amsvartnir were a short lived swedish melodic black metal band. this is the cover of their 1997 e.p. "the trollish mirror" i dig it a lot. they had a unique sound within their genre. you can find it on youtube
highly recommend windir. they're mostly black metal, but have a lot of strong folk metal elements in their sound. short lived band due to the singer's death in 2004. all 4 of their albums are equally great, so i recommend their entire discography
yeah. melodeath went into a downward spiral after 2003 in my opinion with the exception of amon amarth who are still kicking ass today. which is why amon amarth is my favorite band of that genre
my vote for 2021's metal album of the year is gloomy grim's agathonomicon. a legendary symphonic black metal band from finland. this most recent album of their's is a great blend of symphonic, atmospheric and raw black metal. a very unique sound. it really showcases what a supreme musical genius agathon truly is