And starting off at number five…

5. Ætheria Conscientia – The Blossoming (France – Frozen Records)

It’s really not that often one finds a black metal album with many graceful moments – but The Blossoming is riddled with them. Leaning heavily into various Middle Eastern styles, Ætheria Conscientia’s third album offers a tremendous mixing of genres to create one of the more unique albums in the heavy metal ether.

https://aetheriaconscientia.bandcamp.com/album/the-blossoming

4. Antichrist Siege Machine – Vengeance of Eternal Fire (USA – Profound Lore Records)

Punishing. Absolutely punishing. While only twenty-five minutes long, each moment is crushing to your ears. Raw, distraught, and dirty, Vengeance of Eternal Fire showcases everything I love the genre. Unforgiving with its chaos, you definitely need to be in a mood to spin this one.

https://antichristsiegemachine.bandcamp.com/album/vengeance-of-eternal-fire

3. Drevorod – Anthems of Soil and Stars (Russia – Heidens Hart Records)

I really can’t have a top album of the year without some sort of atmospheric black metal album making the top five, can I? Hauntingly beautiful and yet eerie at times, Drevorod features gorgeous vocal harmonies amongst the anguish of the genre. I found myself drawn to many of the ethereal moments of the album which really showcase the delicate balance of beauty and pain.

https://heidenshart.bandcamp.com/album/anthems-of-soil-and-stars

2. Ulcerate – Cutting the Throat of God (New Zealand – Debemur Morti Productions)

With their 2020 album getting an Honorable Mention in my list that year, Cutting the Throat of God ticks all of the boxes to get the attention it deserves. Exceptionally well-written and produced, this album takes the listener on a journey of being one of the best and bleakest albums in their career. Technically proficient as always, Ulcerate delivers in monumental ways.

https://ulcerate.bandcamp.com/album/cutting-the-throat-of-god

1. Oranssi Pazuzu – Muuntautuja (Finland – Nuclear Blast)

You could call my relationship with this album “love at first sight,” or in this case “first listen.” After the one minute and ten second mark, I was hooked.

Muuntautuja is an atmospheric, industrial, techno, sludge-y, black metal album on the backdrop of some wonderfully produced instrumentation. While sounding electronic at times, the instruments are indeed real. It’s the best the band has ever sounded and definitely the most punishing, I feel, they’ve ever been.

Oranassi Pazuzu have evolved their sound little by little over the years to create Muuntautuja – and evolution so gradual it loosely reminds me of bands like Ulver and Anathema – although those bands don’t sound remotely close to how they started – however, like them, Oranassi Pazuzu have “found” their sound, so-to-speak.

While terrifying at times, it’s also deceptively playful. It explores tones and sounds and never oversteps the scope of what it’s trying to accomplish. One can almost hear the fun the band had in creating such a musical landscape in a genre that’s often considered too-serious.

But don’t get me wrong: Muuntautuja is a serious album and it’s driven to push the black metal genre into further unexplored territory.

https://oranssipazuzu.bandcamp.com/album/muuntautuja

Honourable Mentions:

The Radicant – We Ascend EP

Weather Systems – Ocean Without a Shore

Most Disappointed:

Alcest – Les Chants De L’Aurore

Judas Priest – Invincible Shield