Ruins Of Beverast,The - Rain upon the Impure (Digipak) (Sealed) (CD)

This album epitomises what black metal should be, desperate, crushing and cold. Rain Upon the Impure will push you through it's eighty minute run time relentlessly, giving you just enough time to catch your breath with it's short ambient sections but never letting you relax, throwing you back in every time you think it's going soft. There is enough variety on display to ensure you are never bored, but it maintains atmosphere perfectly so it still feels coherent. Meilenwald has successfully carried Nagelfar's legacy forward and created the album that everyone said 'could have been' when the band split up. This is a crowning achievement for black metal in the 21st century and a must-have for anybody interested in the genre.