Satan's Soldiers Syndicate

Death and black metal bands have become a dime a dozen by the early 21st century — most of which sound almost identical. But what most of the current crop overlook are the early trailblazers of the genre, namely a nice little band of lads called Venom, who almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for countless others who subsequently followed their lead. However, there are a select few who stay true to the genre's roots, especially Desaster, whose 2007 release, 666: Satan's Solders Syndicate, sounds like a direct descendent of such extreme metal landmarks as Black Metal. Heck, even their song titles would've fit perfectly on an early Venom release — "Angel Extermination," "More Corpses for the Grave," "The March of Fire and Conquest," etc. Somewhere in a dark underworld, the black metal gods are smiling.