Crucial Melody-Driven Black Metal For the Winter Season

Whether you live for post-black metal, blackgaze, gothic, symphonic, or just straightford melodic black metal, there’s a certain feeling you get from the fusion of heavy, unforgiving riffs with soaring, melodious tones that just sets an untouchable mood. While black metal which focuses on melody is usually as heavy and ripping as its less melodious peers, the contrast between that and the melodious refrains running over top of the heavy music is both catchy and brutal at the same time.

Although melodic black metal is a defined genre, black metal with melody is a wider space that goes beyond that label’s narrow borders. There is such a thing as black metal that is not by definition melodic but still uses melody; in fact, melody is one of the things that sets black metal apart from death metal, but when the focus is on the melody, that enters melodic or post-black metal territory. It’s something that is hard to do right, but when it is, the result is unforgettable.

For those who are melodically curious or a long-time fan looking for new bands to check out, here are the melodic black metal albums I consider essential listening. Not everything here conventionally falls under the banner of ‘melodic black metal,’ but they demonstrate absolute mastery in the general sense of the term.

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Wormwitch—Heaven That Dwells Within (Prosthetic Records, 2019)

You really can’t go wrong with anything from Wormwitch’s catalogue. Every record is entirely solid, varying from more thrashy, melodic black metal to crustier, raw black metal, and they attack all aspects of their sound equally well. Heaven That Dwells Within is, in my opinion, the best summation of their sound, as it gets gritty and raw in parts, musical and uplifting in others.

This is the perfect record to scream along with in the car or see live, and there’s something perfect about the vibe of the album. The gorgeous, classic cover art and amazing song titles like “Disciple of the Serpent Star” and “Alone Before the Doors of the Silent House,” create a spooky, witchy, satanic vibe throughout. From the classic-style cover art picturing a forlorn young woman looking haunting and mysterious, to the way the riffs are layered with the grooves and heavy drumming, the album stands out as one of the catchiest and most memorable melodic black metal albums I’ve heard in a while.

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Cloak—The Burning Dawn (Season of Mist, 2019)

These guys are some of the best black metal from the U.S., period, and the Deep South, specifically. Their 2017 record, To Venomous Depths, set the stage for them to bring heaviness and melody that would normally be more at home in the far reaches of Europe. Hailing from Atlanta, GA, and playing, in their own words, “black metal; rock ‘n’ roll; and homegrown, Southern sludge,” their unique take on glammy, rock-influenced black metal is just a little heavier, slower, and prettier than everyone else.

They take the glam sensibilities of Abbath and combine them skillfully with a more modern, even heavier sound. The best example of this is their most recent album, the crushing 2019 effort The Burning Dawn. These songs are just as in place listening in a small, dirty club in a stylish leather jacket or echoing across a desolate, dystopian wasteland, and that is the true measure of good American black metal.

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Rotting Christ—Aealo (Season of Mist, 2010)

This is a record I just can’t stop revisiting. Everything by Rotting Christ is great, but Aealo is a standout record in their discography that isn’t quite like anything before or after it. If you want to hear some really early, ripping, old-school death and black metal that isn’t afraid to mirror Bolt Thrower and At The Gates alike, check out albums that are older than this one.

And if you want to see what they’re up to now—spoiler alert, it’s great—check out newer records. While their newer stuff is a far cry from the raw, unfiltered death metal they started with, and isn’t as experimental and folk-influenced as Aealo, their polished and refined blackened death metal sound has aged well.

But Aealo is an amazing take on their Greek heritage, incorporating traditional singing and chanting with some of their heaviest and most memorable riffs and melodies. They’ve moved from a melodic take on classic, old-school (because they are the old school) blackmetal to a more polished sound that puts emphasis on sample work, different vocal styles, and heavier, chunkier riffs.

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Harakiri for the Sky—Arson (AOP Records, 2018)

I wrote this band off for a long time and waited to check them out, but I finally did during the pandemic, and now I feel like an idiot for waiting so long. They’re truly one of the best at tackling the post black metal sound and making it relevant and non-derivative. At no point does it sound like they are trying to play black metal in a more modern, post-metal way. It just sounds like they’re technically skilled musicians who use melody, and that comes through on the record.

Their take on the melodic genre comes mostly from the black metal camp, as it involves heavy, galloping, thrashy riffs. The experimental side comes from the piano interludes, and synthetic or vocal harmonies they pair with the music.

Arson is positively bursting with heaviness and emotion, and each time I listen through, I catch more nuance in the lyrics, the art, the interplay between piano and guitar. If you don’t feel the need to headbang, scream along, and maybe even cry during “Fire, Walk with Me,” then we can’t be friends. I’m constantly daydreaming about seeing that one live.

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