AZAGHAL Codex Antitheus CD (2005)

Finnish black metal operates by its own rules, and Azaghal have never cared much for yours. Since the mid-90s, this Oulu outfit has been one of Finland's most consistently vicious exports, sitting comfortably in the same frozen tradition as Horna and Sargeist while maintaining a nastier, more stripped-back savagery.

Codex Antitheus, released in 2005 on Woodcut Records, is Azaghal at their most focused and ferocious. Raw production, relentless tremolo, and vocals that sound like they were tracked in a church that no longer exists. This is Finnish black metal for people who actually listen to Finnish black metal, not the genre-curious. If your collection includes Behexen's By the Blessing of Satan or Sargeist's Let the Devil In, this belongs beside them.

CD, 2005 pressing. Tracklist includes nine tracks of uncompromising black metal devotion.

Fans of: Behexen, Sargeist, Horna, Tsjuder, Enthroned