Like a 20-second soundtrack to a ‘slow hazy waking-up’ scene in a movie expanded to forty minutes.

Close is an eclectic, omnivorous, deep and heavy leap forward from Messa.

Great new record Triumvirat by Québec’s Ossuaire: fast, aggressive, but with the backdrop of harmonic grandeur you can generally expect in black metal from that province.

Distinctive but complementary halves which each feel like they’re self-contained but benefit from being heard in the vicinity of their companion. Highly recommended.

Like stained glass glints stabbing through the heavy black drapes of murky droning riff cycles.

It’s still Skepticism, which means the songs and the sound are impeccably judged in their creation, delivery and recording, and that sound is still ominous yet grand yet melancholy yet crushing.

35 minutes of epic but gritty, tightly wound but flowing black metal.

It’s everything you want from a new release, keeping all that was unique and powerful from previous records but expanding the scope and pushing the limits in places.

Forked Tongues is a furious, refreshing extreme blast.

Part 1 of our Roadburn Redux coverage. “It got far, far closer to that magic than I imagined possible for a digitally distanced event. A fantastic achievement from all involved.”

The highs offered by Yawning Sons’ Sky Island get pretty high.

The Swiss black metal trio’s new record Tinnitus explores post-metal textures while conveying atmospheric iciness.

Guaranteed to make your brain fizz.

In a world without live music Owen Coggins was lucky enough to see back-to-back gigs by Tuskar – one live, the other livestream – in an autumnal double-header at the Black Heart.

A fantastically immersive soundworld, revisiting the powerful impact of his processed loop investigations while exploring a wider range of atmospheres.

It’s the most absurdly evocative combination of sonic theatricality and occult power.

Seriously, all you need to know is: band play excellent, excellent music in the desert. Stunning.

Great new drilling, juddering experiment-o-death album, a tight, controlled burst of brutal claustrophobia and sonic imprisonment.

Obviously we’re all desperately missing live gigs . . . But in this difficult time, we can think about what we want when live music comes back . . . and make sure it’s as safe and accessible as possible for everyone.

A flinty, fierce debut album that builds on strong demos and splits to develop a hissing and crackling, doomy black metal style.

Null build on their sprawling debut with a follow up Entity, six tracks of dense atmospherics elevated by some striking and properly extreme vocalisations.