Only days after releasing their amazing full-length Epoch, Fen have given us this split album with little-known De Arma. The pairing of the two bands couldn’t have been better, as De Arma’s sound is actually quite close to Fen’s and the transition between the two bands is almost seamless. As far as atmospheric black metal goes this split is definitely a pleasant surprise.

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Pale Chalice comes from the San Francisco black metal scene, which lately has been producing some of the genre’s more forward-thinking acts like Necrite, Ludicra, Ophidian Forest (sort of), and Lurker Of Chalice among others. With a sound that vacillates between traditional black metal and other influences like sludge, punk and even death metal, these guys certainly fit in. Their debut EP Afflicting The Dichotomy Of Trepid Creation gives us four tracks which offer a glimpse into what looks to be another exciting and unique band from the metal birthing grounds of the SF bay area.

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With its release coming almost exactly a year after Belus came out, it’s impossible not to compare Burzum’s new album Fallen to its predecessor. Unfortunately, Fallen doesn’t quite measure up in most areas, although very little has changed in Burzum’s core sound since Belus was released. Despite some claims by Varg hinting at more experimentation and a more dynamic sound, Fallen mostly sounds like a rehashing of the songs on Belus. If you enjoyed the previous album it’s likely you’ll dig at least a few tracks on this one, but don’t expect to be blown away.

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The Beast Of The Apocalypse was one of the highlights of 2009 for me, so I’ve been drooling over this release ever since I heard about it. The Dutch duo’s latest album Henosis is more layered and complex than their previous release, mixing in some different vocal styles and tempos and using synths a bit more heavily. I’m a bit torn between nostalgia for the more guttural, straightforward style the band displayed on the previous album and excitement at the possibilities afforded by this new sound. Not all of the songs clicked for me, but at the same time I think the increased songwriting variation helps make Henosis a more complete album than anything else the band has put out so far.

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The way Swedish black metal outfit Svartsyn writes riffs, it’s obvious that frontman and principal songwriter Ornias loves few things more than crafting devilishly brutal, hateful music. While the band’s latest release Wrath Upon The Earth is black metal at the core, it’s also monstrously heavy, very percussive and even strikes me as almost deathy at times. The searing vocals and aggressive, violent guitars never really let up over the course of the album, blasting the listener with a frenzy of tremolo picking and militant percussion. Along with bands like Marduk and Dark Funeral, Svartsyn represents Swedish black metal at its most intense.

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The unholy flame of Scandinavian Satanic black metal still burns strong thanks to bands like Finland’s Sargeist, whose third album is a well-executed slab of icy, melodic black metal that should fit perfectly with previous releases. Sole member Shautraug, who also plays in prominent Finnish acts Horna and Behexen, cranks out 10 tracks that all sound pretty similar, but Sargeist’s musical style is so well-executed that the sameness doesn’t really end up mattering too much. As a pure black metal album, Let The Devil In is definitely one of the better releases of its style to come out in 2010.

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The utter musical triumph that is Flammentriebe, Dornenreich’s first metal-oriented album in ten years, certainly begs the question: Why don’t they do this more often!? Known more for their folk metal output over the last several years, this Austrian group displays a masterful combination of tormented blackened fury and lush, fluid melodic songwriting that has few rivals in today’s metal scene, making it a real shame that we fans have to wait nine or ten years between albums of this caliber. Hopefully Dornenreich’s latest opus signals a change to more of this type of output, because the scene can definitely use it.

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Atmospheric black metal act Forteresse hails from the rich Quebecois scene that has lately produced such other promising acts as Sombres Forêts, Gris, Neige et Noirceur and Monarque. Par Hauts Bois et Vastes Plaines, their latest full-length, falls into the realm of ambient black metal, a style which - aside from a handful of acts like Germany’s Trist - I’ve never really been able to appreciate. Forteresse’s latest didn’t do much to change that, although their sound is a particularly cold and dirge-like take on the typical atmospheric black metal sound that somewhat sets them apart from other bands like Lustre I’ve heard in the past.

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Finland’s October Falls is one of the more unsung acts in the black metal genre, possibly because they seem to often switch between harsher releases and more folk-oriented albums. Their latest effort A Collapse Of Faith is a bleak slab of densely atmospheric music, evoking older Katatonia in its dreary, rain-soaked sound. This is a perfect example of mood music - an album that you don’t need to necessarily listen to closely or even really pay attention to in order to enjoy. Just throwing it on in the background and letting its subtle nuances darken your reality is satisfying enough.

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Not being much of a fan of death metal anymore, I love finding death metal bands whose styles are a little bit outside the norm. Texas’s Vex definitely fits that description - right from the first few notes of their debut Thanatopsis it’s obvious these guys are trying to forge their own path. Production-wise, Thanatopsis almost sounds more like a black metal album with a rather subdued, decayed guitar sound, and the actual riffing often eschews brutality in favor of undulating, layered harmonies and tremolo riffs. With a sound that varies from melodic to brutal to sometimes almost doomy, Vex is musically one of the most interesting death metal bands I’ve come across lately.

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