ANOREXIA NERVOSA Sodomizing The Archedangel CD (1999)

Before symphonic black metal became a genre you could find on curated Spotify playlists, French outfit Anorexia Nervosa were building cathedrals out of blast beats and orchestral chaos. Sodomizing The Archedangel from 1999 is where it started, a debut full-length that arrived fully formed and deeply unhinged, the sound of a band that had absorbed Emperor, early Dimmu, and probably too much Baudelaire.

The French black metal underground has always operated slightly left of its Scandinavian counterpart, more theatrical, more willing to let the keys sit up front without apology. This record is a document of that approach before the band refined it into the more polished work of their later albums. Raw enough to feel dangerous, orchestrated enough to feel grand. If you dig through the dark aesthetic end of European extreme metal, this one earns its place in the collection.

CD, full-length album, France, 1999. Symphonic black metal.

Fans of: Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Limbonic Art, Obtained Enslavement, Hecate Enthroned