Kaleidoscope

That was awesome, enjoyed it more than their previous stuff!
 
Let's be honest, if these guys were actually Japanese, people would hype them as the next big thing in VK. They sound great, look great (except for that moustache) and Yohio is a better vocalist than 80% of what is currently hyped in VK.

LACK-CO. are truly a lot better than the people who judged them from merely one song make them out to be. They are quite similar to Develop One's Faculties in their song structures and smart usage of jazzy elements. Very refreshing.

( maybe ) one of the good things about this band is that if you don't like this song, just wait a month or two for the next one. They do tracks like this, and then they do other kinds. 
 
I'm still constantly playing the A-side of their last single by the way. Love it

heaven in her arms will release their 3rd album on March 22nd, 2017.
 
 

heaven in her arms / 白暈
ヘヴン・イン・ハー・アームズ / ハクウン
レーベル：Daymare Recordings
CD: DYMC-278 税抜価格：\2,400+税
2017/3/22 on sale
tracklist:
1.光芒の明時
2.月虹と深潭
3.赦された投身
4.終焉の眩しさ
5.枷
6.円環を綯う
7.幻霧
 

 
 

@Bear I gave Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse a few spins so far and enjoyed it, thanks for the recommendations! Not sure what to think about they keyboards yet though
 
@VisutoxPantheion sound great as well, good stuff. Also love the artwork, might actually order this one.
 
@pazzi314 I already knew and like Harakiri, gonna order their Aokigahara vinyl that is coming out soon! Never heard of Downfall of Gaia, but I enjoyed what I heard on YT so much that I ordered their latest album Their sound reminds me more of a heavier/more sludge-y version of Deafheaven, Ghost Bath and the likes, but I enjoy them way more than the latter at least. Thanks for the recommendations!
 
I found something nice too a few days ago, they are called Archivist and seem to have some members of Fall of Efrafa. If you like the bands I mentioned in my message to pazzi314, I highly recommend checking them out, really high quality stuff and their album is free on Bandcamp!
 
 
 
 

If you dig Der Weg einer Freiheit, might I recommend Downfall of Gaia and Harakiri for the Sky? Those two are both in a similar vein of music. Downfall of Gaia was on tour with DWEG a while ago.

^ It's okay dude, take all the time you need, it's just for fun after all. I'm glad that have some good words for Setentia even though their music isn't especially your thing. I'm looking forward your review on the album! 
 
@KaleidoscopeDer Weg einer Freiheit are brilliant, and their latest album is nothing but fucking Stellar. Need to dig more into their discography though, I'm sure it'll be worth it!
 
I'd say In the Nightside Eclipse is a good album to start with tbf.
 
And since you enjoy some modern sounding black metal and we're talking about Emperor, I'd recommend you to check out these guys from Germany. This album is so good, I've listened it so many times that I'm just hoping they'll release something soon. They got some Emperor influences on their music and some brilliant symphonic arrangements. Not to mention the vocals, which are absolutely brilliant:
 
 
 

Code are still active, but they're not a black metal band anymore. Their last album, Mut, is more of a progressive post-rock album. Not bad, but not too interesting either.
 
As far as Emperor goes, I'd say Emperor / Wrath of the Tyrant, As the Shadows Rise, In the Nightside Eclipse and Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk are all good releases. And therefore I'll recommend them in that order.
 
I can't stand IX Equilibrium and Prometheus - The Discipline of Fire & Demise, but considering you prefer a more modern take on black metal the latter two will probably please you a bit more.
 
 

I agree with everything that has been said about the language of the music, but I also think that the image of the band plays a huge role. If band A and band B both play similar music in style in quality, but band B has an amateur-ish look/a terrible band logo/lame cover artworks, whereas band A has a great look/great artworks/seems professional (which is all subjective of course), a lot of people would say band A is better. I don't know why some people have a problem admitting it, but for me the whole image of a band plays a large role and influences the way in which I enjoy or don't enjoy their music - this applies to VK as well as pretty much any other genre or style imaginable. Aesthetics are just something a lot of people look for when it comes to any form of art. Even scenes  like the metal scene who often claim they don't are about appearances suddenly care a lot if a metal band doesn't fit the visuals a band in this genre is supposed to have.

I agree with everything that has been said about the language of the music, but I also think that the image of the band plays a huge role. If band A and band B both play similar music in style in quality, but band B has an amateur-ish look/a terrible band logo/lame cover artworks, whereas band A has a great look/great artworks/seems professional (which is all subjective of course), a lot of people would say band A is better. I don't know why some people have a problem admitting it, but for me the whole image of a band plays a large role and influences the way in which I enjoy or don't enjoy their music - this applies to VK as well as pretty much any other genre or style imaginable. Aesthetics are just something a lot of people look for when it comes to any form of art. Even scenes  like the metal scene who often claim they don't are about appearances suddenly care a lot if a metal band doesn't fit the visuals a band in this genre is supposed to have.

