11. Dawn Ray'd – “Beyond Sedition Plainsong”

Black Metal from Liverpool that ditches the Satan infatuation in favour of social inadequacy and anarchism. This is elven diatribes of undiluted anger. Anger at the economic inequality that is inherent in the system, anger at the sexism, racism and cruelty they see all around them. This is another album that completely re-writes Black Metal’s rules book. There is a core simplicity here with all the instruments used being a guitar, drums and violin. The guitar is used to create a harsh patchwork of searing jagged sound, then when the mounting cacophony has ceased the mournful violin cuts in. I get tingles each and every time the modest maudlin folk meanderings of Simon Barr’s violin sequences into the stark brittle guitar work. This is stripped down and minimal but utterly effective. Black Metal remade as a revolutionary call for change.