Astral Sleep - Angel (MCD)

Review
Hymnes Funeraires
8/10
07.09.2010

After listening to these three songs, I have to say that I am remarkably impressed by them laced together. It is quite rare to find a band that lets the songs mold as an unit without slight difficulties. But it’s like they cool together in the same chords, in the same textures. I might’ve been more impressed by a well defined diversity in the sounds, all of them seem similar, somehow, but the whole album expresses the same bundle of feelings. The atmosphere is cadaverous, beautifully funeral, disturbing, yet beautiful, rotten as it is. The desperation, the frustration, the anger are expressed in an incredibly artistic manner. I’ll attempt to describe every track.

Track one.

The track starts with an energic atmosphere, similar to death metal, orgasmic guitar riffs that only manage to intrude into your ears like a cascade of sounds, convincing in their violence. Incredibly catchy and addictive, the textures are amazingly rough. I can personally associate this with a Heaven Shall Burn passage. It rushes so neatly. As the sound cools forward, a brutal scream only amplifies the unit, but only to mellow out sooner or later with vocals that seem so priest-like and choral, almost sacred in their vibration. The doomish atmosphere starts heightening its contrast, the sounds pour slowly, a simple guitar solo, maddening as it takes over, resonating, vibrating with a slight echo. The feelings change into a similar black metal chaotic mix. It settles with more brutal vocals, terrifying. Yet, in this whole paradox, the following textures sound almost medieval, viking, folk elements present, only to mold into the same outburst of brutality. The harmony is amazing. I can only picture a fortress, humid, dark and frightening. The repetitive, deadly.. or should I say deathly part appears again. The sounds become black metal-ish soon enough, technical, almost similar to …And Oceans, the textures are dirty, groovy, heavy. They drip into a slow rain-like passage, relaxing in its simplicity.. Like the fall of an angel, like a drop of reluctance.. Repetitive, yet convincing, similar to Shape of Despair. Funeral, entirely absorbing, drums beating in announcements, I’d say. The melody isn’t fragmented. The silent, yet completely overwhelming passages mingle with the Darkthrone-like ones.. Hatred is spilling into mellow voices, a melody cooling slower until it echoes out in a quiet end.

Track two.

The second song starts with a vibrating motion, sounds similar to the rattling gurgles of a snake suppurating through emptiness, to a cathedral, to a sacred, yet freaky atmosphere. The silence is massively suggestive.. Then a texture similar to a footstep slams in.. To guide us towards the guitars creeping out a lively sound that keeps increasing in intensity throughout the song.. Hauling into the listener’s veins directly. A deep low growl appears into the sound, the doom metal vocals that never relent pouring their sadness, intense and amazing. They’re convincing even if they’re mediocre, they mold into a scream, as if the ugly has been manipulated into a form of art. The textures are dirty. The rhythm is sad and the drum beats feel as if they’re crying with every harsh pump. Then again, higher tones of vocals protrude, a Finnish accent noticeable in the intonation. It fits perfectly. A sweet moment of silence with acoustic chords settles in. The moments interlace. Calm and unique sounds, yet filled with frustration. Quiet, slow, beautiful. The song takes a sudden turn, a beautiful contrast that draws you in. A voice is rising.. Melodic, macabre, hidden growls melt into the background. The atmosphere shapes like a castle, with angelic voices creeping into nothingness, followed by demonic screams, all of it in a plash of desperation, like a crowd of people that melts into void.

Track three.

Beautiful from the first chords. Calm and similar to an orchestra, silenced out by pinches of chords. The sound is culminating. The guitar sounds traditional, melting into an almost Brasilian perfection. It reminds me of a forest. The darkness shows up, covering the entirety of images. A rough passage bursts, only to disperse in pure, acoustic guitar and a saddened voice, a hymn of despair. But it’s melancholic, like a man with a withered life, gagging with tears and gulps of alcohol, it’s how it resonates in my ears. The silence that follows is beautiful, suggestic religious doubt. Whispers, contrabass getting the shape of a delicious agony, amplified in a menacing passage, screamed out in anger. It calms down like ancient columns, with spitted attempts of vocals, as if the vocal chords are forcing sounds out.. The guitars sing high sounds. A lounge-like silence finds its way in the song, it takes another beautiful, impressive turn. Acoustic sounds, angelic vibrations, whispers, rushed black metal.. Depressive. A marvelous fullness. Also, it gets the form of something somewhat similar to Amesoeurs, post-rock shades, without the vocals. The vocals are angry and dark. The drums become fast.. And faster.. Only to switch to the same calm, to choir-like vocals, simple guitar chords.. And then, silence.

