Goddammit, I was prepared to dismiss this one and write it off as not worth my time. . . . but then I started to listen to it, and. . . . goddammit. “Uncrown” is Swedish Death Metal of the finest order. (Also a good reminder for me and everyone about hasty judgments).

The vocals are all growl - - one-dimensional and unaffecting, but effective. This is what almost caused me to swipe left, but a few seconds investment reveals a complex layering of lush, gorgeous, spheres of sound and textures.
I love the choral synths, the strummed minor chords, the 16th note scale progressions, the machine-gun firepower of the snare. These aren’t bangers or moshers, but Classical-style compositions to fill your mind and emotional well. The Heaviness is extreme, but with a great sunlit core of pathos and feeling at its center. Love, despair, anger, hate, and even hope all come through. The songwriters in Ages understand the necessity of changes; their tonal switches are perfectly executed, carrying the listener just far enough into one place, before transitioning to a new realm, letting all of the colors bleed and swirl together to create darkly beautiful abstraction and imagery.
Think Draconian, Graveworm, At the Gates, Rotting Christ.
On each listen, “The Death of Kings of Old” has leapt out. Other standouts: “Burn Them,” “Herolds of Enslavement,” probably the actual best: “A Hollow Tomb.”