I love Atmospheric metal, but specifically the stuff that stays balanced between the extremes. Not looking for the super synthy/flowery Summoning worship, overly post-black/shoegazy variety, or the hyper lo-fi/recorded-in-a-cave bedroom metal. Portal & DsO also push the dissonance a bit too far for my liking if that helps. Mid-Good production with melodic/atmospheric qualities, but still dark, occult and heavy!

I suppose I'm fairly well versed and am mostly looking for anything you think is exceptionally good I just might have missed. Examples below are mostly Black Metal, but also down for atmospheric varieties of Death, Doom, Sludge, or non-frilly Folk. Thanks!


Abyssal
Akhlys/Bestia Arcana (not so much a fan of Nightbringer)
Ash Borer
Blut aus Nord
Bölzer
Cobalt (especially Slow Forever)
Cult of Fire
Dark Buddha Rising
Desolate Shrine
Drudkh
Elysian Blaze
Entropia
Fyrnask
Havukruunu
Howls of Ebb
Ildra
Mgla
Moonsorrow
Morbus Chron
Negură Bunget/Dordeduh
Nokturnal Mortum
Oranssi Pazuzu
Progenie Terrestre Pura
Raventale
Rotting Christ (moreso the later stuff)
The Ruins of Beverast
Scáth Na Déithe
SIG:AR:TYR
Spectral Lore
Sun Worship
Urfaust
Venenum
Winterfylleth
Wodensthrone
Wolves in the Throne Room
Yith
Zhrine

Give Graveland - Immortal Pride a try. Good atmospheric but well balanced bm. And NO, they're not nazis.

For atmospheric death metal definitely check out the following:

Blood Incantation
Mithras
Sarpantium
Late-era Gigan
Muknal

as for black metal:

Negative Plane
Katharsis (particularly VVorld VVithout End)
Cultes des Ghoules
A.M.S.G.

You may be interested in Klabautamann's Merkur: that album it's a bit unknown, but it oozes with creativity and atmosphere and never loses it's riff focus.

It's a must if you like the "woodland" atmosphere of bands like Negura, Wodensthrone.. and seek some creative riffs and amazing clean guitar parts

Hierophant's Descent - The Apocalypse of Evil

Cavernous black metal that's rather riff-y with decent production values. No low-fi quality nonsense here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSn0_Up_TOQ

Argentum's Ad Interitum Funebrarum

Not really heavy stuff, but definitely dark and occult-like - very 90s sounding. Imagine a slowed down version of Tiamat's The Astral Sleep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p65Lrc6A38

Try out Intestine Baalism's "An anatomy of the beast". I think that album fits the criteria really well.

i guess you probably already know of them, but if not, check out shaarimoth

Just gonna name drop some more bands because lately I'm feeling atmospheric extreme metal as well

Jordablod - Upon My Cremation Pyre
Chapel of Disease - ...And as We Have Seen the Storm, We Have Embraced the Eye
Inter Arma - Paradise Gallows

Check out Griseus by Aquilus