In June’s Black Market, I wrote about the Sivyj Yar song “Distant Haze Was Arising,” the centerpiece track on the rural Russian one-man black metal band’s latest album. We named that song the best metal track of that month, and now that the year is over, I’d argue “Distant Haze Was Arising” is the best metal song that came out in 2014, period. It’s incredible — a heartstring-pulling, sweeping atmospheric stunner that’s as close to perfect as possible. Best part: It’s only one-fifth of this amazing album. From The Dead Villages’ Darkness features arguably the most successful infusion of pastoral beauty into metal I’ve ever heard, an absolute masterclass in stirring atmospheric black metal. Coming across a Sivyj Yar tape from a small Minnesota distro that somehow managed to stock a few copies a couple years back was one of my best musical finds in recent memory — sometimes buying based on cover art works. I cannot wait to hear more from this band. –Wyatt [LISTEN]