Dungeon Serpent have put Lamentations Of The Shadowkingdoms up in full through Profound Lore's channel, a day before the record comes out.
Six compositions, separate but written to be heard together as one work, and five years since World Of Sorrows. Arawn still plays vocals, guitars, keyboards and bass, but the line-up around him has grown: a drummer, and a violinist who works as a contemporary composer.
That violin is the reason to go and listen rather than wait for the review. The announcement lists black metal, brutal death metal, jazz and grind inside the same record, with keyboards drawing on Hellenic tradition, which in most hands would be a warning. Here the stated aim is narrower and more convincing: keep the world the first album built, give each piece its own character, and let the arrangements open up enough for orchestral passages without losing the speed.
Vancouver, two albums, and a project that has not repeated itself once. The full stream is up now, and the physical editions arrive with it.