Featuring a captivating and gritty lo-fi production, today we have Blood and Sun’s full-length return “Aion’s Light”. Captured in a four-track recorder, it does not get more bare-bones than this. However, the release masterfully showcases melancholy and lush creativity, alongside Luke Tromiczak’s enthralling vocals. If you are looking for something along the lines of Rome, Of the Wand and the Moon, and King Dude, you are in the right place.

Opening with the lush album title track, we get a very expansive start with powerful guitar strumming alongside deep and hypnotic vocals. This opener sets a very raw and powerful vibe that is maintained by “Life Lessons”, just before it turns darker and even western-ish with the excellent “Jacob’s Ladder”. The release continues ramping up with the lush atmospherics of “Kiss the Wilds” and the enigmatic “Horrid Host”, a song that is more effective thanks to its grainy sound.

Helmed by Rebecca Vernon (SubRosa), The Keening is back with their sophomore release “Devotion”. Featuring a very somber and captivating sound, mixing Americana, Gothic, Dark Folk elements with ethereal atmospherics and vocal melodies, we haven’t been as captivated by a release as much as we have been by this one in a while. With seven songs spanning over 41-minutes, this release will send shivvers down your spine with its magic.

Opening with the four part album title track, this release sets a very enigmatic tempo with “Golden Thread” and its lush vocal melodies lined with demoralizing instrumentation. The bleakness continues with the powerful “Fitful Sleep”, which takes a more bare-bones approach while creating some extremely haunting instrumental passages amongst more dreamy vocals. The catharsis starts with “The King”, where distorted guitars lead the way to SubRosa-esque moments, but this piece really comes full circle with the hypnotic “O Mother” and its very dramatic piano and cello/violin arrangements.

Creating a very interesting mixture of Nordic folk/electronica/rock/experimental music, today we Faroese act Eivør, and her latest release “Tungl”. Having transitioned into more layered and experimental territories, Eivør continues to release captivating music, unleashing ten tracks and over 42-minutes in her 11th solo album. While there is little to no Metal in this release, we can recommend this album to fans of Chelsea Wolf, Emma Ruth Rundle, and even Björk to some extent.

Opening with the hypnotic “Og mánin græt”, Eivør’s charismatic vocals create a very magical atmosphere alongside the sultry electronics. While the vocal layering and diverse styles are the signature element of Eivør, the musical explorations offered by songs like “Drekafljóð”, “Verjugarðar”, and “Spøkilsir” give a certain lounge feeling as they are catchy, somber, and yet intoxicatingly captivating. While other Nordic acts overly rely on their folky elements, this release masterfully blends them in seamlessly.

Just when you think a band cannot surprise you anymore, Insomnium comes with their tenth full-length release, “Netherworlds”, and drops a 53-minute melancholy opus. Featuring the band’s signature catchiness and Nordic darkness, this release unleashes ten highly engaging songs. Stepping into more somber territory, this release feels fresh, cinematic, and yet total signature Insomnium with their emotive Melodic Death Metal.

Opening with a bombastic cinematic atmospheric piece “The Cold Song”, the album really hits its stride with the dreamy “Shadowlife”, a track filled with Insomnium-signature riffs and very moody vocal arrangements. With “Remembrance” and “Gleam in the Black” we get more of a Gothic Metal vibe at first, before the masterful guitar leads of Markus Vanhala, showcasing the band’s different approach to this release and allowing their sound to expand.

Unleashing catchiness and epic Heavy/Doom Metal vibes, today we have Norway’s Avrak and their self-titled debut release. Featuring none other than Ted Skjellum (Darkthrone) and Anders Hegna (Nød, El Kayenne, Svidd Grevling), this outfit presents a very lively take on the genre(s), creating a very polished and enjoyable release. While there are no overtly evident Black Metal elements here as some would expect, there are still some to be found, making listening to this album a bit of a scavenger hunt.

Opening with the sinister riffs of “Forever Mountain”, we get a very lively Rock/Metal introduction to the band’s polished and yet direct sound. The riffs are crisp and Anders Hegna’s raspy vocals are fitting, having a certain Chrome Division/Athera style. The music itself is catchy and engaging, with tight drumming courtesy of Terje Kråbøl (Gjendød, Sarke, Faustcoven), and throbbing bass guitar line from Steinar Gundersen (Khold, Sarke, Satyricon).

Catching the new wave of traditional heavy metal, Sweden’s Ram has constantly been delivering high octane releases filled with nostalgia alongside a clean and modern sound. In their first release in seven years, the band returns with eleven superbly crafted and engaging songs filled with razor sharp guitars, soaring vocals and all kinds of attitude. For over 42-minutes, “Against” showcases a very talented band belting out epic songs that are both catchy and powerful.

After setting the mood with the opening instrumental, the band goes balls-to-the-wall with the epic “Ghost Emperor” and its intoxicating nature. Perfectly balancing potent guitars with crafty drumming and Oscar Carlquist signature vocals, this song brings back some memories. The band’s fast pace unleashes hell on pieces like “One Vs All”, “Abattoir”, and the superbly catchy “Out of Control”. Filled with an old-school attitude, the band’s sound is timeliness and very effective as they crush the delivery and incite frantic headbanging.

Hailing from Canada, today we have high-octane Technical Death/Thrash Metal trio Dissimulator with their sophomore release “Artifice Dissolves”. Featuring nine tracks and around 45-minutes of music, this outfit perfectly balances technicality with melody and catchiness, creating a very engaging release filled with memorable moments. For fans of bands like Miscreance, Revocation and Voivod, this release is as intense and it is expertly crafted.

Blasting away with crafty drumming and vicious riffing, “Apophenic Rage” opens this release with panache. Rolling through “Hungry Ghosts”, “Alloyed”, and “Proprioceptor”, we start to identify the band’s signature style, perfectly infusing Thrash-elements to Death Metal core elements, all while being extremely proficient in their instruments and masterful when composing intricate tempo changes and transitions.

Featuring members, live members, and ex-members of bands like Evergrey, Devin Townsend, Vola and Haken, today we have international outfit Temic and their sophomore release “Ceiba”. With a very expansive and engaging Progressive Metal sound, the band delivers over 65-minutes of highly polished and dreamy music. Highly recommended for any fans of the genre, particularly outfits like Evergrey and Vola, this release is quite crafty and enjoyable.

After a mood setting intro, the album explodes with the bombastic “Ashes”, a track filled with high-octane atmospherics and engaging tempo changes. Things slow down into very Evergrey-esque territories with the lush “Beyond the Voice”, a song that showcases Fredrik Klemp’s talented vocals alongside some killer closing guitar solos. The band’s progressive style allows tracks like “Cease to Be”, “Broken”, and “Casting Stone” to deliver some intricate instrumentation alongside fun tempo changes and melancholic vocal arrangements.

Unleashing a short-but-sweet EP, today we have UK’s The Crawling with “What We Leave Behind”. Featuring two tracks of pure bleakness, the band’s Death/Doom Metal sound is timeless with a slightly fresh edge to it. For fans of My Dying Bride, Swallow the Sun, Insomnium and similar artists, this release heats heavy and quick.