Quite a long-awaited comeback from a band that also signals the end of an era with vocalist Will Smith's (no, not that one) departure, and he is joined here by a couple of guest vocalists to bring the dynamics to the vocal front as well. But where Artificial Brain shines is in balancing the ever-changing riffs and knowing when to pull back. And maybe this is what Artificial Brain's success formula is: standing at the intersection of death metal's most extreme subgenres, indulging in all of them but relying on dynamic and immersive songwriting rather than just using death metal's extremity to overwhelm. And with this formula, Artificial Brain succeeds.

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For some reason, Stanley Kubrick chose Also Sprach Zarathustra as the mood-setting overture of 2001. If he had been half as cool as everyone says he was, he would have chosen Soulgazer – there’s hardly a better audio representation of the intersection between monkey murder and posthuman intelligence. Astral Tomb's debut is half-skronk, half-bonk: the chugs are like mammoths lurching into each other, the pick scrapes are like knuckles dragging against stone, and the bass drum thumps are like bone mallets sickly pummeling flesh, but the songs warp for minutes on end in distended fractures of time and structure, and bizarre electronics add the perspective of interstellar observers to these primitive noise fights. Soulgazer is a magnificent combination of heavy, abyssal death metal and weird, alien atmospheres - it's like the feeling of finding troglodyte skeletons on the moon.

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Desolate Shrine might be part of a Finnish cavernous sound that has already become quite a staple, but other than being a unique kind of trio where 2/3 of the band assumes just vocal duties, what feels most impactful about Desolate Shrine's music is that it manages to find a balance between different directions, as in it is cavernous without being completely claustrophobic, doomy without being doom, and blackened without being black, as well as having some technical bits and a fairly strong hook selection. On Fires Of The Dying World more than ever it seems like Desolate Shrine are interested in writing groovy riffs, at least as groovy as they can be for a cavernous death metal band.

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All That Was Promised would be a bold title to use for any of those bands that hype their upcoming releases to oblivion, but Hath have very much let their music do the talking with their explosive sophomore effort. In the continuing absence of new music from Slugdge, Hath channel a lot of the riffing and songwriting traits from that band, but also bring plenty of their own inspiration to the table, as irresistible riffs, unpredictable songs, and tasteful melodic hooks guarantee to win listeners over. There was plenty of promise already on Hath’s debut, but this new release is a giant step towards becoming the real deal.

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Immolation started out as one of the heaviest bands on the planet and they've somehow managed to keep their hooks in that mantle for more than 30 years. They're practiced hands at the fitful riffiness that everyone loves about OSDM; they've got the voluminous sound of Incantation and the bone-breaking brutality of Suffocation; they've got face-melting solos, angular riffs, and even some touches of blackened and symphonic death here and there. No matter what you want out of death metal, Immolation is the skull-crunching juggernaut that can serve it up to you on a bloody platter, and Acts Of God is one of their most forceful and best-written albums to date.

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Jade’s debut album, The Pacification Of Death, arrived toward the end of the year as a treat for any death metal fan. Incorporating elements of Bølzer, Sulphur Aeon, and The Ruins Of Beverast, this band offers an engrossing take on death metal that is doomy, blackened, melodic, progressive, and exceptionally atmospheric. The synth arrangements give it a cosmic edge, while especially interesting are the clean vocals, whose delivery is reminiscent of the ones Mayhem’s Grand Declaration Of War. And it comes gift-wrapped in Adam Burke’s spectacular cover art to make it even more irresistible.

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The latest evidence that metal music originating from places other than traditional genre strongholds has the capacity to bring fresh ideas to the table, Ecuador’s Mathan offer a fascinating take on death metal by way of their debut record Darkroot Tzantza. The monstruous growls, jagged riffs, and blistering speeds are all to be expected, but these strong foundations are elevated in inspired fashion by the extensive incorporation of tribal-influenced percussion throughout the record, resulting in an Amazonian death metal record that really feels like a product of its environment. The concept alone is fascinating enough, but it translates masterfully into compelling songs throughout Darkroot Tzantza, with special guest guitarists Mendel and Joel Omans (Rings Of Saturn) also bringing their own flavours to the mix.

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Divine Council begins where As The Kingdom Drowns ended, and it feels like a natural continuation. It has great lead guitar harmonies, headbangable riffs, neck-crushing breakdowns, and big hooks. Despite being undeniably technical, Psycroptic are not afraid to let a riff or a melodic passage play for a little while, and they are not afraid to replay it further down the line of a song. As a result, the music is flowing, instead of being interrupted every five seconds because another idea kicked in. The guitar work is phenomenal as always, the drumming is crazy good, and there is variety in the vocal department. The -core and thrash elements in the songwriting result in very catchy songs suitable for extensive headbanging.

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Bone-crushing heaviness of funeral doom and asphyxiating sludge, mixed together with atmospheric, experimental death metal. This is what Strigoi have to offer with their sophomore release. The bleak, doom-influenced heaviness is reminiscent of death metal bands like Asphyx, Chthe'ilist, and Sulphur Aeon. There's a constant air of uneasiness — a lurking fear like in the Lovecraftian soundscapes of Blut Aus Nord. The building tension of the guitars creates a haunting ambience on the edge of dissonance, accentuated by the backdrop of ominous drums and Gregor Mackintosh's flawless vocal performance — his deep, resonant voice seemingly emanating from some far reaches of the abyss. Viscera will bathe you in a black sun and leave you lost in an ocean of blood.

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What would happen if you mixed death and doom and black and stoner and '70s prog rock, gave it an oriental touch, and dressed it all in a psychedelic gown? Here’s what would happen; you’d get Cosmic Fires: The Enlightenment Reversed. Vāmācāra's debut full-length is adventurous extreme metal with clearly heard instruments that play wildly off of each other; it is a bridge between blastbeats and groove and a marriage of melody and dissonance. And what’s most impressive is that this rich instrumentation and sound come from just two people.

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