As Therapy? prepare for the second leg of their UK tour in support of their latest album ‘Disquiet’, the band’s very own Evil Priest, Michael McKeegan, took time out to curate a 10-track blackened compilation of torment and suffering.
**VENOM – Welcome To Hell **This is the one that started me down the left hand path. From: Welcome To Hell (1981)
**DARKTHRONE – In The Shadow Of The Horns **I’ve left a lot of the obvious big names off this list – Emperor, Mayhem – but I couldn’t leave Darkthrone off. For me, this was the perfect bridge from Venom, Possessed and Celtic Frost onto the more extreme sounds of the second wave. From: A Blaze In The Northern Sky (1992)
**MARDUK – Christraping Black Metal **There’s no let up from a totally relentless track from a relentless album. That main riff is black metal’s Smoke On The Water. From: Panzer Division Marduk (1999)
**TSJUDER – Mouth Of Madness **This has a straight down the line, no messing black metal groove, with Frosty string bends galore. See also: Khold. From: Desert Northern Hell (2004)
**ANAAL NATHRAKH – When Humanity Is Cancer **When The Codex Necro came out, I was beginning to get a bit burnt out on black metal. This really reawakened my love for the genre and its possibilities. Its production is perfect and there’s loads of little details in there which slowly reveal themselves over repeated listens. Oh, and that riff. From: The Codex Necro (2001)
**ULVER – Høyfjeldsbilde **This track is a total change of mood from this mysterious bunch. It’s a beautiful song from one of black metal’s hidden gems. From: Kveldssanger (1996)
**DEATHSPELL OMEGA – Desecration Master **I actually prefer their later stuff, but Desecration Master is a dirty classic, with hints of that crazed guitar work that would emerge later on. From: Inquisitors of Satan (2002)
**KVELERTAK – Fossegrim **A black metal ‘party’ tune. From: Kvelertak (2010)
**LITURGY – Veins Of God **I should have picked a track from their recent epic Ark Work, but I’m still processing that! I know they’re seen as a divisive bunch in the scene, but they nail it perfectly on this tune. Veins Of God is otherworldly and immersive. From: Aesthethica (2011)
**GHOST BATH – Golden Number **This is an ace tune from Moonlover, my album of 2015 thus far. From: Moonlover (2015)
Therapy?’s album Disquiet is out now through Amazing Record Co.. The band are on tour throughout April. See their official website for more details.
