Skogen: "Skuggorna Kallar"

A turn to something worse, or the beginning of a new exciting chapter?

Skogen is one of those bands that just keep getting better and better. From Vittra in 2009, through Svitjod and Eld, I Döden from 2014 was the culmination of a lengthy venture into the ultimate combination of traditional black metal guitar riffs and exceptionally immersive atmosphere. I Döden was - and still is - one of the most surprising and stand-out black metal albums of the 2010s for me. But leave it to Skogen to throw us another curve ball.

Robespierre: "Garden of Hell"

Where's the excitement?

Ancient, overlooked gems of pristine heavy metal is worth more than any measure of gold, and when stories like that of UK's Hell, who returned after 20 years with the phenomenal debut album that never was, surface every so often, there's definitely something enticing about the whole rags-to-riches aspect of the mythos. Perhaps inspired by their success - and/or stories like theirs - Robespierre has been vomited forth from the bowels of the underworld with their first album since they started out back in 1983.

Over the Voids...: "Over the Voids"

Consistently uninteresting with few exceptions

Over the years I've found the part of the black metal scene that consists of one-man bands to be the most hit-or-miss prone part. The Fall is a Polish musician who has been involved with quite a few bands, playing live bass for the likes of Mgla and Clandestine Blaze. Over the Voids... is the first band in which he claims the guitar (and all other roles within the band as well) as his instrument, and that does show in the final product.

Anialator: "Rise to Supremacy"

Resuscitated thrashers on life-support

When an underground 80s metal band resurfaces some 30 years after their last true release, you really got to ask yourself if today's thrash metal scene has a place for them. Anialator never had a real breakthrough with their twin EPs in the late 80s, likely facing an oversaturated scene that was already beginning to move toward a different style.

Ieschure: "The Shadow"

Mystic debut which forms a thorough impression of style and concept

Black metal is dangerous territory if you don't have what it takes. There's so much competition, that any band lacking in talent or concept will get snuffed from existence in the blink of an eye. Iescure is an artist that, while dabling in the black arts with some degree of artistic ability, teeters on the edge that separates the bands of tomorrow with those that are bound to be forgotten sooner rather than later.

Seer: "Vol. III & IV: Cult of the Void"

Half great, half boring, all hard to determine

Seer is one of those bands that for all intents and purposes combines countless stylings together to form something unique. And true to this, Volumes III and IV are works that manage to sound completely new and incredibly well-known at the same time through just eight songs.

Evil: "Rites of Evil"

Goat-headed pentagram and old English font; That's exactly how this band sounds

Japan's new prime Buddhist thrash metal trio Evil let lose with all the dirty ferocity that one can expect from a group signed to Nuclear War Now! Productions. If you're even a little familiar with the label, you should already have a pretty good idea of the type of lengths this band will go to in order to create that menaching thrash atmosphere.

Sangus: "Vengeful Brutality"

No holds barred, no corners cut, just survival of the fittest

Holding high the tatteret banners of thrash-encrusted black metal are Sangus of Rhode Island, USA. Vengeful Brutality seems a fitting title for the kind of furious black metal ablaze with the naked flames of crust punk that we find under their moniker. But the intensity of the raw abrasions comes at the cost of the atmosphere often found inherent in black metal, gambling with the wholesomeness of the debut, often making it a cacophonous mess of blasting drums and hostile guitars.

Plaguewielder: "Plaguewielder"

Varying depth and an unruly substance, Luxembourg's young ones are a strange lot

Formed in 2012 by Maxime Weber and Nicholas O'Connell, Plaguewielder is one of few bands hailing from the small European country of Luxembourg. Though they later signed with Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, it all started with this ambitious EP from 2013, which offers crushing guitars and surprisingly varied drumming.

Forsaken Legion: "Seeds of Black Dawn"

Not exactly a forward-thinking piece of metal history, but not completely without flavour either

Once Switzerland was a place where legends formed, with Hellhammer - and subsequently Celtic Frost and Triptykon - being the reigning kings of metal there. Recently the country of Switzerland has begun stirring anew with the miasmic sounds of Bölzer resounding through proverbial catacombs. But enough talk of Switzerland's exports of metal - Everybody knows, or at the very least should know of, bands like Samael and Coroner. Let us instead deal with the Swiss underground, Forsaken Legion in particular.

