Most Black Metal fans should by now be familiar with Dayal Patterson’s multi-book project on Black Metal. I guess you could argue for quite a while on whether it’s a good or bad thing that Black Metal has become something people write books about but if you accept the fact that the genre has evolved from a violent outburst of primal energy to a multi-facetted art form and has as such become subject to analyses from within and outside of the scene, you have to admit that Dayal’s fanzine-like approach via extensive personal interviews is probably the most adequate and fruitful one. The newest addition to the cycle, „Black Metal: Into the abyss“ features broad variety of more recently formed bands such as One Tail, One Head and Vemod as well as veterans like Tsjuder or Mystifier. There’s a Polish section again with Furia, Massemord, Besatt and more and a string of DSBM artists like Nocturnal Depression or Psychonaut 4. Remarkable are the long conversation s the author managed to lead with Forgotten Woods, Trist and LOITS, providing rare and valuable insights into the worlds of these rather mysterious entities. The layout of this volume leans a little more towards the good old fanzine-aesthetic mit skull frames on each site, making the whole reading experience even more heartwarmingly authentic.  If you have read the preceding volumes, there is no way around „Black Metal: Into The Abyss“, if you haven’t, I strongly advise you to do so. Anyway, this is a great new piece to complete what will probably be the work of a lifetime for Dayal Patterson. Let’s hope he has many years left to live and write.

00 Void