Without the slightest contest or room for doubt, in my clearly unwavering opinion, Terratur Possessions is the best black metal label, besides The Sinister Initiative. Although, when done right, black metal can epitomize the height of art, I hold the elitist belief that 99% of black metal albums released these days are worthy of the trash bin alone. In dramatic contrast to all of the rubbish, Terratur’s previous sampler, TERRATUR COMPENDIUM MMXXIII, was one of the top offerings of 2023 and also ranks among the greatest compilations I’ve heard. It was so good that it made the significant, slightly earlier release, Peaceville’s epic 35th-anniversary comp, Dark Side of the Sacred Star, look like Disneyland, minus the astounding contributions by Dødheimsgard, Doedsmaghird, and RUÏM. Terratur’s latest sampler, TERRATUR COMPENDIUM MMXXIV, gallantly came sweeping in this April as a miraculous surprise and gave me the highly useful gift of anger — it makes me want to curse the label for the utterly disgusting amount of positivity they elicit from this curmudgeon, a.k.a. yours truly.

Terratur’s success owes to the label’s genius founder, the enigmatic and elusive Ole A. Aune, who has been spreading sublime music through this diabolical vessel since 2007. What Mr. Aune — a highly respected voice of reason and sass — has beautifully curated here amounts to one monumental and long-lasting nine-song black metallic orgasm. Remarkably yet as expected from anything branded with Terratur’s sigil of quality, TERRATUR COMPENDIUM MMXXIV is totally cohesive and only presents outstanding compositions. Each one showcases the assets of a different uncompromising band. Dangerous to the core, there is neither a safe nor boring moment on this sampler. The stunning, elevated, and disturbing cover created by ex-One Tail, One Head’s Andreas Tylden reflects Terratur’s superior eye for aesthetics and desire to perfect every aspect of their releases.

TERRATUR COMPENDIUM MMXXIV begins with Whoredom Rife’s “Den Vrede Makt,” the title track from the collective’s forthcoming album. For the benefit of the unenlightened, we will mention that Whoredom Rife is one of Terratur’s most popular clients. In other words, this is an outfit whose supremacy can even be grasped by knuckleheads. No sane individual will doubt the accuracy of the 10/10 ratings given to Whoredom Rife’s previous effort, Winds of Wrath (2021), by the likes of music expert Finn Håkon Rødland, one of the only people with a platform whose opinions on black metal align with reality and should be heeded. Based on the song in question alone, it seems certain that Den Vrede Makt will be met with equal praise. The artwork, which has already been revealed, is astonishing in its own right: Whoredom Rife benefits from their work relationship and fraternal bond with visual artist Jose Gabriel Alegría Sabogal, a great master who is essentially an honorary member of the band.

Next, “Sorcery Unbridled” provides us with a sneak preview of Death Like Mass’ first record, The Lord of the Flies. This Polish collective has released three EPs thus far, and it will be interesting for sure to hear the rest of their upcoming full-length. The named track gives way to “Wolves of Hades” from Bythos’ Chthonic Gates Unveiled, which dropped right after our sampler of honor. Imbued with true Satanic spirituality, this authoritative composition is absolutely glorious. After all, Finland’s Bythos consists of members of Behexen, Horna, Ajattara, ex-Sargeist, and so forth.

Diabolus, Mecum Semperterne!’s “Gratias Agamus Domino Infero Deo Nostro,” a pre-mix that features both harsh vocals and chanting, delivers the best surprise on the comp! This project comes as totally amazing and unexpected news to us. Although Terratur’s humble artists tend to shy away from words like “supergroup,” Diabolus, Mecum Semperterne! is exactly that. This Trondheim-based ensemble is composed of members of several of the very-very best bands around: Manii, Mare, Whoredom Rife, and Misotheist. Or rather, K.R kills on vocals; Eskil Blix flawlessly handles choirs; Tor Helge-Skei (my personal favorite in addition to only a couple of other Scandinavian misanthropes) demonstrates his superiority on synths, guitars, and bass; and Brage Kråbøl pounds away on drums. The nearly 11-minute “Gratias Agamus Domino Infero Deo Nostro” boasts an atmosphere as gigantic as Nidarosdomen, so we can’t even imagine the treasures that the band’s debut has in store. Speaking of Brage Kråbøl, the following track on the sampler, the wonderfully intense “Pandemonium,” hails from his one-man project Enevelde. Pandemonium, Enevelde’s third full-length, is already available on cassette via Ván Records and Cloven Hoof Brewing, but Terratur will release the album as well.

