Stonewounds

Heck of a time to be a Ukrainian band. This is the debut for Ukronakh, who play very polished and rather melodic Blackened Death Metal, straddling that line with a lot of involved tremolo riffing backed up by precise, percussive drum work. The recording is sharp, but not into tech-death territory, so this does not become clickety-click. The guitar sound is good, not down-tuned, and there is a nice amount of heaviness on display. The band uses sound effects like rushing wind to help create a bleak soundscape, and the vocals are an aggressive croak rather than being raspy goblin-style. If you like this kind of thing, then it’s being done very well here, even if it’s all stuff that’s been done before by a lot of bands.