Moon - The Nine Gates (2013)

 

Along with the new Paysage d'Hiver album, this underground gem is a sure contender for black metal album of the year. Much like Xasthur, it's eerie, haunting and otherworldly with almost inhuman vocals, dark atmospherics and an overall doominess. The main difference between the two is in the lyrics. Whereas Xasthur focuses on depression, Moon is an occult project with such track titles as "Sabbat" and "Astral Blood." The music in this case matches up with the themes perfectly as it is not so hard to imagine this mysterious, arcane music as some kind of ritual meant to conjure up a demon. In any case though, this is a spellbinding, darkly beautiful album that will hopefully gain more recognition in the metal community.   

9.5/10