As for the lack of "classics" on this thing, I'm well aware of how albums like Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas were genre defining, I just don't find them that interesting to listen to, and I don't play those albums on the regular. That's why this list is composed of albums that simply blew my socks off.
Take a look and feel free to give me your own top ten in the comments below
1. Fas-Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum by Deathspell Omega
This is the second instalment in a trilogy of awe-inspiring black metal records by esoteric French band Deathspell Omega. The title is Latin for "Divine law - depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire" taken from the Vulgate translation of Mathew 25:41. The entire trilogy is a fantastic, dizzying experience of discordant sounds and terrifying ambient passages.
2. Gin by Cobalt
Gin was influenced by two American writers; Ernest Hemingway and Hunter S. Thompson. Aside from centring on a theme other than satan, Cobalt stands apart from your typical black metal in other ways as well; by infusing elements of punk and acoustic Americana into their already unique tribal sound.
3. Maranatha by Funeral Mist
This is the follow up to Funeral Mist's excellent Salvation, and they've basically taken all the elements of their debut that made it stand out and amplified them by a hundred percent. It includes some really weird but amazing songs like White Stone and Blessed Curse that are structured around very unconventional tempos for the genre.
4. Teethed Glory and Injury by Altar of Plagues
This is the Irish black metal band's final album. Released just last year, it quickly became one of my favourites not only by the band but of the genre itself. It infuses elements of dark ambient electronic as well as classical music to create an incredibly bleak and futuristic atmosphere.
5. Two Hunters by Wolves in the Throne Room
WITTR are known for their "Cascadian black metal" style, in which they forego the use of corpse paint and satanic imagery in favour of a more meditative aesthetic. Two Hunters attempts to reflect the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest with its own sprawling sonic soundscapes and atmosphere.
6. Eldir Nótt by Fyrnask
Very few one-man black metal bands are able to capture the cold, dark atmosphere that's typical of the genre while still making a lasting impact on your earholes. This album doesn't just sound like it was made by a full band, it sounds like it took a fully arranged orchestra. Hugely ambitious and incredibly atmospheric, this is another very recent project that became an instant favourite.
7. Monument to Time End by Twilight
Before Altar of Plagues, I listened to Twilight to get my futuristic, dark electronic black metal fix. This is the second album from the unfortunately named black metal "super group" of shifting band members, and it's much different from the band's debut, sacrificing intensity for an element of atmosphere that's different from the shoegazey black metal that people tend to think of when they here the word "atmosphere".
8. Dekadens by Lifelover
I already reviewed this EP by Swedish depressive black metal outfit Lifelover. You can read the review for my full opinion of this excellent album, but you should really just listen to it. Elements of grunge, post punk and goth rock meet black metal head on in this addictive EP.
Orthodoxyn is a chaotic black metal album that manages to harness the feeling of a fiery worldwide apocalypse with its sound. Arkhon Infaustus are another French black metal band with disgusting dual vocals and distorted bass guitar sound that is lacking in most black metal projects, giving them that death metal edge without having to write death metal riffs.
10. Renihilation by Liturgy
Unfortunately, many people were first introduced to Liturgy as a hipster internet phenomenon with a very pretentious, academic outlook on black metal. But all bullshit aside, Renihilation is an amazingly original album by a talented black metal band that used sheer speed and melody to try and capture a sense of the sublime or transcendent as they might call it (I don't really know, I didn't read the whole manifesto).
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