Goat wrote:
I suppose it depends; Rotting Christ were formed a few years before Burzum, after all! But if we're speaking non-Norsk, then Sigh constantly push boundaries and often made more interesting black metal than the Norwegians, and Xasthur at its best hit similar atmospheric heights. Will have to have a think so that I don't just post my own favourites, but The Meads of Asphodel and Lugubrum pushed the genre to new realms too... Agree with all mentions in the thread so far (although need to hear more Nagelfar!)
Well sure, Sigh made more interesting black metal than...Gorgoroth
I should be nice though, you mentioned Xasthur, indeed, both you and CrimsonMoon have a bunch of good suggestions.
Somewhat similar to Rotting Christ, Abigor immediately comes to mind as a contemporary who managed to make their own version of black metal, and infuse increasing technicality long before Deathspell Omega. How about Moonsorrow? I know Finland isn't that different from Norway, but their evolution from a surprisingly good Viking metal band into high quality atmospheric black metal was fun to trace.
And Negura Bunget might be getting stale now, but Om should remain on the very short list for best black metal recording this millennium. And for those who just heard Om from the hype, 'n crugu bradului was a fascinating listen in its own right.