The book release marks 10 years of Cult Never Dies

Features brand new interviews with Necromantia, Arcturus, Immortal, Agalloch, Destruction, Mystifier, and Winterfylleth plus extended interviews with Rotting Christ, Behemoth, Sigh, Mayhem and many more

UK-based publishing house Cult Never Dies marks its 10th anniversary with the release of Dayal Patterson’s Black Metal: Evolution Of The Cult – The Restored, Expanded & Definitive Edition.

Demand for the new book has exceeded expectations and all of the 2023 delivery from the factory is now pre-sold. Cult Never Dies will be receiving the rest of the order in early 2024 and is available for pre-order for delivery in January or February (more information to be confirmed via Cult Never Dies channels). The pre-order price of £35 remains and will increase after January/February.

For those looking for a copy of the book more urgently, it is currently available from Van Records, Darkness Shall Rise, Napalm Records, Black City Records, Consouling, Katakomben, Vrijheid Records (China), as well as the likes of Amazon and Waterstones.

A limited number of the Decibel version is now also available to order via Cult Never Dies.

With the original version of the book no longer available in print, Black Metal: Evolution Of The Cult is hailed as the most acclaimed book on the history of black metal, and the only one endorsed by those involved in creating the genre.

The book is approximately 340,000 words long, including 140,000 words of new content, 23 new chapters and 50 extended and updated chapters. This includes over 150 exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names in the genre, including: Venom, Mercyful Fate, Bathory, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Blasphemy, Darkthrone, Behemoth, Rotting Christ, Mayhem and many more. The author also included over 70 brand new or previously unpublished interviews with the likes of Necromantia, Arcturus, Immortal, Agalloch, Destruction, Mystifier, Profanatica and Winterfylleth.

Black Metal: Evolution Of The Cult also has hugely improved cover art and layout by longtime Cult Never Dies artist David Thiérrée (Behemoth, Gorgoroth, Mortiis), and will include 650 images, many previously unseen, including an 80-page colour/gloss photo gallery.

Silenoz of Dimmu Borgir commended the book: “You don’t have to read between the lines anymore ’cause it’s all there, straight from the source.” At the same time, Sakis Tolis of Rotting Christ praised it as “a valuable educational piece of dark writing.”

Ryan Förster of Blasphemy/Conqueror added: “Finally a book that covers black metal in a well-informed manner and gives credit where it’s due. This is by far the best book I’ve read on black metal and I can recommend this to anyone that is interested in a good read on our diverse genre.”

The Watcher of Fen said: “Free from sensationalist hyperbole and with a dizzying array of detail, anecdotes, photographs and contextualisation of the landmark artists within the genre – all delivered with Dayal’s fluid prose and dry wit. A huge undertaking that oozes passion, the definitive book on the black metal genre.”

The Magus of Necromantia fame said: “A testament for future generations, compiled with sincerity of effort and high-class aesthetics.”

Dayal Patterson, book author, Cult Never Dies owner and longtime music journalist, said: “I cannot express how good it feels now that Cult Never Dies finally owns the rights to this book and are able to release it – along with Decibel in the US – in this massively improved form. The limitations placed on the original in terms of word count meant that so many chapters and parts I originally envisioned simply couldn’t be included or were not even worth completing due to a lack of space. What turned into a fairly straightforward restoration job led to about a year of 14-hour days, not only overhauling the existing chapters and layout (something we had always been unhappy with) of the book, but doing a huge number of new interviews and working with a wealth of new bands and artists. Finally, there are proper chapters celebrating bands such as Vinterland, Satyricon, Immortal, Arcturus, Mystifier and Profanatica, as well as greater explorations of black metal in Brazil, the US, the UK, Sweden, Greece, and, of course, Norway.”

For a full list of the 150 interviewees, visit Cult Never Dies

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