I like compilation albums. Not the ones that take the biggest songs of the year and slap them altogether under one banner, just so they can fleece the idiot public into giving these huge record companies even more money, those compilations are worse idea than taking a toaster jn a bath with you. No, the kind of compilations I like are ones such as Black Metal released by Hellenic Cult.

The blurb that accompanies ths release states;

Hellenic Black Metal Compilation Part 1, DVD case with three cds, 32 greek bands!!! 

And the reason I like these, and especially this, is because they do exactly what they say on the tin.

What you have on offer is a host of Greek bands, all under one banner, getting the chance for exposure that they might not have gotten, or maybe haven’t yet received, by going it alone with their own releases.

Now, I’m not saying I’m an oracle when it comes to extreme metal because I’m not, but I like to think I have my finger as close to the pulse of the underground scene as is possible for a 52-year-old man with two kids, and I had no fucking idea there was a greek black metal scene. I doubt you did either. And I’d be surprised if most people outside the greek metal community knew it existed (watch now as about 100 elitists flood to the Bluesky account to inform me I’m nothing but a poser for not knowing this.) But thankfully, Hellenic Cult are here to put that right.

There are a lot of bands on offer, a lot of bang for your buck if you will, and the different styles held within shows that the scene is thriving. There is raw black metal, pure black metal, depressive black metal, symphonic black metal, atmospheric black metal, and on and on it goes. If there is a sub genre of black metal you can name then you’ll (probably) find it on this compilation.

There is, as always, the chance you might not fall head over heels for evey band on offer, but that is usually the case when you get a record such as this, but as we say here at the Black Metal Archives, just because we don’t vibe with it, doesn’t mean someone else won’t. On a personal note, special shout out goes to Divine Blasphemy and Wolfhowl with their contributions, while we came away with a new favorite band to add to the collection in Astarte whose song, Doomed Dark Years, was the standout cut on this, just the first part of the three cd release.

If you, like me, are completely ignorant of the Greek black metal scene, or if you just fancy expanding your horizons, then you can over on the Hellenic Cult Bandcamp Page.