Iris - Altars of Grief (2018)

These guys describe themselves as “blackened death-doom” which requires some explaining for the uninitiated: doom metal is slow-paced and riff-heavy, death metal is known for constantly changing rhythmic complexity especially at the low end, and black metal is about icy cold soundscapes with ethereal high registers. Throw a little of each of these together and you get something slow and funereal but crisply rhythmic, with a huge soaring high end. Blackened Death Doom.

You can listen to it context-free if you want, though. It still hits hard. I always appreciate heavy bands whose lyrics aren’t too ridiculous, and who actually have the courage to sing them so you can hear them. These guys are quite inventive even though they fit firmly into their corner of the universe. The primary reason I like metal so much is the emphasis on playing together and playing well, and these guys definitely do that.