Black metal in China in currently going through a renaissance period. The country’s leading label, Pest Productions, turned 15 this year, and to celebrate it, put on a cross country tour featuring around 20 of their most promising acts.
The country’s most well-known acts like Zuriaake and Ritual Day have made big plans, with the former signing to Season of Mist and the latter inking a deal with China’s largest indie/rock label, Modern Sky. Other established acts like Frozen Moon and Black Kirin have released career defining albums, with Frozen Moon’s Legend of East Dan series and Black Kirin’s recent live album done with a symphony.
Of course, albums from new artists have been released in the past five years as well (mainly by Pest Productions), which represent the new breed of dark arts being conjured in the country. Here are ten which could very well become future classics. 
Suriel – Secret Sacrifice in the Lunar Eclipse (2017)
Shanghai’s Suriel takes that early ’90s, Norwegian aesthetic and converts it into a war cry for the current generation of Chinese listeners who could care less about church. “Lord of Shadows” comes out swinging, with crunchy guitar work and a crusty praise to the dark lord himself. “Virgin Mary Fucks Her Hard” doubles down on the bass, a true sheet-bloodying track to put on once “Christian Woman” by Type O Negative ends. A cover of Emperor’s “Into the Infinity of Thoughts” shows that beyond the profane elements on the album, the band cherishes intricate song structuring.
Black Reaper – Celestial Descension (2018)
Follow the Black Reaper’s descent into the black hole with their 2018 release, the “anti-cosmic” Celestial Descension. The band is a two-member project influenced by melodic black/death metal bands like Dissection, Dismember, and Naglfar, which they acknowledge on the album with a cover of “Life, Another Shape of Sorrow” by Dismember. The 10-track album is a good fix for those longing for a band with a similar sound as Dissection – Black Reaper put together a perfectly grim melodic black metal constellation with this release.
Deadtrees – Forest (2018)
There is perhaps no other experience as beautifully depressing and getting lost in a forest full of frost and dead trees. This band from Lanzhou, Gansu Province makes sure you don’t need to leave your home for this immersive, depressive experience, providing a sometimes melancholic, sometimes blasting wall of agonized noise with their first EP, Forest. They have since added to their tormented repertoire with a handful of singles including the latest, “Desire” and “Death Inherent in the Universe.”
Obsession – Savage Rule (2018)
How raw do you like your black metal? Obsession are about as raw as a freshly cut off limb in terms of production and song writing—not choosing to borrow folk elements seen in some Chinese black metal acts in any way—instead, taking their sound as far into the underground as it can go. Vocally, Obsession at times sound akin to Japanese band Sigh, with lyrical themes going from kinky with “Sexy Murder” and “Blood Bitch” to war history in “731” about the infamous Japanese lab where they did experiments on Chinese and Russian POWs.
Throat Cutter – Battle of Blood Heaven (2019)
Among the grim individuals in corpse paint who make up the Pest Productions black metal army are new knife wielders Throat Cutter. While not having been on the scene for a long time, they have made waves with their so-raw-it’s-bloody EP Battle of Blood Heaven. The three-piece band puts ample attention on the power of the riff – worshiping the methodology of a well-placed, dirty groove. While only four songs, it is a glimpse into the beginnings of a full-on holy war from the band – with their modus operandi being the band name itself.
HolyArrow – Oath of Allegiance II (2020)
Looking for something a little more culturally influenced and regionally based in your Chinese black metal? HolyArrow are a band from Fujian province who dress in traditional war-ready garb and utilize the Hokkien language of the region as fixings to their imperial black/folk attack. Thematically, the band gives the listener a history lesson with songs regarding ancient war stories of China’s past. On their first Oath of Allegiance, the Imperial Ming troops’ resistance was put on display. With the two-track sequel, Zhu Jin’s 1674 conquest of the western tribes and the Battle of Penghu (1684) are topics, with the Bathory-esque music getting a majestic oriental treatment with epic choir and synth passages within the imperialistic tracks.
Bergrisar – Bergrisar (2020)
Tianjin’s Bergrisar have conjured the blasphemous blackened death metal spirits for this anti-God-themed batch of songs found on their debut album. “Prologue” harkens back to classic Mayhem with a bell from hell being rung over an ominous riff, while the track, “War” best exemplifies their demonic audio intentions with proper wrath. “We are the enemies of God. Nightmare of Gods,” the lyrics proclaim. The album is big, beefy and undeniably black – for fans of Behemoth, Belphegor and Goatwhore.
Vengeful Spectre – Vengeful Spectre (2020)
From Fan Bo, the mysterious and wickedly dressed front man of Frozen Moon, comes a new modern classic in the form of a wicked ghost – Vengeful Spectre. The self-titled album has possessed the locals, being a black/folk hybrid, which is perfect for a rainy night in an abandoned temple. “Wailing Wrath” is a highlight, which is full of mesmerizing and furious atmosphere. The only thing more spellbinding than listening to the album is seeing the band in person, with Fan Bo dressed in a long cloak, wielding arcane items and shrieking as if he is some kind of spectre inhabiting a human body just for this live show.
RustyLake – Shaw (2021)
From Xi An, RustyLake are an atmospheric post black metal/blackgaze band whom evoke a bleak, gothic, and implicit sound. Inspired by Alcest, Deafheaven, and Japanese post-black metal bands, RustyLake’s Shaw is an album full of howling and monologues to go with the post black guitar work and is centered around a short story regarding the protagonist (Shaw) and his love interest, 落/Luo, which comes to a murky end by a copper-colored lake. It is a post-black styled Twin Peaks-esque journey to a grim and deathly quiet body of water containing a few bodies itself.
Vitriolic Sage – Ascension (2021)
The newest release on this list, the debut album from Zhejiang’s one-man wizard academy, Vitriolic Sage, is another fine example of how a single vision can at times achieve greatness. The young sage majored in French and linguistics, which in turn gives the album, with its French song titles like “Lumière” an international feel. For Japanese horror manga fans, you’ll be pleased to know Junji Ito’s Uzumaki partly inspired the theme of this album, a spiraling descent into majestic black metal madness.
Featured image courtesy of Vengeful Spectre
