Bleak, twisted black metal is certainly seeing its critical day in the sun right now; bands like Deathspell Omega, Leviathan, and Blut Aus Nord are de rigueur for features like this one, and even obscure bands working the field can garner significant attention. (I feel like the Black Market crew talked up at least one per month this year.) Sacred White Noise may be the style’s first arena-ready record, though. Despite its grim existentialist veneer — it features a song called “Panic Becomes Despair” — it’s a surprisingly accessible, fist-pumpy record. Its winding, cockeyed melodies remind me of another band whose unhinged signifiers hide a weirdly relatable songwriting sensibility: the noise rock legends Today Is The Day, with whom Thantifaxath clearly share a visual sensibility as well. Stare into the void, and then party down with it. –Doug [LISTEN]