OK so technically speaking, Yellow Eyes are not a NEW artist — they released an LP in 2011 that was heard by maybe 300 or so people. Heck, it’s not even like anyone’s heard the LP they released this year, Hammer Of Night. They’ve got ZERO social media presence, and their Big Cartel store has been sold out of literally all their product for months — not exactly a huge surprise when you consider they only pressed 25 copies of the vinyl LP. So in order to hear Hammer Of Night, you gotta do it the old-fashioned way: Spin that shit on Bandcamp. And you gotta do that RIGHT NOW. In an American black metal scene that has exploded into mainstream consciousness over the past few years — and very much reached its highest potential outcomes in some cases — Yellow Eyes may be the best representative of the scene’s future. Hammer Of Night isn’t post-metal or blackgaze or “transcendental” or anything that implies a dilution; it’s fucking black metal: raw, harsh, chaotic. But it’s not retro or “troo” or anything: It’s melodic and accomplished and adventurous in ways that fully capture the imagination and ear — and in ways that separate it from the output of just about every other USBM band today. – Michael

BUY: Hammer Of Night is available via Bandcamp.