7 Horns 7 Eyes -
Throes of Absolution (2012)
Don't let the stupid metalcore sounding name turn you away, this is some pretty decent technical death metal that really does sound like something unique unto itself. Far better than the stuff that's been coming out of France (but isn't that always the case?) like Gorod and Outcast.
The Great Old Ones -
Al Azif (2012)
Yet another one of the emerging "blackgaze" bands to come out of France but to help them stand out they chose incorporate Lovecraftian themes into their lyrics. The vocals are at the bottom end of the production so they're completely blured and they could be singing about the Care Bears for all I know. Only other thing to say is that it's not quite as ashamed of its black metal roots like Alcest so it sounds far more like a directionless black metal album would.
Dark Forest -
Land of the Evening Star (2012)
Black metal band out of Calgary of all places. I checked out their 2006 album,
Aurora Borealis, a few years ago and was pretty impressed by what I heard. The band really does remind me of Agalloch, but more in their inspiration and ambition than in their actual sound. Haven't listened to this one yet but I'm expecting it to be good.