Old Man's Child

SkyThala are an anonymous American avant-garde/symphonic black metal trio from Tennessee, part of the cryptic Moonlight Cypress Archetypes collective, who debuted with 2022's Boreal Despair on I, Voidhanger Records. Their music fuses the Stravinsky-descended dissonance of Russian modernist classical music with an Emperor-derived symphonic black metal blueprint, weaving oboes, bassoons and trombones through ultra-heavy dissonant-death riffing. The result is a maximalist, sensory-overwhelming collision of 'high art' orchestration and extreme-metal savagery.

Porta Nigra is a German avant-garde black metal band founded in Koblenz in 2010 by Gilles deRais (guitars, bass) and drummer/vocalist O., who recorded the first two albums as a duo before expanding to a full band. Their concept records — Fin de Siècle (2012), Kaiserschnitt (2015), Schöpfungswut (2020) and Weltende (2023), the last inspired by World War I — move between straightforward black metal fury and more psychedelic, spoken-word-laced detours, released through Soulseller Records. Guitarist Gilles deRais has described the project as a way of channeling 'old spirits' through the music.

Dark Fortress were a melodic black metal band from Landshut, Germany, active from 1994 until their May 2023 disbandment, known for atmosphere-heavy concept albums such as Seance (2006) and Eidolon (2008), released through Century Media. Longtime guitarist V. Santura (with the band 2001-2023) also served as Celtic Frost's touring guitarist during that band's 2006-2008 live reunion, before co-founding Tom G. Fischer's post-Celtic Frost band Triptykon. Later lineups included drummer Hannes Grossmann (ex-Obscura, ex-Necrophagist).

Ylemplay in the dock

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De Magia Veterum is the guitar-driven black metal outlet of Dutch multi-instrumentalist Maurice "Mories" de Jong, founded in 2003 as a dedicated counterpart to his more electronic/drone-leaning project Gnaw Their Tongues. Across five studio albums released between 2005 and 2017 (Spikes Through Eyes, Migdal Bavel, The Divine Antithesis, The Deification, Naked Swords into the Wombs of the Enemy) the project pursues dissonant, atonal black metal steeped in esoteric and biblical imagery. De Jong self-releases the project through his own label Transcendental Creations and hosts it on the shared Gnaw Their Tongues Bandcamp alongside his other aliases Aderlating, Cloak of Altering and Seirom.

Ebonylake are a UK avant-garde gothic/black/death metal band from Ossett, West Yorkshire, formed in 1997 by vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Ophelius and drummer Sighmon W. Their 1999 debut On the Eve of the Grimly Inventive (Cacophonous Records) fused technical black metal with avant-garde classical influences (Penderecki, Prokofiev) and horror-film scoring. The band went dormant after 2000, reunited around 2009, and released a second album, In Swathes of Brooding Light, in 2011/2012.

I Painted the Suicide of Neptuneplay in the dock

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Lengsel are a Norwegian progressive/avant-garde 'unblack' metal band formed in 1995, whose 2000 debut Solace won a following for its atmospheric, experimental take on black metal. The band is tightly bound to Extol: guitarist Tor Magne Glidje joined Extol in 1999 (first on bass, later guitar) and, over time, all three Lengsel members became members of Extol. The overlap left Lengsel a largely studio-bound project.

Ôros Kaù is the solo black/death metal outlet of Belgian multi-instrumentalist CZLT (also of Sol Kia and Neptunian Maximalism), built from a self-described 'inner existential crisis' and steeped in occult Hermetic imagery. Across Imperii Templum Aries (2020) and Thanatos (2023) the project folds drone and psychedelic passages — including a Pink Floyd cover — into otherwise violent, blast-driven black metal. Vocals are handled by fellow Belgian musician Déhà, tying the project into Brussels' small experimental extreme-metal circle.

Zeparplay in the dock

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Amthrya is an Italian avant-garde death/black metal band founded by guitarist-drummer Barry Yukimura and fronted by vocalist Kasumi Onryō. Their 2022 concept album Passage (Ad Noctem Records/Drakkar Productions), recorded at Black Church studio in Ghemme, Italy, is built around Japanese mythological horror themes of demons and vengeful spirits, rendered through extended, dissonant, depressive-tinged compositions. Guest vocalist Clode of Tethra appears on the title track.

Beannachd Leibh is the Toronto solo project of Alec McKay (formerly recording as Crux), pairing melody-driven black metal in the vein of Blut Aus Nord with the twisting, prog-damaged structures of Kayo Dot and Time of Orchids. Debut full-length Walking in His Works (2025) stretches songs past nine minutes, mixing blasting extremity with symphonic passages and near-hallucinatory melodic detours. It's black metal built for patience — technically dense and unwilling to settle into a single mode for long.

Nomicon was a Helsinki act led by vocalist/bassist Tommi Launonen (Ceasar), moving from an early death/thrash sound into symphonic, atmospheric black metal by the 2001 album Halla, drawing comparisons to The Kovenant's Nexus Polaris but 'enriched with more deeply doomy atmospherics.' The band drew on a deep bench of Finnish extreme-metal talent, including guitarist Roope Latvala (later Children of Bodom), rhythm guitarist Miika Niemela (Shape of Despair), female vocalist Tanya Kemppainen (Lullacry), and drummer Yka 'Agathon' (Barathrum). A Metal Archives review characterizes Halla's keyboard-led sound as a 'misanthropic baroque celebration' anchored by 'apocalyptic witch-esque rasps.'