Astarium
Hyperborea
GrimmDistribution / Gravações Tunguska
I have reviewed a couple of older Astarium records in the past. I believe Hyperboea is 8th album of this project already. The band plays black metal with use of keyboards instrument on a bigger scale. As I remember it, this one man project does not change much the way Astarium sounds, it`s still a home-made record with drum samplers, and production quality that has not changed drastically over the years, but some.
Home-made records has its limitations when comes to producing the environment for the music. All guitars sound is very murky on this album, drums were not played by real person, which is kind of discomfort if you want to convey more organic feel into the music. Quality wise, I do not complain of how this album sounds, it`s just niche representation of musical vision by the band. More positive side of semi-professional recording as perhaps this one is, are vocals for example. Those in depth black/death metal shrieks sound pretty rough and original in songs of Astarium, just as when you recording them in real time. I could say the same about all other instruments that had been tracked down in Hyperborea, you get a raw black metal songs from the band with some effects added to the original sound. Most impressive for me are keyboard orchestrations, like older Dimmu Borgir or Cradle Of Filth...More darkness, more bombastic arrangements, more music diversity when you hear those well performed keyboard passages. Metal wise, this album is more in the vein of Graveland - song For The King!, with those war-battlefield effects, for sure is. As long as it is very harsh sounding black metal record, there are also melodic, pagan, folky, very naturally expressed songs of the band.
Astarium 2020 is the band having better music flow now, better vision of how songs should be composed like. Basically, Sin (all music performance) develops his song writing the way that Astarium, technically and musically becomes a wiser band than it was in previous years.
I have always had appreciations to the music of this project, and something inside me tells me that Hyperborea is Astarium`s finest album to date – if I am wrong, then there are just better songs yet to come or to discover.
Home-made records has its limitations when comes to producing the environment for the music. All guitars sound is very murky on this album, drums were not played by real person, which is kind of discomfort if you want to convey more organic feel into the music. Quality wise, I do not complain of how this album sounds, it`s just niche representation of musical vision by the band. More positive side of semi-professional recording as perhaps this one is, are vocals for example. Those in depth black/death metal shrieks sound pretty rough and original in songs of Astarium, just as when you recording them in real time. I could say the same about all other instruments that had been tracked down in Hyperborea, you get a raw black metal songs from the band with some effects added to the original sound. Most impressive for me are keyboard orchestrations, like older Dimmu Borgir or Cradle Of Filth...More darkness, more bombastic arrangements, more music diversity when you hear those well performed keyboard passages. Metal wise, this album is more in the vein of Graveland - song For The King!, with those war-battlefield effects, for sure is. As long as it is very harsh sounding black metal record, there are also melodic, pagan, folky, very naturally expressed songs of the band.
Astarium 2020 is the band having better music flow now, better vision of how songs should be composed like. Basically, Sin (all music performance) develops his song writing the way that Astarium, technically and musically becomes a wiser band than it was in previous years.
I have always had appreciations to the music of this project, and something inside me tells me that Hyperborea is Astarium`s finest album to date – if I am wrong, then there are just better songs yet to come or to discover.
Tracklist:
1 Mysterious Fog
2 The Wild Hunt
3 Doomed
4 Halls Of Winter Gods
5 When The Proud Die
6 Snow Storm
7 Sign Of Cosmic Might
8 For The King!
9 Battle Glory
10 Daughter Of Imir
11 Red Rose
12 Kill To Survive
13 Carpathian Windspirit
14 Curse From The Past
15 Lucky Bastard
16 Zhothaqquah
1 Mysterious Fog
2 The Wild Hunt
3 Doomed
4 Halls Of Winter Gods
5 When The Proud Die
6 Snow Storm
7 Sign Of Cosmic Might
8 For The King!
9 Battle Glory
10 Daughter Of Imir
11 Red Rose
12 Kill To Survive
13 Carpathian Windspirit
14 Curse From The Past
15 Lucky Bastard
16 Zhothaqquah
Review by Slawek Migacz
Added: 31.10.2020
Added: 31.10.2020