The American black metal band Petrychor dropped its debut album, Effigies And Epitaphs, on Khrysanthoney this month, and it's got some some of the strongest guitar playing I've heard on an album of this style this year.
Well, that is if I can pinpoint the style. Most of the time, I think it's safe to say Petrychor plays a variation of black metal, but they pad a lot of their tunes out with acoustic interludes that embrace a classical and even flamenco style.
Even as the band is blasting away with distorted guitars and blast beats, there's a feast of melody and harmony going on behind the wall of distortion.
Some moments come off harsher than others, like "Seared, Sundered," but the album's dynamics make the stylistic contrasts seem all the more significant. Stream the album above.