I’ve been playing catch-up on new and newly discovered music this weekend. It’s been a very good series of listening sessions, and now I’m up to my eyebrows in tracks I’d like to share. I posted one round-up earlier today, and in this one I’m focusing on new music in a blackened vein.  But this post won’t exhaust all the black(ish) music that’s now burning in my head, and so my plan is to compile a second installment of Shades of Black for posting tomorrow. As usual, I’ve tried to select the songs, and to divide them between Parts 1 and 2, in a way that would provide a diverse listening experience.

KÆCK

When I reviewed Kaeck’s Stormkult last year, I identified two aspects of the music that I thought made it one of the brightest stars in the firmament of 2015 black metal releases:  First, even in a genre known for its extreme intensity, Stormkult is extremely intense. For almost its entire duration, it’s a raging hurricane of sound — bombastic, terrorizing, and chillingly grim. If you want to be electrified by music, this will do it, and leave your head smoking. Continue reading »