Grieve – Funeral (2021)

Black metal established a template, with the original bands knowing that they were the last gasp of sanity before the egomania of humanism took over, but some have carried on. Grieve knowingly works with variations of the template but makes a compelling, carefully-crafted release.

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Imperishable – Deathspawn (2021)

Approaching Swedish death metal as a hybrid of Dismember and Dissection, Imperishable begin songs with tightly-socketed riffs that correspond directly to each other, then build up to melodic riffs that are equal parts Iron Maiden and classic death metal, adding an air of mystery and a shifting ambience of emotion to their songs.

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Death Angel – The Bastard Tracks

When in the hands of a band accomplished at songwriting, you know it immediately regardless of genre; Death Angel make handily coherent and cogent songs out of a few hardcore and heavy metal riffs, but with a focus on the listener, have made these into enjoyable songs that avoid the amorphous fungible state of most metal releases.

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