If you’re a black metal fan, then you’re well aware that it is a rather overcrowded genre at the moment. A large majority of the reviews on this site are of BM albums, most of them I’ve never even heard of, let alone have time to listen to. So with a scene that’s overflowing with bands (both good and bad) at the moment, where does The Stone, a relatively unknown band from Serbia, fit into the mix? As one of the best black metal bands of the 21st century, that’s where! I discovered The Stone with their 2006 album Magla, which is their third full-length and a true hidden gem in the underground black metal scene. This is one evil, original black metal masterpiece from the most unlikely of places, and The Stone is, in my opinion, one of the most highly underrated bands in all of metal today. So light your torches, grab the corpse paint, and read on to learn about one of the greatest BM albums I’ve heard in recent memory.

The Stone is formed from members of the band May Result, and they play a brand of black metal that borrows several traits from all across the BM spectrum, particularly from Immortal (Who are easily in my top 3 favorite bands ever). Lots and lots of blast beats and mid-to-low-end tremolo riffing is what you’ll find here, which may sound uninspired, but Magla is all about atmosphere. The word “Magla” translates into English as “The fog”, which describes this album perfectly. The production is far from raw, yet it somehow sounds murky and damp (I don’t know how they did it, but they did). The songs on Magla are akin to a walk through a very thick, dark fog, with vile riffs, punishing blast beats, thundering double bass and monstrous growls awaiting your ears around every corner. This album is a musical rush; the tempo and riffs change constantly, and just as you get accustomed to one, you’ll get swept up and taken in a completely new direction to see what further horrors await.

There are some very odd riffs in here that sound like they could never fit in on a black metal track, but they do, and quite wonderfully at that. Magla, while being a black metal album through-and-through, holds some definite thrash and even some death metal influence throughout. As I mentioned before, this album is full of tremolo riffing, but once in a while you will often find some Slayer-influenced riffs and solos (See Zakon Sile, Trijumf Smrti), along with the occasional slow-paced, doomy death metal riff (See the title track). All of this blends together with the abrupt tempo changes to create a truly original BM sound, and nothing ever seems out of place. The music flows extremely well despite being so chaotic.

Just by looking at The Stone’s logo (which features an inverted cross), you can tell that the lyrics will be typical black metal fare, covering paganism, Satan, etc. As the lyrics are all in Serbian, I had to go online and find a translation tool so that I could understand them (And I still don’t understand them 100% as the translation tool didn’t work so well). While they’re almost exactly what I expected, the way the lyrics are written is masterful and haunting. Just reading some of the lyrics to the title track sends chills down my spine; this stuff is pure, unfiltered evil, and makes me want to learn Serbian so that I can fully understand them (Much like I wanted to learn German after listening to Equilibrium’s Sagas album).

Magla, as I’ve stated before, is one of the best black metal albums I’ve heard in a long, long time. It’s truly a breath of fresh air in a genre suffocated with mediocre bands, and absolutely every black metal fan should listen to it ASAP. Metal fans that don’t appreciate black metal should also listen to this, as The Stone incorporates a good deal of melody into their music, and Magla is a great album for anyone looking for a place to start listening to the genre. I can’t overstate this enough, this album is a MUST-HAVE for every black metal fan. It’s a shame that this band isn’t more popular than it is, because with the right label behind them, they could go far in the BM scene. But for those of us lucky enough to listen to it, Magla is a true treat for the ears. Please, people, don’t let this album or this band go unnoticed! Spread the word so that The Stone may one day conquer the world of black metal, because they so greatly deserve it.