50 Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Albums Of 2017

Experimental black metal was all the rage in 2017 and a great many of the articles on this list prove that an unequivocal fact. But out of all the varying, sometimes oppositional directions that black metal was pulled into over the course of the past twelve months, nobody took it into as a weird a place as the Chinese-turned-American Ghost Bath were able to.

In the 21st century, black metal is more of an atmospheric and aura-fuelled experience than it was back in the ‘90s, which saw unhallowed, visceral names like Mayhem and Burzum rule the roost. Nothing proves this better than Starmourner, which entirely negates the concept of having legible lyrics, instead opting to have Ghost Bath’s nameless lead singer wail out squeals of agony over the instrumentalists’ “post-metal” (God I hate that word) stylings.

A full-blooded sequel to Ghost Bath’s breakthrough release Moonlover (2015), Starmourner is the tonal counterpart to its predecessor, reacting to its overt nihilism with an emphasis on beauty and the concept of angelology in different religions.

For a black metal album to demonstrate a more hopeful outlook and turn to the stellar may seem like a betrayal of everything the subgenre once stood for, but a great many of its musical calling cards return in full force: quick, dissonant guitar chords, equally harsh rhythms, faded, eerie vocals and, of course, a desire to craft a subversive, alien environment.

A surprisingly enrapturing album, the enigmatic Starmourner and its very existence raise more questions than answers.