A somewhat mournful metal recommendations thread incoming. A fantastic feline friend died to cancer this week, so let's send her off with deafening noises of metal.

I'm not the world's biggest atmospheric black metal fan but perhaps this is why I love this album quite a bit. It's more muscular than your average atmoblack record while still having its share of lovely emotions: https://naturmachtproductions.bandcamp.com/album/notturna-la-quiete

More atmospheric black metal? I told you it's that kind of a week. This comes from Scotland and has quite a bit of folky tricks up its sleeve. Good stuff: https://ruadh.bandcamp.com/album/the-rock-of-the-clyde

These Danes are selling themselves short by comparing their music to Darkthrone and Taake. They have their own sound and it's impressive on its own: https://wulfaz.bandcamp.com/album/sotes-runer

These Alaskans are back and "black metal" hardly manages to describe their new sound. It's just - music, of all sorts. But when they do play black metal, it's with recognizable passion: https://boundbyentrails.bandcamp.com/album/aberration-prayer

Normally I love my Swedish black metal fast but Armagedda write such impressive songs and play them so well that I could not stop listening to their new album: https://armagedda.bandcamp.com/album/svindeldjup-ttestup

Excellent Finnish blackened death metal here. All of the black metal's expression is here but it also has heavy riffing: https://kasvotonband.bandcamp.com/album/jumalansa-tappaneet

This Icelandic/ German trio is very impressive in how they do ambient strings and recitals and then just do proper black metal for ten minutes. Very serious but somehow not pretentious at all. Plus that name. They're not after the kids, that's for sure. https://arstidirlifsins.bandcamp.com/album/saga-tveim-tungum-ii-eigi-fj-ll-n-fir-ir

A perfect storm of one-Finnish-man-black-metal-debut-album things going on here. Very second wave, very raw but subtle at the same time:

Let's go to stoner now. Here are two well known bands doing a split album of some deep grooves and laid back psychedelia:

https://vinnumsabbathi.bandcamp.com/album/here-beyond-split-w-comacozer https://comacozer.bandcamp.com/track/sun-of-hyperion

I usually praise Greek stoner rock, but here's some Greek doom metal, very raw, tribal and heavy:

Black Rainbows are back with a new album finally and, yes, this is THE perfect stoner rock record for this week. Awesome: https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/black-rainbows-cosmic-ritual-supertrip

This Brazilians really know how to party. It's almost like it's the '70s again but with a lovely Brazilian accent: https://sadboots.bandcamp.com/album/shoeshine 

Not really stoner and not even really metal, but this is a great, heavy psychedelic album played mostly on fretless bass and drums. Mostly. Straight from Russia, my friends: https://juiceohyeah.bandcamp.com/album/juice-oh-yeah

I loved how this one manages to sound almost like Nick Cave going mental AND going metal at the same time: https://gileadmedia.bandcamp.com/album/rattle 

If you want your doom metal to be REALLY deep, slow and impenetrable, well, Noctu's your boi. This almost goes all the way to becoming a caricature but stays on the right side of the tracks: https://noctuitaly.bandcamp.com/releases 

I always thought Canadians are supposed to be chill, mature, rational people. Why, then, do they play such angry sludge metal, pray tell? This is CRUSHING: https://heronsludge.bandcamp.com/album/time-immemorial

Two albums by Old Man Gloom? Man, when they come back, they come back in style. And this is, all the expected mannerisms aside, 100 minutes of good, well produced and passionate music:
https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/seminar-viii-light-of-meaning https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/seminar-ix-darkness-of-being

Is this punk, metal or something else? Apparently it's "fuck you". I dig it all the way: https://azidspit.bandcamp.com/album/toxic-fix-skeleton-king-7

This is sludge again, extremely brutal and aggressive, but with just enough garage rock sound to make it all swallowable: https://koarse1.bandcamp.com/album/pink-doom-ep

Supershort and efficient thrashcore from France here. It's over before you know it but it doesn't sound superfluous: https://mapsandfoils.bandcamp.com/album/les-anath-mes

Pretty neat death/ groove metal combo here, coming straight from Iran. It's very well produced and sexy all around: https://pointedmutation.bandcamp.com/album/engineering-the-unhuman

Global Thrash Attack continue churning out just perfect thrash metal compilations. This one is with Colombian artists and it's ridiculously great: https://globalthrashattack.bandcamp.com/album/colombian-thrash-attack-compilation

More thrash, from Czechia this time. Two young bands, lots of riffs and attitude:

https://murderinc.bandcamp.com/album/split-kaar-murder-inc https://kaarthrash.bandcamp.com/album/split-kaar-murder-inc

This band apparently imploded before they even recorded the album so this is mostly one man show at the moment, but the album is actually great. It's Megadeth/ Kreator/ Devastation style and more mature than I expected: https://deadsentry.bandcamp.com/album/dead-sentry

Very good EP from our Bosnian neighbours. If there are any festivals this year, I am sure they'll rule them: https://miserycrown.bandcamp.com/album/northern-wind-ep

You like early Dillinger Escape Plan? These lads from Toledo LOVE it. This is not a clone band but, you know, they do it all: https://humidtheband.bandcamp.com/album/daughters 

I don't even know what "alterna-thrashing punk-metal" should sound like but these Finns write such amazing songs that it doesn't matter. Totally should not work and TOTALLY works: https://minu5one.bandcamp.com/album/karma-reiteration

These Swiss lads changed their name from Gonnoreas to Gomorra after like a quarter of a century. Took them some thinking there. But the music is GREAT with thrash heaviness and classical heavy metal vibe: https://gomorraband.bandcamp.com/album/divine-judgement

New War Cloud? Already? Ah, it's a live album! Where do I Sign??!!!!! Now, this is actually recorded live in a studio, so no audience etc. but they do songs from both albums and it sounds amazing. NWOBHM the way it should be played: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/earhammer-sessions

Excellent old school death metal from these lads here. It also manages to find the great balance between tradition and innovation: https://mausoleumofdeath.bandcamp.com/album/behind-the-veil

More old school-ish death metal here, this time from Georgia (a country, not the American state) and with a progressive slant. You love Death/ Cynic? You may dig this: https://angelofdisease.bandcamp.com/album/obscure-conjuring

I don't even like most melodic death metal and these Kiwis actually don't move too far away from the TBDM blueprint, but this is played with such conviction and the woman singing on the album can scream SO FUCKING LOUD that I loved this EP: https://darkdivinity.bandcamp.com/album/messianic 

I love the sound Jonny Pettersson has in this project and it's a very healthy grindcore formula but the songs are just too similar to each other, so it's best listened a few tracks at a time: https://henrykanecrust.bandcamp.com/album/age-of-the-idiot-death-metal-grind-crust

It's all death metal all the way to the bottom from here. These guys made an impressive proggy tech death album and then buried it in unlistenable brickwalled master. What a pity. It's a good record: https://arawi.bandcamp.com/album/jurisprudence

A death metal concept album? Yes and it work's so well. Great songs, good sense of narrative and, oh, yes, excellent mix and mastering here. And what a band name! https://pileofpriests1.bandcamp.com/album/pile-of-priests-2

20 Buck Spin essentially just can take my money no questions asked with each new release. Cauldron Black Ram have the expected deep, thuddy death metal sound here but the songs are just something else. The best kind of surprises here: https://listen.20buckspin.com/album/slaver 

Finally, the second Killitorous album is here and, yes, the band retains everything that made Party, Grind such fun but manages to push it to the next level. Amazing AND funny tech death neoclassical grind! https://killitorousofficial.bandcamp.com/album/the-afterparty