2017 has been a hellish ride concerning underground extreme music both around the globe as well as locally. For me personally, that involved getting into organizing shows with both GRIMM Gent and Niflheim Promotions VZW. GRIMM’s venue JH Asgaard opened on the same evening that the other venue I volunteer in, the Vort’n Vis, opened the doors of its brand new building. This summation might come across a bit sterile, but being able to dedicate a big part of my time to music and DIY organisations is a dream come true. On top of all that, 2017 proved to be a very fruitful year for black metal, one of the few genres that doesn’t give a damn about the shitload of controversies that controlled (social) media last year. A massive list of albums came out so I tried to distill the most interesting. So without further ado, here we go…

Only picking 10 albums out of the huge list of releases doesn’t honour the amount of quality that black metal spawned forth last year, I’ll include another list of albums worth mentioning. In my main list I only included full length albums (save for the Clouds release, which was announced as an EP but felt more like a full length album), I’ll include some EP’s and splits in here as well. To not rank one release above another I’ll compile this list in alphabetical order, because all of these releases are worthy of your attention if you’re into black metal or dark and haunting music in general. I’d like to stress that this list is by no means comprehensive, so if you like what you hear, make sure to delve into the dark realms and discover them yourself…

Abigor/Nightbringer/Thy Darkened Shade/Mortuus (split)
Arkhon Infaustus – Passing the Nekromanteion
Arkhtinn – V
Asagraum – Potestas Magicum Diaboli
Bell Witch – Mirror Reaper
Beltez – Exiled, Punished… Rejected
Blaze of Perdition – Conscious Darkness
Celeste – Infidèle(s)
Chelsea Wolfe – Hiss Spun
Der Weg Einer Freiheit – Finisterre
Desolate Shrine – Deliverance from the Godless Void
Devouring Star – Antihedron (EP)
Dødsengel – Interequinox
Endalok – Úr draumheimi viðurstyggðar (EP)
Ende – Emën Etan
Fen – Winter
Fides Inversa – Rite of Inverse Incarnation (EP)
Gloson – Grimen
Inferno – Gnosis Kardias (Of Transcension and Involution)
Kwade Droes – Kwade Droes (EP)
Les Discrets – Prédateurs
Lluvia – Enigma
Malokarpatan – Nordkarpatenland
Marthyrium – Beyond the Thresholds
Medico Peste – Herzogian Darkness (EP)
Nightbringer – Terra Damnata
Novae Militiae – Gash’khalah
Ofermod – Sol Nox
Paradise Lost – Medusa
Planning for Burial – Below the House
Selbst – Selbst
Sinmara/Misþyrming – Ivory Stone/Hof (split)
Sinmara – Within the Weaves of Infinity (EP)
Slow – V-Oceans
Solbrud – Vemod
Spectral Voice – Erroded Corridors of Unbeing
Sun of the Sleepless – To the Elements
The Ruins of Beverast – Exuvia
Time Lurker – Time Lurker
Turia – Dede Kondre
Violet Cold – Anomie
Voidsphere – To Call | To Speak
Whoredom Rife – Dommedagskvad