There is heavy metal and then there is Birmingham steel. England’s most famous foundry town has been an epicenter of extreme music ever since Black Sabbath (arguably) invented heavy metal there in the late 1960s. Birmingham has given us some of metal’s most seminal bands such as Judas Priest and Napalm Death. But perhaps the most extreme and currently influential band to hail from the midlands town is one that not many people outside of the genre of black metal have ever heard of. They are the two man force of nature known as Anaal Nathrakh.

Their name comes from a charm recited by the wizard Merlin in the 1981 film Excalibur and for the last eighteen years they have been casting a spell of their own on extreme metal fans across the globe. Their abrasive elixir consists of black metal with heaping helpings of death metal, grindcore, and industrial music.

On September 23, 2016, Grimoire Records will release a full-length split album entitled Swallow Matewan that has been over two years in the making. The record features two bands from very disparate parts of the world that share a common vision of black metal and a deep admiration for each other’s vision.

Torrid Husk are long-time Grimoire artists that hail from West Virginia. Their sound is a dense and intricate form of black metal that pummels the listener with layered nuances that lend themselves to the discovery of something new with each listen. End come out of the Athens, Greece scene and practice a more ethereal style of atmospheric black metal. Despite the two band’s different approaches to the genre, Swallow Matewan manages to flow together as one cohesive and monumental work of art.

We here at Geek of Doom are proud to present for your listening pleasure, in conjunction with Grimoire Records and Dewar PR, an advanced preview of one of the Torrid Husk tracks from the Swallow Matewan split. This is “Carminite.”

Feign is a one-man, atmospheric, black metal band from Sanford, Maine. Project mastermind Jacob Lizotte released two very highly acclaimed demos under the Feign moniker in 2015 and today, July 29, 2016, sees the release of his first full-length album Atlas via Into The Night Records.

The album is streaming in its entirety over at Metal Underground, but you can check out the first single right here below. The track is called “Lunarity” and it’s our featured song for this Black Metal Friday.

I don’t usually feature entire albums for Black Metal Friday, but Forteresse‘s Thèmes Pour la Rébellion is so good throughout that I couldn’t pick just one track to share with you. It is a towering work of art that should be enjoyed as a whole, so that’s what I’m giving you.

Thèmes Pour la Rébellion is the Quebec band’s fifth full length album since their beginning in 2006. The record is already landing on many critics “Best of 2016 so far” lists. It’s definitely in the running for my top black metal album of the year. I urge you to check it out below.

Young And In The Way hails from the unlikely locale of Charlotte, North Carolina. The band formed in 2009 and has been highly prolific in spreading their unique blend of crust punk and black metal. In just seven short years, YAITW has released two full-length albums, four EPs, and four 7″ splits.

When Life Comes to Death from 2014 is their most recent full-length album. One of the singles from that record is our selection for this week’s Black Metal Friday. Check out the official video for “Final Dose” here below and keep your eyes on this column for news regarding YAITW’s upcoming third album.