Monotonous, but beautiful.

Author: Zamo

Review
Hardsounds
8/10
21.10.2010

Dopo due anni di lunga ed interminabile attesa tornano a deliziare le nostre orecchie i finnici Astral Sleep che ci regalano il successore dello strabiliante e fortunatissimo album di debutto 'Unawakening'. Sin dagli esordi tutti si erano resi conto di trovarsi di fronte ad un gruppo che definire convenzionale è un errore macroscopico. Ma ascoltando questo nuovo lavoro chiunque sarà costretto ad ammettere che il noto adagio "genio e sregolatezza" è il termine più adatto a definire la natura degli Astral Sleep. Se nel debutto c'era un'assoluta dominanza dei ritmi doom, in questo nuovo lavoro i nostri, come degli autentici camaleonti, riescono nuovamente a scombinare tutto pescando a piene mani da tutto il genere estremo per dare anima e corpo a questo nuovo ep, un vero e proprio "viaggio allucinante" in un mondo "sconosciuto". Ci troviamo di fronte ad un lavoro diviso, in maniera a dir poco geniale, in tre capitoli che ci offre mezz'ora di ottima musica. Gli amanti del metal estremo melodico troveranno piena soddisfazione ascoltando la prima traccia che, dopo un inizio in pieno stile doom lascia campo aperto a riff melodici e cambi di tempo di alta classe e di sopraffina raffinatezza con delle sferzate di basso che toccano persino i lidi del death. La seconda traccia potrebbe essere, idealmente, dedicata agli amanti delle sonorità "progressive", ma che non disdegnano ascoltare musica suadente ed onirica. Ma la vera ciliegina sulla torta arriva ascoltando il terzo diabolico ed altamente funereo e sulfureo capitolo, un autentico concentrato di riff che potrebbero sicuramente essere utilizzati per delle serie di film horror. Per concludere non resta che consigliare a tutti di ascoltare questo piccolo capolavoro suonato egregiamente e prodotto in maniera a dir poco magistrale per poter toccare con mano tutta la classe e la maestria del combo finnico.

Author: Donato Tripoli

Review
Metal Maniacs
24.11.2010

I’ve been a huge fan of this Finnish death-doom act for a few years now and almost pissed my jeans the other week when I found out that they had this EP out. Consisting of three epic parts, each titled “Angel”, this album comes across as an epic trilogy similar to The Lord of The Rings, where each track takes on a different mood and journey but the theme continues throughout and the final track serves as a feeling of resolution and the first track as the point of conflict.

The opening “Angel” bludgeons you instantaneously with it’s arsenal of drowning drum pounds and anvil weighted riffs into oblivion for the first minute before going into a melodic and harmonious doom cavern of purely blackened and dismal experiences. Here the band shows some a bit more aggression and energy in their delivery with scorching tempos breaking up the slow-mo doom parts and keeping the track sucking into its whirlpool of abysmal damnation and hopelessness. The vocals are broken upon between the death-doom growling vocals, although completely coherent, and incredibly sorrowful and melodic clean vocals that make my spine tremble.

The second incarnation of “Angel” shows a transition from the initial hurricane of desperation and chaos into a more traditional pace of the death-doom style, but in my honest opinion this is more like symphonic blackened doom metal if anything. The tempos may have slowed down a bit more on this track, but those riffs continue to cycle through and hit you hard and fast repetitively like violent waves against a shore after a massive storm (hence the first track). The entire track, and album as whole is this symphonic dark metal trilogy with each of these three tracks serving as one of the three epic novels in the series.

The final piece of the Angel” trilogy is the slowest and shows an almost light at the end of that crevasse or entity that initially overwhelmed your sense and flung you overboard. The first half of the track is almost acoustic in presentation and then we go into an epic doom style, even the vocals sound more epic doom and almost don’t fit with the other two tracks until the last 2 minutes approach and that melodic and sad voice speaks to us once again. At this final point the riffs come in, but are not so heavy this time and are melodic and distorted, more treble than bass tones. At first this track was going to be the one that I didn’t care for, but when listening to the album as a whole or in parts it becomes clear that it does and the sounds and style comes back around full circle to completion.

