Astral Sleep - Visions (CD)

Review
Transcending Obscurity

There's charm in combining several, polarized, musical aesthetics, provided this amalgamation is done right, off course. Like cramming together into the same cubicle both Doom/Death Metal and Epic Metal, for instance. The contrasting characters of the styles -- one aims to the bottomless pits of the earth while the other strives to follow Icarus and touch the sun -- playing on a couple of quite distant areas on the metallic left-field spectrum, can either kill an album or adorn it with a synergistic attribute that is ultimately larger than each style's impact when alone standing. Funeral, Tristitia, HellLight, Woe Unto Me and other, not many mind you, have tried and succeeded to a certain degree to fuse Funeral or Doom Death (that are in themselves hybrid genres) with epic, soaring, operatic theatricals -- and when this musical mode of operation is done right, it is simply stupefying.

Now, the beauty of that lies with the fact a band doesn't have to excel in any of the given aesthetics it explores, suffice the combination of styles is an appropriate one. In other words, the hybridization of styles often bridges the gap between mediocrity and brilliance, because it kind of tends to numb the listener from rationally dissecting a musical creation based on its musical merits alone, and on occasions this pummeling darkened combination fucks with the mind and makes the listener oblivious of the disadvantages or pitfalls through the course of the music.

Finnish Astral Sleep's opus 'Visions' is not a great album when judged upon its Death/Doom merits, nor does it own any of the Finnish scene's psychedelic, avant-garde, mind-fucking, mind-altering trademark sound aesthetic. If anything, the music possesses an innate, mild lunacy, thanks to the occasional nature of the extreme vocals. Ah the vocals! It's like listening to a singer with multiple personalities, each personality either extremely depressed, suffering or fucking angry. Pain is the main vocal theme here, despite the fact the band deals mostly with the subject of dreams and the subconscious. So yeah, that maddening quality is always there, accompanying each of the four long tracks comprising the album; the wretched, anguished voices manifested often remind of bands such as Bethlehem and Deinonychus to a certain extent.

Astral Sleep offer a middle of the road, decent, melodic slowed down death metal that is cool and enjoyable, coupled with a fine production in the Solitude Productions tradition, but there's not awfully lot more than just that. However, the album doesn't settle for a mere Doom/Death affair, but it ventures further into the waters of epic doom, offering in the course of its exploration long, half-meditative non-metal moments and grand, majestic atmospherics. However, the most quintessential attribute the band have incorporated into their growls and howls are the soaring, epic, melancholic and beautifully clean vocals that make all the difference.

The music is essentially melancholic and contemplative (and dare we say, even romantic) but not insomuch as it could be considered exceptionally dark or menacing. But sometimes darkness does not need a distorted guitar or growling vocals in order to manifest (come on, give me a break here: have you really ever considered most of the Brutal Death Metal bands out there as playing genuinely dark music, with a capital D?); Astral Sleep's brooding essence lies with the softer, mellower parts, and not necessarily with their harrowing extreme doom.

'Visions' often ventures into territories far removed from metal music par excellence, but Astral Sleep take with them, wherever they may musically roam, a certain burden; an existential sadness that walks hand in hand with their music and in turn this pain of existence is being conveyed and manipulated straight into the heart of the listener.

'Visions' is therefore one of the most unique albums around, combining several stylistic approaches to Doom Metal, often exhibiting pretty polarized sound architectures back to back so that they highlight the negation and dichotomy even to a greater extent. That seam, this hidden line drawn between opposing styles, has been celebrated on 'Visions' to an artistic degree.


In the end, 'Visions' is an above average effort containing some fantastic moments, speaking an assorted language bearing every faculty a metal aficionado searches for, be it the atmosphere, the musicianship, the emotional emanation and that extra something mostly Finnish metal artists know how to pronounce and articulate. Get this unique album as fast as you can if you are into singular vocal arrangements, melodic craftsmanship and a slice of sadness grazing the unconventional and the lunatic.

Author: Chaim Drishner

Review
Darkside
8/10
20.02.2014

Дум и его виды не являются основной моего тяжёлого музыкального рациона, однако банда Astral Sleep смогла стать ещё одной неплохой специей, которая внесла в эту гастрономию замечательное вкусовое разнообразие. Поддерживать интерес на протяжении почти целого часа, когда каждая из 4-х композиций в среднем по 14 минут - дорогого стоит.

Рассматриваемому диску чужды серость и "думоломная" шаблонность. Это не широко распространённая ныне метастазирующая вторичностью халтура, а настоящее осмысленное творчество, пусть и в осях координат, заданных предшественниками из прошлого века, где нет места нелепости и выверенность каждого используемого приёма радует слух. Хотя аудио-краски альбома преимущественно тёмных оттенков, созданная группой картина не лишена ярких инкрустаций, а отдельные фрагменты обладают особой цепляющей составляющей. Послушайте заглавную "Visions" или завершающий трек, и вы наверняка поймёте, о чём речь. Тщетно будет искать на диске тяжести ради тяжести. Попробуйте просто насладиться созданной атмосферой с переходами и перепадами настроения вокальных партий, с красивой мелодикой характерных для жанра инструментов, среди которых не слышно клавишных. И сей факт не обедняет, но подчёркивает как авторский, так и исполнительский талант мастерски владеющих гитарами.

