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“It makes no difference what men think of war, said the Judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way.”

-Blood Meridian

In many ways, black metal seems to move in cycles with regards to which microgenre is in vogue at a given time. From 2007-2010, we had an explosion of atmospheric, "Cascadian" black metal; from 2011-2013, black 'n roll was in vogue, followed by blackened crust and blackened hardcore from 2014 until 2016*. Starting last year, however, the worm seems to have turned yet again with a resurgence of "war metal," that brain-pounding mixture of Beherit-style bestial black metal with whirling Incantation-style death metal and a pinch of power electronics/harsh noise cacophony. Though present since the glory days of Blasphemy, Order From Chaos, and the Ross Bay Cult in the late '80s and early '90s, war metal has, as with so many genres, expanded exponentially with the advent of the internet. A solid sub-underground fanbase has emerged for war metal, supported by high quality releases and reissues from labels like Nuclear War Now!, Hells Headbangers, Invictus, and Iron Bonehead. Equipped with a nihilistic image full of striking martial semiotics and making much hay from the curative yet egalitarian nature of Bandcamp, war metal has benefitted immensely from social media over the past few years, with a strong foundation becoming the core of a veritable legion of acolytes. Kim Kelly provided an excellent overview of war metal for Invisible Oranges back in 2012, which as a primer for the uninitiated and as a history of the microgenre as of 2012 is well worth your time.

Perhaps we will look at 2017 as "the year war metal broke through," similar to how stoner metal did in 2006. Or perhaps it's just another passing fad for hessians to gobble up for a hot minute and then move on from, like cascadian black metal or black 'n roll. Yet the fact that this genre has remained largely unaltered since 1993 would seem to speak to the former. That it is getting big now is simply the result of a superhumanly dedicated fanbase putting in the effort and labor to keep it aloft through over two decades of cultural trends. As Judge Holden might note, "before metal was, war metal waited for it." Or, as 'Pac might have it, "wars come and go, but my soldiers stay eternal." So pour yourself the blackest beer, put on your wraparounds and leather jacket, and prepare a blasphemous sacrifice for the gods of war!

-Rhys Williams

*Examples:

2006-2009: Wolves in the Throne Room, Panopticon, Skagos, Krallice

2010-2013: Midnight, Watain, Dishammer, Promiscuity

2014-2016: No Zodiac, Young And In The Way, Horned, Our Place Of Worship Is Silence

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Honorable Mentions:

20. Kapala – Infest Cesspool (Dunkelheit Productions, DE) [https://dunkelheitprod.bandcamp.com/album/infest-cesspool]

19. Archaic Tomb – Congregations for Ancient Rituals (Caligari Records, US) [https://archaictomb.bandcamp.com/releases]

18. Primordial Massacre – The Law of Club and Mace (Goat Vomits Productions, BO) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYR7R7XLjw4]

17. Venereal Baptism – Deviant Castigation Liturgy (Osmose Productions, FR) [https://venerealbaptism.bandcamp.com/album/deviant-castigation-liturgy]

16. Ziggurat – Ritual Miasma (Caligari Records, US) [https://caligarirecords.bandcamp.com/album/ritual-miasma]

15. Nexul – Paradigm of Chaos (Hells Headbangers Records, US) [https://nexul.bandcamp.com/album/paradigm-of-chaos]

14. Goatpenis – Anesthetic Vapor (Nuclear War Now! Productions, US) [https://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/anesthetic-vapor]

13. Atomic Grave – Wrath of Militaristic Barbarism (Self-Released, CA) [https://atomicgrave666.bandcamp.com/album/wrath-of-militaristic-barbarism]

12. Tetragrammacide– Primal Incinerators of Moral Matrix (Iron Bonehead, DE) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I0w86kF6lE]

11. Morbosidad– Corona de Epidemia (Nuclear War Now! Productions, US) [https://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/corona-de-epidemia]

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