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Finnish Black/Death horde Apocryfal took about a decade to get their long-awaited debut out, but boy was it worth the wait. Crushing Black Death is exactly what it says on the tin: dark, savage Black/Death that sounds like a mix of Demigod's Slumber of the Sullen Eyes, Krypts, and Purtenance. Crushing heaviness is mixed with a sinister and haunting sense of atmosphere that borders on Funeral Doom in places, creating an experience similar to that of being trapped in a pit of despair and horror that leaves you beaten and worn, yet satisfied and craving for more.

There are so many Black/Death/Something bands that just mindlessly blast away that it can be easy to forget what a band in the style with serious intent and a grasp of atmosphere even looks like. As it turns out, Apocryfal are such a band, and their debut is a unique work of outstanding Black/Death that does everything its title says it does and more. Not to be missed.