Ashtar
Ilmasaari
Czar Of Bullets
A Swiss duo Wich N and Marko Lahtinen have recorded this album in space time of 2 years or so. I appreciate musicians that rush no things and letting music being done when time is right. Here I have 6 songs that are quintessence of what`s it`s called post metal nowadays. But that is too easy to define cloudy and dark essence of Ilmasaari just like that. This album is a profound complex of emotions but most time feeds off on dark spheres of outer ego and translates it on basic music language which takes form of Triptykon sometimes. But you know, it`s more like behind the fog when you know that some influences are there but can`t see it as obvious...And that`s an indication of Ashtar and where they come from and what they do for European scene. Switzerland has always been my top country that spreads their gloomy and mysterious music upon decay world and like wizards heal its wounds for our guilty pleasure.
The band draws influences from doom as songs are mostly slow and epic. Vocal parts are closer to black metal with some lamentation elements but also clean, monumental singing enriches the sound. Music assimilates many those influences from black metal genre and as one entity, becomes collective body of sludge metal, still and ever. Ashtar have trance tracks and guitar structures that waves lots of atmosphere within the songs. Violin parts are beautiful any time features and enhance a skeleton of the songs distinctively. I`d like say that symbolic grey area is their music dominion and most of notion seems to have their origin from there.
I have no my best songs here. I really like whole album and holy shit, if you just could feel those invisible tentacles of wilderness touching your neck-that Ashtar seduces me to join their universe deeper and deeper...
Published on June 16th 2016
Review by Slawek Migacz
The band draws influences from doom as songs are mostly slow and epic. Vocal parts are closer to black metal with some lamentation elements but also clean, monumental singing enriches the sound. Music assimilates many those influences from black metal genre and as one entity, becomes collective body of sludge metal, still and ever. Ashtar have trance tracks and guitar structures that waves lots of atmosphere within the songs. Violin parts are beautiful any time features and enhance a skeleton of the songs distinctively. I`d like say that symbolic grey area is their music dominion and most of notion seems to have their origin from there.
I have no my best songs here. I really like whole album and holy shit, if you just could feel those invisible tentacles of wilderness touching your neck-that Ashtar seduces me to join their universe deeper and deeper...
Published on June 16th 2016
Review by Slawek Migacz