keep up with the playlists a bit more going forward.