Underrated Black Metal Albums Pt. 2 of 2

I had a trial yesterday so did not have time to put anything up. Here's the continuation from Monday.

MASTER'S HAMMER: RITUAL
Like Root, Master's Hammer is a first wave black metal band from then-Czechoslovakia. Also like Root, they fail to get the recognition they deserve. Master's Hammer is a musically-amazing band. They capture the early black metal sound and meld it with an epic atmosphere. The vocals are grainy, raspy, and sound amazing. Especially for a band playing a genre that had not totally broken through yet. If you want to hear a great example of an early black metal album, before the second wave Scandinavian bands, this is it.

KAWIR: OPHIOLATREIA
I said before that I would have a few examples of Greek black metal bands on this list. Here's another one. Kawir takes the more standard black metal sound but infuses it with melodies that sound like those of the band's native land. The music often becomes melodic and atmospheric with beautiful keyboard melodies and chanting vocals. The lyrical subject matter involves Ancient Greek mythology, a particular favorite subject of mine.

IMPIETY: FORMIDONIS NEX CULTUS
Sometimes, great metal can be found in unexpected places. Meet Singapore's Impiety. Impiety covers a variety of extreme metal genres, running the gamut from black to death to thrash. However, it remains rooted in the very early extreme thrash metal bands that bordered on black metal. Groups like Sodom, Bathory, Vulcano, and Sarcofago are the main reference points here. The band is fast and brutal as hell.

GRIMBANE: LET THE EMPIRES FALL
This Canadian black metal band essentially came out of nowhere to produce an amazing black metal album a couple of years back. Very little is known about them. Grimbane sounds like they are trying to channel the early proto-black metal bands such as Venom and Bathory. Their style is raw and aggressive with extreme vocals and the occasional melody. Grimbane came out of nowhere, released this monster of an album and then returned to the mist. There are rumblings about a follow-up however.

AVERSE SEFIRA: TETRAGRAMMATICAL ASTYGMATA
In my opinion, Averse Sefira is the greatest U.S. black metal band since Absu. Averse Sefira is extremely fast and intense with a feel for an incredibly hostile atmosphere. The band arose out of that incredible Texas black metal scene and are easily one of the better such groups from that scene. Averse Sefira sounds like a more serious and shockingly louder and heavier early version of Immortal. If that sounds like high praise, it's because the band deserves it.