Thursday 25 February 2021

Astarium - Dragon Of Wallachia


Labels: Skaventhrone/NitroAtmosfericum Records

Formats: CDR/3.5" Floppy Disk/CDR Business Card

Release Date: 12 Oct 2020


Tracklist:


1. Dragon

2. Wallachia


I love bands that release music of various formats or different variations of formats. Russian symphonic/ambient black metal band Astarium is one such band and just when I thought the 3" vinyl version of From The Cleaved Old Coffins was an awesome little release, SiN from the band took it upon himself to send me some newer releases, including a copy of the CDR business card variant of Dragon Of Wallachia (limited to just 20 and I got number 3!). It was released last October via Russia's NitroAtmosfericum Records and was also released on standard CDR/3.5" Floppy Disk via New Zealand's Skaventhrone. It's classed as a single and contains two songs, each lasting less than two and a half minutes.


I must count up how many times Astarium has featured on this blog because it must approaching double figures by now! It’s humbling to know that someone trusts me as much as SiN does. Anyway, on with the task in hand. Astarium’s symphonic black metal will by now be familiar to you, if you’ve read any of my previous reviews and the midi/synth-filled music created by the band is very comforting. ‘Dragon’ is a perfect example of what SiN does best, with it’s melodic instrumentation and his unmistakable gargled/growled vocals.


Second song ‘Wallachia’ in an instrumental piece and it contains the ritualistic noise/instrumentation of Viktoria S. It’s very medieval in influence and folky in tone, with woodwind and gentle wind/rain effects being joined by both wolf howls, and human cries. Dragon Of Wallachia is a very short release but it shows two sides to Astarium. As I’ve grown older and as the blog’s grown with me, I’ve gained a newfound respect for artists and bands that do things differently to most, especially noise and solo projects. I’ll forever respect Astarium as I’ve not been blessed with musical talent (though I have dabbled in a few instruments in the past). A band following it’s own approach despite nestling in obscurity is what make metal and punk so real.


You can stream and purchase Dragon Of Wallachia digitally from Astarium below:-



Astarium - https://www.facebook.com/astariumofficial


CDR business card copies are available via NitroAtmosfericum Records below:-

http://nitroatmosfericum.ru/eng/


The Floppy Disk/CDR releases from Skaventhrone are sold out.


NitroAtmosfericum Records - https://www.facebook.com/nitroatmosfericum

Skaventhrone - https://www.facebook.com/skaventhrone

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