I agree with everything that has been said about the language of the music, but I also think that the image of the band plays a huge role. If band A and band B both play similar music in style in quality, but band B has an amateur-ish look/a terrible band logo/lame cover artworks, whereas band A has a great look/great artworks/seems professional (which is all subjective of course), a lot of people would say band A is better. I don't know why some people have a problem admitting it, but for me the whole image of a band plays a large role and influences the way in which I enjoy or don't enjoy their music - this applies to VK as well as pretty much any other genre or style imaginable. Aesthetics are just something a lot of people look for when it comes to any form of art. Even scenes  like the metal scene who often claim they don't are about appearances suddenly care a lot if a metal band doesn't fit the visuals a band in this genre is supposed to have.

Much better than their first song, Juri's vocals actually have improved quite a bit since Deluhi.

I got back into Black Metal a bit recently and dug through some of my old favourites, really starting to enjoy some stuff like Darkspace, Xasthur and Midnight Odyssey again. Just recently, I also rediscovered the whole Post-Black Metal whatever thing, I still love Lantlôs, An Autumn for Crippled Children and now Deafheaven, which I actually had never heard before despite their huge popularity (they seem to be quite controversial though).
You guys are probably familiar with most of the stuff I named, so I guess I will share some of the lesser known bands which I only know through the local scene.
 
Der Weg einer Freiheit have some pretty good stuff, I interviewed their guitarist and vocalist a couple of times when they had their first releases. This one is the last album by them that I listened to - they do have some modern influences, but are rooted in the Norwegian scene according to themselves. Very good live band also!
 
Ära Krâ are also nice, but they could be rather described as Blackened Metalcore I suppose? Especially the vocals take some time to get used to, I'm still not sure if I really like these guys or not, but they definitely do have some great melodies.
 
Not from Germany, but a band I also rediscovered in my collection. Resplendent Grotesque was one of my favourite albums at the time, really creative and twisted Black Metal with an amazing vocalist. Curious about what they are up to nowadays, even though I heard that their old vocalist left.
 
Gonna look through some of you guys' suggestions, I already saw Bear mentioning Cultes  des Ghoules a lot, so I guess I will give them a try later. Also looking for a good starting album to get into Emperor, is anybody familiar with their discography?
I'm interested in any other recommendations that might fit my taste - I usually enjoy more modern takes on Black Metal, but definitely like the more traditional stuff as well.

That Napoleon album is fucking great! I absolutely love the technical side of it. Fantastic album from start to finish. 
Also enjoyed the Architects one even though the production makes the album sound very homogeneous, if I may say so. A very good one nonetheless! Memento Mori is clearly the highlight of the album to me, what a freaking masterpiece that is.

I am doing something different this year, and I am going through nearly every newly released black metal album I can find online. I just found this (even though Schattenvald have been around since 1998) and I can say I am pretty amazed. For fans of Emperor, Summoning and Bathory. Very melodic/symphonic, with some excellent guitar-work. Loving the vocals too. 

Never. VK 'till the day I die. 

u know we can't go without at least two of these topics per year...enjoy ladies n gentlemen!

hmm... nope

Love the previews, the whole thing sounds pretty oldschool. I like that they moved away from the party rock thing a bit and sound more organic again, looking forward to this one!

Sioux new single "Last scene" will be released at 2017/4/19 (2 tracks, 1,000 yen)
 
[track list]
1.Last scene
2.嘘 (Uso)

RAZOR will release their 1st single 「DNA」at 2017.02.22 (2 types)
 
Type A:
01. DNA
02. 嫌、嫌、嫌。 (Iya, Iya, Iya.)
DVD:
DNA MV
￥1,800- ( tax out ) 
 
 Type B:
01. DNA
02. 嫌、嫌、嫌。 (Iya, Iya, Iya.)
03. ネイキッド (Naked)
￥1,500- ( tax out )

It was announced at DADAROMA 2nd Anniversary One Man Tour Final 「造花とカラシニコフ」 (1/14) that they will release their 3rd mini-album '「dadaism♯3」' on April 19.
 
In addition their tour 'MASTURBATION.' will begin on 5/20 (SAT) at Shinjuku RUIDO K4 (Yoshiatsu's birthday live) until the tour final on 7/9 (SUN) at Shinjuku RENY.
 
Pictures on Twitter but I'm too lazy to copy them. If anyone has the setlist from tonight I'd love to see it.