Wasting no time with this enviable momentum, GRABUNHOLD return little more than a year later with more medieval madness: Heldentod, their full-length debut. Just as spellbinding as the preceding EP but even more expansive, Heldentod immediately creates a compelling canvas that's simultaneously tied to tradition and pushing that tradition further. Its songwriting and attendant soundfield suggest strong second-wave vibes - silent citadels, sequestered keeps, dark dungeons - but never whiff of retro posturing or ham-fisted revisionism; rather, their invocation runs parallel to the Old Ways, fluently speaking the ancient dialect instead of stunted pidgin. In other, more telling ways, Heldentod strikes upon braver and less-travelled territory, bristling with a sparkling sort of production that's palatable in its almost-crystalline sheen and befitting the album's contents.