This band has been frozen for over 15 years in the dark, cold woods in the northern parts of Sweden. Some of the original members thought it would be time after all these years to record a new album. And the result is called Alongside Death, which has been released on Pulverised Records.

The Black is an old-school black metal band that dates back to the years 1992-1993. In that time, the late Dissection frontman Jon Nodtveidt was actually a member of The Black. In those days they released a couple of demos that gained them a cult status in the underground black metal scene.
 

Nowadays The Black consists out of current members from the bands Tyrant, Vinterland and Eternal Darkness. The resurrection of The Black to rekindle the flame of the Unholy, gave us these 8 raw black metal songs and I can tell you straight away, these songs make me wanna hear more. This is how black metal should sound like in my opinion! Raw, dirty, rotten like a crusty wound and black to the bone, all in the name of the unholy force that dwells down below! Argghh…
 

The Black makes very aggressive, raw and dirty sounding black metal in the vein of Leviathan, a faster version of Watain and Archgoat. Still, the music has a certain crusty groove in it, which contributes to the music's diversity. Unlike so many other black metal bands that want to play fast and end up making one big blur of noisy shite music, The Black understood the necessity of making the music interesting by putting in loads of crusty groove and breaks. Also the occasional use of eerie, atmospheric ambient intros, gives this album the much needed variation. Take the opening song ‘On The Descent To Hell’ for instance; and you’ll know what I mean.
 

If you’re into harsh, aggressive sounding black metal like Leviathan, then this album is a must for you. If you like your black metal a bit smoother and with keyboards, keep looking.