Nekrodeus: "Moloch"

Hardened death metal with a black core

I hate to start out a review with classic review tropes, but have you ever wondered what Nasum would sound like if Mieszko had had a hidden infatuation with black metal? Though Austrian quintet Nekrodeus have their roots in burly death metal, their debut full length - Moloch - is essentially a blackened version of Inhale/Exhale.

Malditos: "Le Réve"

Impenetrable storms of droning psychedelia

It should come as no surprise that an entity as eclectic as Malditos hails from one of musical experimentation's current strongholds, Oakland, California. Malditos is very much a mindset band. Their darkened, nocturnal desert drones are real party killers, but with the right state of mind and setting, Le Réve turns into a rich, nightmarish phantasmagoria cascading from the your mind's eye. The darkness painted by the Oakland tribe of artists is oppressively thick and impenetrable.

Skogen: "Skuggorna Kallar"

A turn to something worse, or the beginning of a new exciting chapter?

Skogen is one of those bands that just keep getting better and better. From Vittra in 2009, through Svitjod and Eld, I Döden from 2014 was the culmination of a lengthy venture into the ultimate combination of traditional black metal guitar riffs and exceptionally immersive atmosphere. I Döden was - and still is - one of the most surprising and stand-out black metal albums of the 2010s for me. But leave it to Skogen to throw us another curve ball.

Taphos: "Come Ethereal Darkness"

No victim to trend or riffless nightmares

We're really being spoiled with the amount of gruesome Danish death metal coming out these days. With bands like Phrenelith, Undergang, Deiquisitor and Sulphurous causing a teeth-rattling ruckus, it's amazing there's even still more room in hell for another contender - The mighty Taphos.