Not a patch on 2016’s stunning “Winter’s Gate” but is still good enough to make the list (just). Atmospheric melodeath (melodic death metal for the unfamiliar) with enough introspection to make it stand out from others melding screaming with Maiden riffs. It’s actually a more downbeat album than its predecessor and probably less accessible and immediate as well. I suspect it’s a grower and that further listens would have seen it rise in my estimations (and in placing).