Bombast, blastbeats and large quantities of Satan: symphonic black metal is one of heavy music’s most flamboyant and (knowingly) preposterous subgenres. With an aesthetic drawn from both grubby, underground metal and grandiose, gothic splendour, it emerged in the early ‘90s in a somewhat primitive form, before blossoming into the spectacular and vivid eruptions of pomp and power that we now take for granted. If you have a penchant for metal that sounds like a bomb going off in a cathedral, the following ten albums are all mandatory.
10 essential symphonic black metal albums
Unleash the orchestras of Satan! These are the 10 symphonic metal albums you need to hear
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Dom Lawson has been writing for Metal Hammer and Prog for over 14 years and is extremely fond of heavy metal, progressive rock, coffee and snooker. He also contributes to The Guardian, Classic Rock, Bravewords and Blabbermouth and has previously written for Kerrang! magazine in the mid-2000s.
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