Critical Insanity: "Through the Infinite Darkness"

Strange and unique take on thrash, but stumbling around in the dark

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then Critical Insanity - a band of thrashing youngsters roaming the streets of Poland - haven't found anyone worth flattering. Or perhaps they've instead opted to truly try and be different, which in a way they have succeeded in with their 2013 full length demo Through the Infinite Darkness.

Sporadic Slaughter: "Thoughts On Our Significance"

Technical enthusiasm and deathly disruptions

Though most bands aim to distinguish themselves from similar groups or from any obvious trends, whether they're following them consciously or not, but Sporadic Slaughter from Yorkshire, England, seem hellbent on shoehorning themselves in right among the rest of the half-technically alligned modern death metal bands of today.

Karonte: "Paraíso Sin Fe"

Spanish old timers with a feel for comfort

Since 1994 Karonte have unleashed a slowly churning stream of death metal upon the Spanish masses from their homebase in Cantabria. Except from one change of drummer back in their demo days, Karonte has had a highly stable lineup, rendering their sound as steady as ever. Though often labeled as melodic death metal, the sound that greets the listener is laden with fat, simplistic and grooving guitars.

In Silent: "Potepienie"

Polish genre-veterans that do their job, but sometimes only with unambitious adequacy

Having formed in 1996, 2016 celebrates the 20th anniversary of Polish death mongers In Silent. Most original members are long gone from In Silent's lineup, and over the course of two decades the band had, until 2013, only a few demos to show for their long engagement in the genre.

Despot: "Satan in the Death Row"

Despot tries its own thing but feels the pressure

With bands like Sarcófago, Vulcano, Sepultura or Mystifier, Brazil should ring a bell with any fan of extreme metal. Attempting to pick up the heavy mantle, B.A.V. created Despot in 2008, a militant and crude black metal project with three demos behind it before the release of the full length Satan in the Death Row in 2013.

Wall of the Eyeless: "Wimfolsfestta"

Consistent but effortless

Crossing country borders, Simon from Sweden and SL from Russia created their collaboration Wall of the Eyeless in 2011. That same year their debut demo Through Emptiness garnered a few positive reviews, to be followed in 2013 by the Wimfolsfestta demo.

Legionary: "Path of Tyranny"

The textbook example of the smaller influences of line-up changes

Like so many other bands, Legionary from the US have been plagued by near-constant line-up changes. Just from the release of their debut album, Arcane Divisions in 2012, to their next offering, 2013's Path of Tyranny EP, all but drummer and main songwriter Frank D'Erasmo and bassist Mike Carra had been replaced.

Mind Affliction: "Pathetic Humanity"

Mindless ramblings that take form and wildly twist before condensing into Pathetic Humanity

The coal-filled soil of Poland is home to many well known, and of course many more lesser known, metal acts. From experience, the lesser known bands show a remarkably high level of musicianship and flair. Mind Affliction, who hail from the ancient city of Kraków, emerged from the rich Polish culture in 2009, though Mental Disorder - the band's first demo - wasn't released until 2011. Pathetic Humanity, released through Metal Scrap Records, was in turn unleashed in 2013, featuring two tracks that were in some shape or form originally featured on that first demo.

Distress of Ruin: "Predators Among Us"

Variation be damned, a monolith of groove in itself

Distress of Ruin is a Finnish bastard child of melodic death metal origin, fused together in a grotesque form with copious amounts of metalcore tendencies. Five man strong, the band from Joensuu presents itself with a classic lineup of two guitars, lead vocals, backing vocals, and a strong rhythm section courtesy of drummer and bassist Sami and Riku.

Forestfather: "Hereafter"

Boundless admiration that would have been an immense recording if released at the right time

Forestfather, a band of Chilean descent, has its origins in the 1998 band Eternal Winter. Since its creation at the hands of Kveldulf Bjalfason, the debut - Hereafter - has been underway, awaiting the completion of the lineup in 2012 with the addition of drummer Jared Moran and vocalist Michael Rumple (of Desiderium).

The band "met" through the Metal Archives forum, and as such the band's reach stretches from Chile in South America to both Mississippi and North Carolina in the US. Many may already be acquainted with Moran's drumming, as he has performed in somewhere around 40 bands.