The king of Northern darkness has returned! Former Immortal frontman Abbath is back with a brand new band, which is also called Abbath. The band made its live debut back in June at the Tuska Open Air festival in Helsinki, Finland. At that show, most of their set consisted of tunes from Abbath’s (the man) other bands Immortal and the metal supergroup I. They did however debut one new original track called “Fenrir Hunts.”

Now Abbath (the band) has created a live video for the song, which is scheduled to appear (in studio form as opposed to live) on their upcoming debut album. That recording is slated for a January 2016 release on the Seasons of Mist label. Expect an in depth look at that right here at GoD as the release date approaches.

This past Tuesday (my birthday… woo hoo!), Polish metal superstars Behemoth gave us a brand new official video for the title track of their epic masterpiece album The Satanist. Watch the video here below!

The album was released in May of 2014 to widespread critical acclaim. It received a 92 out of 100 from Metacritic, making it one of the highest scoring metal albums of all time. It topped many a critic’s year end list, landing in the second place slot on my own best of list.

When one hears the phrase “Polish black metal,” it’s impossible not to immediately think of the mighty Behemoth. They may, after all, be the biggest blackened death metal band in the world. Behemoth are far from being the only game in the neighborhood though. The Eastern Bloc countries are a hotbed for modern black metal with numerous bands looking to stake their claim in the genre.

One such band is Mord’A’Stigmata, also hailing from Poland. This experimental, blackened, post-metal unit has seen their stock on a steady rise since their first demos surfaced in 2005. They have, to date, released 3 demos and 4 full-length albums. On September 25th, they will add an EP to that list with the release of Our Hearts Slow Down on Pagan Records.

This week’s Black Metal Friday features the epic, 13-minute, opening track of Our Hearts Slow Down. Here is Mord’A’Stigmata with “The Mantra of Anguish.”

New York City black metal unit Krallice play with a level of technicality not usually found in the genre. The band utilizes densely layered walls of guitar as well as the sort of shifting arrangements more commonly seen in technical death metal. One could draw parallels to many of their contemporaries such as Wolves in the Throne Room, but make no mistake, these guys are deeply rooted in traditional black metal as well, with a tone and aesthetic reminiscent of many of the Norwegian greats. Krallice, but for better production values, would not have been out of place in black metal’s halcyon days at the beginning of the second wave in the early to mid 90s.

This week’s Black Metal Friday track comes to us from the band’s stellar 2008, self-titled debut record Krallice. This is “Cnestorial.” Crank it up and scare the hell out of your neighbors.

Abigail Williams is a black metal band originally from Phoenix, Arizona, but now operating out of Los Angeles. They take their name from one of the initial accusers in the Salem witch trials of 1692, which led to the arrest and imprisonment of more than 150 accused witches. The band’s sound started out as an epic sort of symphonic black metal in the vein of Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir, but over the years they’ve steered more and more toward a traditional Nordic black metal aesthetic.

This week’s edition of Black Metal Friday features the epic track “Beyond The Veil” from Abigail Williams 2012 offering Becoming. Check it out here below.