Greek black metal legends Rotting Christ are gearing up to release their thirteenth full-length album on February 12, 2016. The record is called Rituals and continues the band’s tradition of releasing some of the most interesting material in the genre. They have already blessed us with a sneak preview in the form of this week’s Black Metal Friday track “Tou Thanatou.” The title is taken from the Biblical passage Romans 7:24 (the King James version) and translates to “body of death.”

Ghost Horizon is a new, two-piece, atmospheric black metal band from Phoenix, AZ, consisting of former Severed Receptors members Dan Stollings (guitars, bass) and Thom Knudsen (drums, vocals, additional music). They are currently putting the finishing touches on their debut EP, Astral Possession, which will be released on February 26, 2016.

Today’s Black Metal Friday track is the advance single from Astral Possession. It’s called “Spectral Threnody” and it’s pretty killer. Crank it up and if you like what you’re hearing, be sure to pre-order the EP and give them a like on Facebook to help support great underground artists.

Si Monvmentvm Reqvires, Circvmspice, the third full length album by mysterious French black metal unit Deathspell Omega, is considered by many experts to be one of the best black metal albums of the twenty first century. The double record, which was released in 2004, takes its name from the inscription on the tomb of famed British architect Christopher Wren at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London (which he designed). It translates to “If you seek his monument, look around you.”

The album marked a radical departure for the band as they began to move away from straight black metal and into experimenting with more avant-garde and progressive elements. It is also the first entry in their trilogy dealing with the relationship between God, the devil, and man. The second and third records are Fas – Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum (2007) and Paracletus= (2010).

Todays Black Metal Friday track is one of the many standout moments from Si Monvmentvm Reqvires, Circvmspice. This is “Drink the Devil’s Blood.”

As I’ve said before, the frozen reaches of the United States’ upper Midwest have become a hotbed for a new generation of black metal artists in recent years. Right smack in the middle of the region lies Minneapolis, Minnesota, which is home to blackened doom unit Obsequiae. This three-piece incorporates elements of medieval music into their sonic assault with spectacular results.

The band’s second album, Aria of Vernal Tombs, was released in 2015 and created quite the buzz among critics and fans alike, landing very high on many year-end “best of” lists. It is an epic work that is best absorbed in its entirety, but for our purposes here today I have chosen to give you a sampling of one of my favorite tracks from the album. Today’s Black Metal Friday features the record’s second song, “Autumnal Pyre.”

Mgla is the brainchild of Polish musician MikoÅ‚aj “M.” Å»entara who performs all vocals and every instrument except for drums (which are handled by Maciej “Darkside” Kowalski) on the band’s albums. Formed in Krakow in 2000 and bearing a moniker that means “fog” in Polish, the black metal unit has slowly built a rabid following in the underground scene over the last fifteen years. Their recorded output has emphasized quality over quantity seeing the release of only three full-length albums along with scattered demos and EPs.

2015 saw the release of Mgla’s most commercially and critically successful record to date. Landing at, or near the top of countless critic’s year end best of lists, Exercises In Futility is an epic masterpiece in six movements. Today’s Black Metal Friday track is the stunning album closer “Exercises In Futility VI.”