Пусть покажется банальным в который раз вещать о "гранях провидящего гения и безумия", о "проникновении в темы таинственно-запретные"; погружённые в свой астральный сон финны обладают несомненным даром намертво соединить мистическую лирику с увлекающей в это потустороннее музыкой в весьма органичном звуковом ряде воображаемых ими видений. Редкое для меня желание следить за текстами, слушая альбом, привело именно к такому выводу.

Стать для эрудированного в стиле большинства каким-то новым откровением релизу не суждено, "ибо это уже было в веках прежних", но посмаковать его слуховыми рецепторами ещё возможно.

Author: RECEPTORR

Review
Funeral Wedding
5/5

Há quatro anos sem um full-lenght e a dois sem lançar nada, sendo que seu último registro foi o EP Angel, eis que esses finlandeses liberaram no final de 2012 esse novo material intitulado Visions.

E apesar de se manterem fiéis ao som do Astral Sleep, muita coisa nova foi adicionado ao seu death/doom.

The Towers abre esse petardo de forma funesta, como não haveria de ser. Vocais ora guturais, ora gritados fazem dessa música um item indispensável na playlist de quem gosta do estilo.

Não pensem que ao longo de seus 14 minutos a banda toca de forma lenta e grunhe, muito pelo contrário, inúmeras mudanças de andamento são ouvidos e até um momento alá Opeth podemos conferir, o que seria correto afirmar que eles migraram do death/doom para o prog death/doom? Somente ouvindo para saber.

Channel Sleep tem um início de piano e consigo vem toda uma atmosfera funesta. Tão logo começa o instrumental, Markus Heinonen canta de forma limpa e intimista, nos dando uma sensação de apreensão e desespero.

Visions é a maior faixa de todas, com pouco mais de 15 minutos e certamente uma das melhores músicas já feita por esses músicos.

Desde seu início somos agraciados pela bela melodia, pelas vocalizações, ora cantando ora urrando. A cozinha está impecável, a bateria certeira e a linha de baixo competentíssima.

No final da música temos até uma passagem black metal, com vocais gritados, palhetadas rápidas e blast beats, lembrando um pouco o Burzum da fase Aske.

E para encerrar temos … They all await me When I break the Shackles of Flesh. Temos seu início executado por Jaako Oksanen, e posteriormente a música segue como todas já executadas, ou seja, se forma lenta e introspectiva. Senti nessa música uma certa influência de Pink Floyd, a letra também acaba contribuindo muito bem para isso. Se um dia o Floyd resolvesse investir no doom, certamente estaria soando como o Astral Sleep nessa faixa.

Se eles forem demorar mais 4 anos para lançar um álbum tão variado e ao mesmo tempo tão coeso, acredito que lá por 2016 teremos outra obra de arte para apreciar.

Review
Ave Noctum
8/10
10.01.2013

You know, I can’t help wondering what Solitude put in their water cooler as their release rate as a label is phenomenal. Whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to impair their judgement as they have a pretty fine quality threshold. Finland’s Astral Sleep are no exception either I am very pleased to write.

Four tracks weighing in at a smidgen under an hour, this second full length is some serious progressive funeral doom and needs to be approached with equally serious intent.

The Towers opens with that first album Paradise Lost slowed to a crawl style and then it opens out, blossom like as the vocals come.clean. They have the trademark tectonic plate speed and weight, vocals that move easily and well between death and clean styles and with an attraction to heavy guitar and riff melody that brings to mind a nice mix of current Ahab, mid period Katatonia slowed down and twists of acoustic and death metal Opeth. A proggy feel does inhabit this particularly on second song Channel Sleep but it is often balanced by a light touch arrangement or, even, some truly deranged and bizarre vocal contortions that kind of remind you of Bethlehem if just a few prescription drugs were actually working.

The title track is a good example of the basic strengths that Astral Sleep have sound wise: The riffs are, despite the melodic content, full of the grit that keeps metal grounded and the drumming is just about the perfect anchor to keep this mournful craft on course. It’s the kind of dark, faith destroying sound that Procession have taken in a different doom direction. You also have to give special mention to the vocal range here: From a broad range of the death/black styles depending on need, through the same variation in the clean vocals through to full on harmony parts. It is as impressive as their grasp of tempo is: They know how to go from hesitant acoustic plucking to the descent of the sky in riff form and make it feel seamless. The intense, gorgeous atmospheric and relentless fall to oblivion of the last five minutes of Visions is a band gracing us with the full range of their considerable talent and touch.

The curiosity is how close some of this actually comes to the sound of true doom; the opening and closing tracks having long sections where the feel and sound of the riffs is closer to the dark but epic sounds of Procession, as mentioned, but also the likes of early Doomshine, Spiritus Mortiis and Griftegarde. This’ll get me drummed out of the true doom society but maybe that final wall is slowly crumbling…?

Bad points? Hardly anythng, and nothing to prevent purchasing. They All Await Me When I Break The Shackles Of The Flesh might get a little lost for a bit of its length and I certainly think the album should close with that amazing title track, but no show stoppers, nothing but me being picky.

As fine and atmospheric a world of doom as you’ll hear. Sumptuous.

Author: Gizmo

Review
Pro-Rock
7/10

Във втория албум на финския квартет отново чуваме качествен дуум/дет метъл, разлят в четири песни с обща дължина от близо час. Хубавите мелодии, интересните акустични пасажи, добавените епик дуум метъл елементи и различните типове вокали правят от Visions интересно „четиво” за феновете на стила. За фенове на Necare, Ophis

Author: Сварог