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by askii_Archive
Apologies if these have been covered (I searched!), but two current/ongoing obsessions of mine:Diamatregon - Crossroad (2009)Idiosyncratic French black metal. Lineup on this, their final full-length, is the same as "occult rock" instrumentalists Aluk Todolo, who do a sort of blackened krautrock. Diamatregon are unmistakably black metal, but they find some surprisingly natural crossover between those genres. Vocals are as perfectly demented as the music, which against all odds is catchy as fuck. 'Calvaire' starts out almost Crank! c. 1997, shapeshifts seamlessly to Les Legiones Noire c. 1997, then just as easily shifts back. Aluk Todolo is cool, but I wish this band would've kept going.False - all of it, but especially the untitled LP (2015).Minneapolis black metal. I was a little slow to catch on, but at this point I think they're my favorite active USBM band (RIP, Ludicra). On the surface they're fairly traditional, sort of a crusty take on early Emperor, but the riffs, melodies, and song structures are subtle and distinctive. Not mathy, but intricate, thoughtfully composed -- and then executed with frenzied, chaotic, ritualistic abandon. And qua trad black metal, they are par excellence. Those riffs!!As great as their records are, they are a hyperbole-inducing live band. In particular, Rachel is a canon-worthy vocalist and frontwoman. There's something almost No Wave about the way she projects total contempt, like a black metal Lydia Lunch or something, but her emotional investment is just as total. Lyrics are also grimly beautiful, though I still can't tell WTF she's singing most of the time.Both of these bands remind me of Weakling, not so much stylistically (False, a little) but in the way you can tell it's made by people who don't all have black metal as their only/primary influence, yet it captures the True Black Metal Feeling better than most of the trve kvlt hordes. And it's inventive and genre-expanding without being forced or mannered like a lot of "post-black metal".