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.”

One might not immediately equate the late, great David Bowie with heavy metal, but to dismiss his influence on the genre would be remiss. Between the years of 1988-1992, the Thin White Duke teamed up with guitarist Reeves Gabrels and a rhythm section consisting of brothers Hunt and Tony Sales (sons of famous TV funnyman Soupy Sales) to form a metallic edged hard rock collective known as Tin Machine.

The project only saw the release of two studio albums (both of which were produced by my friend Tim Palmer) and one live record, but in that short span the band would produce some of the heaviest, angriest music of Bowie’s storied career.

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.”

To say that I am devastated by the recent deaths of Motorhead founding members Lemmy Kilmister and Phil Taylor is a serious understatement. Motorhead was, and will always be, one of the very cornerstones of metal for me. From the very first time that I heard “Ace of Spades” on MTV in 1981, my life would never be the same. I mean, here was a band that consisted of the most insane-looking drummer that I had ever seen up to that time, a guitarist who played faster than I’d ever heard, and a biker-looking dude with his vocal mic pointed skyward as though he were screaming at the gods themselves with a bass tone that sounded like they were screaming back! Motorhead was the band that bridged the gap between metalheads and punkers. They pretty much invented speed metal and it’s nearly impossible to imagine the existence of all of the metallic hardcore hybrids that followed had they not paved the way.

Much has been said about Lemmy, Phil, and Motorhead’s influence in recent weeks. I was privileged enough to meet Lemmy several times at his favorite watering hole, The Rainbow Bar and Grill right here in L.A. He was a funny, witty, down-to-Earth guy who, it seemed, everyone loved. He even kissed my wife at the turn of midnight on New Year’s Eve 1999. That was a year before we were together, but even if it hadn’t been, Lemmy was the kind of guy who you could forgive for kissing your wife. Everyone in L.A. or who was ever a Motorhead fan has a story to tell. For this Massive Metal Monday, we’ll just raise glass, crank the hell out of our speakers, and let Lemmy break it off for you in his own words. Here from the band who talked the talk and walked the walk is “Live To Win” from Motorhead’s landmark fourth album, Ace of Spades.

What the Hell, man? I go on a short break for the holidays and first Lemmy from Motorhead dies and now I come back to find a press release announcing that one of the best metal bands in the world has basically called it quits.

Chicago’s Trials is among my very favorite bands of the current metal generation; I even went so far as to name their most recent album, This Ruined World, the number one album of last year in my Best Metal Albums Of 2015 article just a few weeks ago.