Best post-1996 black metal?

Naggamanteh said:
It usually takes as little as one glance at the attendants of black metal concerts to understand that the majority of (black) metal is for sad little twats. The ultimate of digree of "inovation" occurs when a formerly black metal band grows up and abandons its roots. Anyone playing pissed-off, traditional black metal with horrible screamed vocals in their late twenties (let alone thirties) lacks something in the brain department.

As for the topic, Dornenreich's "Her von Welken Nachten" is an example of a rather innovative album with some black metal elements that don't suck.

I'm not going to flame you for a change as you've got the basic idea right: metalheads are almost all idiots(the humor, of course, is that you're an idiot too, but I digress). I'd also like to point out that the bands that "grow up" almost always wind up playing a type of music that was already exhausted in the 80s.
 
Lengsel played an excellent brand of progressive black metal on their one album, Solace. Not highly produced stuff either, that album has this elusive 'IT' that I get when hearing the best or Graveland or Abigor. It came out in 2000 I think.

Antestor and Vaakevandring are decent sorrow-black. Both of their best releases (in the latter, their only) are in 98/99.

The U.S. scene has been putting out some ok talent in the past few years as well. Aurora Borealis isn't too bad of a band either, though not quite as original as some, and there's some others I can't remember.
 
I will only post innovation within black metal, no genre-interbreeding:

I agree 100% with Negura Bunget
I also agree with Nargaroth (Herbstleyd)
Ulver's Bergtatt or Nattens Madrigal should be mentioned
You should also not forget the ultra primitive and raw but atmospheric Ildjarn.
 
only took 2 1/2 hours to take the bait, you guys are getting slow :p

regardless those bands do have some great music, I don't completely agree with the idealogy argument. Besides, it's fun to say things that, while not trolling, you know nobody is going to agree with.
 
crimsonfloyd said:
Off the top of my head... Emperor, Nargaroth, Countess, Nargaroth, Summoning, Enslaved
Nargaroth are the polar opposite of innovation.

The best post-1996 black metal offerings are those of Summoning, but to throw in a new band I'll add Averse Sefira. Both of their cd's are tremendous.
 
Hahaha I have no idea how Nargaroth got on my list twice. Anyways I don't get all the claims of Nargaroth being Burzum worship (unless were talking about BMIK, but that is an obvious acception. I find most of their stuff to be very innovative. I haven't heard anyone else use similar progressions to the ones Kanwulf uses on the newer recordings...
 
Nargaroth isn't particularly Burzum worship, BUT he does completely steal riffs from Varg as well as from Moonblood, Strid, and a few other bands. Kanwulf is also a massive lier and walking contradiction.