Raw Illumination

This band supposedly started out as a more black n'roll kind of act, but if so, the only remnant of it is a certain Abbath-styled chunkiness to the riff stylings. In fact, Immortal would not be a bad place to start when making comparisons for this band. This is a Finnish act, and so it has that underlying melodic feel that can't really be stopped. The guitar sound is a great snarl of cold distortion—like an iron file across a tombstone—and the production overall is really good. Heavy and sharp, but not too glossy. The songwriting is not blazingly original, but along with the solid riffs it makes for a killer album of hooky Black Metal.