The sampler’s sixth opus, Nekyian’s “Hevn,” is likewise fantastic. Nekyian is a new outfit from Trondheim, arguably the capital of black metal and the home of Terratur, so we look forward to hearing the identities of the talents involved. Nachtheem’s spellbinding and transporting “Drift van Nostalgie” likewise presents a mystery. Since this emerging project, who unleashed their first EP earlier this year, is from the Netherlands and Terratur seems to be quite friendly with the lunatics who constituted the country’s leading, though sadly defunct, black metal powerhouse Urfaust, we can’t help but wonder if either VRDRBR or IX are somehow attached to this project. VRDRBR, however, has been quite busy publicly expressing his affection for Halal through music, T-shirts with perplexing designs, and more, thus we hardly know how he would have time. In any case, “Drift van Nostalgie” is a beautiful and unique yet brutal cinematic wonder.

We have already reported on the next track, “Perish,” which unleashed its sickening magnificence in late February. “Perish” is one of those rare songs that you want to send to everyone you know who possesses a cynical fondness for black metal just to prove that the movement has at least a few good bands in our age of sell-outs and those who deceitfully flaunt their almost non-existent fan support as a supposed badge of underground status. “Perish” hails from Kråbøl’s upcoming debut, Never, as does “Fundaments,” the first track ever released by the band: “Fundaments” premiered on TERRATUR COMPENDIUM MMXXIII. After hearing that composition, I decided, and still believe, that Kråbøl is one of the most promising groups in terms of their potential to deliver top-notch material. Their all-star lineup includes Brage Kråbøl. He is joined by a pair of Spellemann / “Norwegian-Grammy” nominees, who happen to be his uncle and father: Stian — known for Minas Tirith / Minas, Funeral, Tulus, and formerly Khold — and Terje — a weapon in the arsenal of Katechon and formerly Minas Tirith / Minas, Sarke, Bethzaida, Antidepressive Delivery, Faustcoven, etc. Of course, Terje also famously appears on Thorns’ historic Trøndertun (1992) demo. Meanwhile, in Kråbøl, Stian and Terje’s father, M., contributes trumpet.

Unfortunately, Obscuration’s “Violent Art” seems too sinfully pleasurable to even be called music. This fiery and raw yet majestic diamond of a number was recorded in 1996. Terratur will finally bring Obscuration’s old material to light. Last year, the label similarly released the comp Samlede Verker by the legendary yet obscure project Skuggeheim — the fruit of the brilliant and demented mind of Mr. Skuggeheim himself, a.k.a. Infamroth, who is the very same force behind Obscuration. I also recommend that readers check out Infamroth’s work with Throne of Katarsis, a criminally underrated outfit indeed.

In a sense, TERRATUR COMPENDIUM MMXXIV definitely serves as a palate cleanser by functioning as a paragon of excellence: If you think that the 2020s black metal that you’ve been consuming is any good, try listening to this comp. The chances are that much of what you thought you understood about the genre will be proven false, unless you are a fan of the work of the unsurpassed Mr. Niklas Kvarforth, Vicotnik, or Aune’s other current or past clients — special hails to Manii, who we mentioned above, and also Dødsengel TERRATUR COMPENDIUM MMXXIV should persuade you to stop paying attention to what most journalists, this site’s team obviously excluded, write about black metal — their claims to have found great new albums are usually nothing more than nonsensical clickbait or delusional drivel. Instead, follow Terratur on Instagram and Facebook.