Aeon

Extremely dark and menacing DM from Sweden that manages to come across super solid and riffy without sacrificing anything in the way of speed and intensity... I've been a massive Aeon fan since the early 00's so this record wound up being kind of the sleeper hit of 2021 for me.

If you like mid-era Vader, Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal, Pessimist, and that absolutely savage Golgothan disc that came out a couple months ago you'll probably really dig this.

Intonate

Ok, real quick blurb 'cos it's 3am and I'm really just waiting for this stupid lightning storm to be over so I can hop a shower and go the fuck to sleep, but in a lot of ways I feel like what Anata was to melodeath Intonate are to dissonant Immolation/ Incantation worshipping caveman DM, and that's saying a lot because I really, really, fucking loved Anata.

With Intonate you get the same swirling vortex of inter-dimensional terror that a lot of these dissonant bands fuck with, but laced with killer doomy riffs and enough soaring, spiraling, melody to make the whole thing really memorable (hell, even "catchy" if you're the sort of person who hums whacked out DM riffs to yourself while you do the dishes).

Powerful stuff.

Shikabane

Terrifying metallic crust from Japan. Real dark. Killer vocals. Cool album cover. Don't have a whole lot else to say about this one, but if you like your crust apocalyptic you should really fucking dig this.