Eternal Storm - Come the Tide

"Nuance" wouldn't be the first term to come to mind if you were asked to describe death metal. "Attitude" or "grit" would probably be more common knee-jerk reactions. But in the case of the full length debut from Spain's Eternal Storm, one starts to evaluate death metal more as a craft rather than just an adrenaline-fueled juggernaut. The amalgam that is Come the Tide breathes new life into the genre by absorbing several other styles into the death metal framework, coalescing into a simultaneously heavy and moving listening experience.

Gaerea - Unsettling Whispers

Time will show the true extent of how much Mgła's Exercises in Futility is a milestone for black metal, not only by its own merit, but also by how it's currently paving the way for other like-minded bands to emerge and thrive. Cue in Portugal's Gaerea. By harnessing a straightforward approach to Mgla's droney-ambiance, Gaerea made a big impression on me with their self-titled EP from two years ago. It only missed my last year-end list on a technicality because I misread the release date. But this year may be the year I get to rectify that error because Gaerea's full-length debut, Unsettling Whispers, makes it rather clear that their previous EP was far from a fluke.