Introduction to PBM

As a longtime fan of extreme metal and underground music, I was blown away to realize I’d missed out some very mind-bending and genre-expanding albums by both Inferno and Blut Aus Nord until about 2019. And that wasn’t all. I’ve only scratched the surface.

Enslaved

My unscientific guess at which band might be the most well-known entity in psychedelic black metal (PBM) is Enslaved. They started out as blistering-cold, raw “kvlt-style” black metal, and evolved over two decades into an experimental, progressive-rock-influenced, experimental black metal band. They may very well be the godfathers of psychedelic black metal.

To help others catch up on what they may have been missing (like I was), I’m sharing some of my favorite discoveries in the subtle subgenre of my own notion of psychedelic black metal.

Inferno

One of my favorite findings in recent years is the band Inferno, a Czechian band that evolved from “pure kvlt oldschool black metal” to some of the best devil music around.

Few black metal bands can spin the listener into a trance like the modern work of Inferno. If you’re not sedated and drooling by the second half of “The Innermost Dissillusion”, you must need better headphones. I recommend the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro, or maybe any set of Beyerdynamic headphones.

Issolei

More recently in the psy-black world, we’ve been gifted a terrific Norwegian newcomer known as Issolei. You’ll also want to make sure to browse the discographies of beloved favorites and veterans of the subgenre like Oranssi Pazuzu, Yellow Eyes, Limbonic Art, Deathspell Omega, Akhyls, Decoherence, Skaphe, Wormwood, and many others* which I’ve yet to discover for myself. For now, I’m going to focus on my personal favorites from recent months and years.

More…

Listen to Psychedelic Black Metal on Bandcamp

If you have some bands you want to recommend, leave a comment!

-Shane