I’m no closet fan of this style and really enjoy similar acts: Evoken, Esoteric, The Howling void, Ahab, Ophis; but I also have to say that this release stands out as more of it’s own than fitting perfectly into the genre. Their first album, Unawakening, was more atmospheric gloom and more of a dreamlike or surreal experience, but every bit as heavy or maybe more so than this one, so Angel shows a progression that I’m impressed with and am really looking forward to hearing them take direction. You cannot pass up the chance to hear this band, these guys define heavy and there’s every bit of anthem and chaos that one could want or need in their sound.

Author: Janet Willis

Review
Headbang
7/10

Tornano a deliziarci i finnici Astral Sleep, nel 2008 avevano rilasciato il primo full-lenght dal titolo Unawakening con risultati eccellenti (per me uno dei migliori album di quell'annata), ed ora è giunto finalmente il turno dell'ep Angel.

Che gli Astral Sleep non fossero un gruppo convenzionale lo si era già capito, ora i nostri continuano a mischiare le carte offrendo un tipo di musica che non lascia mai un punto fermo. Se prima i ritmi doom la facevano da padroni ora possiamo aggiungere svariate altre influenze e moltiplicarle per i tre atti a nome Angel. I finnici prendono per mano l'ascoltatore e lo portano in un mondo "nuovo", stupiscono ed incantano e già da ora possiamo solo scommettere su come affronteranno le prossime release.
Interessante l'idea di realizzare questo ep (mezz'ora di durata poi, non siamo distanti dal considerarlo vero e proprio full), pieno d'idee in tre capitoli che possono anche essere visti come un'unica, lunga canzone.
La prima in scaletta è per chi scrive un piccolo capolavoro di metal estremo melodico. Uno splendido inizio classic doom spiana la strada a cambi di tempo e partiture melodiche di efferata raffinatezza (grande lavoro di basso e momenti che sfiorano il death metal). Infine, se c'è qualche adepto dei Septic Flesh sintonizzato avrà sicuramente di che godere (sentire la lead per credere).
Il sound è perfettamente bilanciato e rende l'ascolto davvero molto molto fluido, i restanti venti minuti passano così troppo velocemente.
La seconda canzone recita un ruolo pacato e dalle tinte "progressive" per un altro colpo riuscito in totale suadenza e oniricità. La terza invece è la più diabolica e funerea, risultato ottenuto non certo con violenza ma proprio con dei versi molto "evil" e lente note horrorifiche, insomma un'altra piccola lezione di classe da parte degli Astral Sleep.

Seguiteli e adorateli per il loro oscuro lavoro, questi ragazzi si meritano la giusta approvazione e sono sicuro che già dalla prossima uscita riusciranno a far circolare il proprio nome per bene come è giusto che sia.

Author: DukeFog

Review
Diztorted Dimension
27.10.2010

Это не развитие, не какое-либо последовательное изменение, но просто перерождение! Музыка данного EP совершенно не похожа на дебютник группы, что в общем-то, радует, ибо новый материал свеж (хоть и во всём классичен) и выполнен достойно. Открывается диск, более чем, убедительным условно мелодичным Death metal фрагментом на высокой скорости, в красивом миноре, и даже более – апокалиптичном строе. Такие фрагменты и далее присутствуют на диске, и они перемежаются тормознутым Doom metal’ом. В бóльшей мере, это Epic Doom, но встречается и тяжеляк, а стоунер с дебютника тут незримо присутствует. Для таких мест приходит в голову аналогия с Cathedral.

С полиграфией опять «беда». Одна фотка с разворота с невнятным силуэтом современно одетого финского парня на фоне зимней природы совершенно не концептуальна и сделана на скорую руку. Её фрагменты раскиданы на обложку и другие страницы буклета. Аналогично, и фото группы – четверо в белых халатах… Приведён некий текст об ангелах (в понимании этих молодых людей), который также присутствует в песнях. Собственно, весь этот мини альбом «посвящён» ангелам и являет собой 3 песни с одноимённым названием. Лично я не понял логики рассуждения и мировоззрения автора по предмету обсуждения. Смахивает на сугубо личностный поток («кучу-малу») сознания.

Итого, данный релиз чисто музыкально хочется выделить среди множества пустоватых поделок. Основательно, убедительно, не заезженно, но по канонам. Как-то так.

Author: Valentii