Best of 2009

#4 - Altar of Plagues - White Tomb

I'm very content with how diverse black metal has become over the years. There was a time when black metal was simply blasts with screams of satan mixed with the most primitive equipment possible all for the sake of being "true." Those days are gone. More and more bands are taking black metal as an influence and creating something unique and in the case of Altar of Plagues, profound. White Tomb begins blasting full speed ahead with a traditional approach but as time passes it deconstructs itself piece by piece until you find yourself lost and buried by the oppressive atmosphere. It's as if this album creates a void for the listener; an actual place to exist as the experience becomes less like listening to an album and more like being trapped in a horrible nightmare. White Tomb is an album to be listened to from beginning to end in darkness. Certainly not reasonable material for your gf's mix tape.