[2025] Handle With Care! Recommended Depressive Black Metal Bands Summary

InoriKanashimi

Inori

From Shizuoka, Japan emerges a wailing cry of noise—that is Kanashimi.

O.

Misanthropy, who calls himself a “misanthrope,” originally played in a band called Samayoi, and after disbanding in 2007, he began Kanashimi as a solo project.

Japanese black metal remains an underground scene, yet distinctive bands have long been active—such as SIGH and Infernal Necromancy—and in recent years acts like Asunojokei have appeared.

Kanashimi, too, has drawn attention for a singular musical identity.

The 2009 debut, Romantik Suicide, could be said to encapsulate Kanashimi’s sound in its very title: while it presents the fundamentals of depressive black metal—howled, anguished vocals; noise-laden black-metal guitars; ambient, distant-sounding keyboards; and unembellished, steady drumming—its defining trait is the stark prominence of heartbreakingly sorrowful piano melodies.

Coupled with roots reportedly influenced by X JAPAN, there is a certain decadent, aesthetic sensibility that is even more palpable on the 2019 masterpiece Inori, where the noise shifts toward shoegaze-like walls of sound and the music expands in scope.

The 2023 release Yamiuta, a portrayal of the darkness in the human heart, is also excellent—highly recommended.

I Will Die Tomorrow…No Point in Living

I Will Die Tomorrow…

Yusuke Hasebe, from Sapporo, Hokkaido, is known for publishing Japan’s first guidebook themed around “depressive black metal” in 2018: the Depressive Suicidal Black Metal Guidebook.

Hasebe also continues to work as a solo artist under his depressive black metal project No Point in Living.

Since launching the project in 2017, he has been extremely prolific, releasing works at a remarkable pace—so much so that it can be hard to grasp the full scope.

If you like his latest releases, one good approach might be to work your way backward through his catalog.

No Point in Living’s DSBM blends a variety of elements—lyrical, dramatic, and melodic developments alongside technical phrases—amounting to what could be called an evolved form of depressive black metal.

The sound production is also quite strong for DSBM, making it relatively approachable.

Starting from a depressive black metal foundation while showcasing diverse approaches, No Point in Living is a must-check not only for underground metal fans but for a wider audience as well!

Bloody MelancholyLife Is Pain

Life Is Pain ‎: Bloody Melancholy

Life is Pain is a terrifying project formed by two titans of the depressive black metal scene: Hypothermia and Lifelover’s Kim Carlsson, together with the Czech act Trist.

Perhaps the chemistry was too potent, as their sole release remains the 2006 demo ‘Bloody Melancholy,’ yet its sheer intensity is still spoken of today.

It’s music one should not approach lightly—an abyss so deep you forget the word “hope,” a world that offers nothing but despair.

The three included tracks—‘Oppressive Nights In Mental Asylum,’ ‘Bloody Melancholy,’ and ‘Negativity’—are titles that say it all, the very peak of negativity.

There are virtually no dramatic developments; instead, for 24 relentless minutes, you’re engulfed in monotonous noise and screams of agony that evoke nothing but suffering—hell, in every sense.

For those who have delved a fair way into depressive black metal, this is the polar extremity of despair you are destined to reach.

Reflecting in SolitudeShining

Reflecting In Solitude

There isn’t a clear-cut definition for the genre known as depressive black metal, and as with many other subgenres, plenty of artists dislike being labeled at all.

The Swedish band Shining, introduced in this piece, is centered around its charismatic frontman Niklas Kvarforth and shocked the scene with a sound that effectively became the template—or textbook example—of depressive black metal.

They’ve even performed in Japan, and are well-known among underground black metal enthusiasts there.

While Niklas’s ideology and often extreme behavior have sparked controversy, Shining remains one of the few dangerous bands still active in the 2020s.

From the perspective of “depressive black metal,” their early releases—such as the debut album Within Deep Dark Chambers, which Niklas put out in 2000 while still a teenager—deliver exactly what one imagines as “DSBM,” and it’s easy to see how many bands have been influenced by that sound.

It is utter darkness—an overwhelming, encroaching blackness—yet the songs also feature dynamic pacing and beautifully mournful melodies, making it relatively approachable as depressive black metal goes.

That said, it’s still hazardous material, so handle with the utmost care!

Nackskott (Neckshot)Lifelover

Nackskott (Neckshot)

Lifelover, which includes Kim Carlsson—also the mastermind behind Hypothermia—is a very intriguing band: despite being categorized as so-called depressive black metal, it has almost none of the genre’s typical black metal elements.

Their 2006 debut album Pulver, while featuring provocative artwork, eschews the stereotypically black-metal monochrome cover for something vividly colored that feels insane in a different way—and you’ll understand their uniqueness once you actually hear the music.

The opening track Nackskott features a post-punk-like ensemble, and throughout the album each song is compactly constructed; despite avant-garde developments, you can hear not only post-punk but even indie rock approaches, which is truly fascinating.

While the lo-fi sound production is certainly black-metal-like, the scream-like vocals, compared to other depressive black metal acts, often feel closer to singing—making it clear that Kim deliberately differentiates Lifelover from his other projects.

If you enjoy blackgaze or post-black, Lifelover’s music may be relatively accessible.

Sadly, in 2011, one of the central members, Jonas Bergqvist—known as “B”—took his own life, and the band chose to disband.

Nocturnal PoisoningXasthur

Nocturnal Poisoning

Depressive black metal, due in part to its musical characteristics, is very often a one-person project.

Among Japanese enthusiasts it’s even affectionately called “lonely black metal,” and Xasthur—the focus of this piece—is one of the most famous of these one-man black metal acts.

Influenced by Burzum, the notorious Norwegian icon and a sort of progenitor of depressive black metal, Malefic started his solo project under the name Xasthur in 1995.

In 2002 he released the highly acclaimed debut album Nocturnal Poisoning, which shocked black metal fans.

While Xasthur’s music maintains the aggressive edge characteristic of black metal, including double-bass blasts, the sense of tragic despair it invokes is extraordinary.

Wailing, noise-like vocals; melodies that are nothing but sorrow, sometimes rendered with clean tones; and the use of keyboards all contribute to an atmosphere that is evil, ominous, and—repeating myself here—filled with despair, making it something beginners probably shouldn’t approach.

That said, compared to other depressive black metal, Xasthur’s songwriting has more variation in intensity and could even be called dramatic, so those with some black metal listening experience should be able to handle it!

At the Door to the Tenth Sub Level of SuicideLeviathan

At the Door to the Tenth Sub Level of Suicide

When it comes to one-man black metal projects that began operating in the U.

S.

around the same time as Xasthur, the one that comes to mind is Leviathan, based in San Francisco, California.

Started in 1998 as Jef Whitehead’s solo project, Leviathan shocked the scene with a primitive and extreme black metal sound that seemed to stand in direct opposition to California’s dazzling sunshine and cheerful vibe.

There’s no doubt he’s a musician of undeniable talent beyond the confines of black metal—he even contributed to Sunn O)))’s classic album Black One—and every album he has released under Leviathan, with tireless consistency, stands as a landmark of U.

S.

black metal.

As mentioned, many tracks are aggressive in style with urgent speed, and the dynamic, varied song structures keep things engaging—one might even say relatively approachable from a depressive black metal standpoint.

That said, since it is discussed within the depressive realm, the themes are overwhelmingly dark and heavy, and the music overflows with a sinister aura—so approach with caution!