Astarium/Fire Messiah - Split + Astarium - Furies Single

Labels: More Hate Productions/Snow Wolf Records

Formats: CD/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 01 May 2022

Tracklist:

1. Astarium - Her Winter Majesty

2. Astarium - Echo Of Niflheim

3. Astarium - The Wind Walker

4. Fire Messiah - Cerebral Warfare.

5. Fire Messiah - Flirting With The End

6. Fire Messiah - Misadventures In Creation

2022 was a quiet year for Russian ambient black metal band Astarium, in which only three physical releases saw the light of day. The first was this split with US black metal band Fire Messiah, which was released via Russia's More Hate Productions on CD and digital formats, as well as US label Snow Wolf Records on tape. Fire Messiah is a new name to me and from reading Metal Archives, the band has been releasing music since 2021, starting with a demo and being followed by a split (this one), two singles, three EPs and three full-lengths as of this review.

Astarium has always been about big, bombastic ambient/symphonic black metal and that approach is none more obvious than on this split, starting with ‘Her Winter Majesty’. It’s very melodic thanks to the synths/keys employed; but the percussion, guitars and vocals add an iciness to the song. There appear to be a couple of skips in the recording during the first track, but that could either be down to duplication/manufacturing or because I ripped the cd to MP3 before reviewing it. 

Part of me would love to hear Astarium’s music performed by a full band, just to hear what it would sound like. With that being said, it would take away the individuality of the project. Individuality that’s brought to life on the catchy, bouncing ‘Echo Of Niflheim’. The orchestral melodies are great here and there’s a backing element that could be gang-vocals or the wind gusting (on further listening it’s definitely the wind!).

The breakneck delivery of Astarium’s side concludes with ‘The Wind Walker’, which is both the split’s shortest song and the band’s most blackened. The effects nestled within it make you think that there’s some ungodly being in your vicinity as the vocals swirl around you, amongst the blasting percussion and hypnotic synth performance.

The second half of the split is reserved for Fire Messiah and there’s a much more mechanised, industrial sound on their opener ‘Cerebral Warfare’, though you’re not too far away from organs and hellish black metal. As with Astarium before them, Fire Messiah’s creativity is obvious straight away, as is the urgency that’s been the bedrock of this release so far.

There’s an unnerving yet touching romanticism about Fire Messiah’s music, that reminds me a bit of Blooming Carrions for some reason (totally different facet of extreme metal, but whatever). There’s more rawness here though, governed by the punk-influence flowing through the song, even if the strings try their best to banish that sentiment.

Split closer ‘Misadventures In Creation’ greets you with full-on electronica vibes. The opposing sounds make it a very odd listen, when held up alongside Fire Messiah’s more extreme tones, yet it doesn’t take long to become engrossed in it. That electronic soundscape works brilliantly well and injects some proper adrenaline into the release as a whole.

As splits go, this provides a bit of a surprise. On the one hand, I’m used to Astarium’s music being slightly slower in tempo but here it’s bright and punchy in it’s delivery. Fire Messiah stands out as a band that is finally making me appreciate the use of electronica in extreme metal. Call me a dinosaur, a purist or whatever you want but I’m starting to really get it. Maybe I’ll broaden my horizons! In conclusion, this is a really well put together split.

You can stream both sides of the split on bandcamp below:-

Physical/Digital copies can be purchased from the labels below (as well as via the bands above):-

More Hate Productions - https://morehate.bandcamp.com/album/split-4

Snow Wolf Records - https://snowwolfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/fire-messiah-astarium-split

Labels: Masters Of Kaos Productions

Formats: CD/Digital

Release Date: 15 August 2022

Tracklist:

1. Furies

Now it's onto another release from Astarium and one that's on a medium that seems to have died out, the  cd single. Calling Furies a single may be a bit misleading, given that it's over sixteen minutes long, but it is merely one song after all. It was released on cd via Colombian label Masters of Kaos Productions last August, with a limitation of 100 copies.

‘Furies’ is a different proposition to the music contained on Astarium’s split with Fire Messiah. It has a greater ambient approach, with SiN’s black metal providing a darker atmosphere, especially with the added orchestration and symphonic elements. It’s very bombastic during the mid-section, bringing to mind earlier Dimmu Borgir. 

SiN manages to make it sound very cohesive despite it’s lengthy playing time, where other songs often sound like shorter songs stitched together. That’s a skill in itself when it comes to song-writing. ‘Furies’ is a song you can get lost in. Another stellar release from a prolific artist.

You can stream 'Furies' below, where it's also available to purchase on cd:-

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

Fire Messiah - https://www.instagram.com/firemessiah666/

More Hate Productions - http://www.morehate.com/

Snow Wolf Records - https://www.facebook.com/SnowWolfRecords

Masters of Kaos Productions - https://www.facebook.com/MastersOfKaos

Astarium - Growths Of The Past

Labels: Self-Released/Swollen Gargantuan Fecal Fetus/NitroAtmosfericum Records

Formats: CD/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 01 Jan 2020

Tracklist:

1. I

2. II

3. III

4. IV

5. V

6. VI

7. VII

8. VIII

9. IX (Varg Vikernes Cover)

10. X

11. XI

12. XIII

The brain is a weird thing. I'm craving some heavy, violent music yet I feel that something a little lighter would probably be better right now. I'm going to put a new schedule together soon to focus a bit more, but this evening I'm going down a familiar path with another album from Russian symphonic/ambient black metal band Astarium. Growths Of The Past is an instrumental, ambient album from last year, which contains a number of reworked songs that didn't make the cut on other albums. It was kindly sent to me by sole member SiN and the cd version I have contains twelve songs. It was self-released by Astarium in January 2020, before being released on cd via the awesomely titled US label Swollen Gargantuan Fecal Fetus during the same month. Later on in 2020, it was released on both tape and cd by longtime conspirators NitroAtmosfericum Records. 

None of the songs here have conventional titles, so bare with me. Growths Of The Past is purely ambient and instrumental, which shows the other side of Astarium and much like the cover art above, album opener ‘I’ is remarkably cosmic in it’s delivery. The band’s trademark melodic synths working wonders during it’s short playing time. ‘II’ is much more minimalist at first, but it’s definitely the sort of music you’d expect to hear if you were floating through the galaxy. You sometimes get those videos online where people claim to have captured the sounds of space and sometimes they sound like this. I’m not sure if that’s what SiN was going for here but it works really well all the same.

‘III’ definitely sounds like some kind of retro video game/fantasy/dungeon synth mash-up and it’s glorious. I’m not even into dungeon synth either, so am probably way off the mark. This album is way more entertaining than it should be, in the best possible way too. ‘IV’ is indescribable for me but those odd bleep-like noises are spellbinding, which is probably a weird notion I guess, but it’s true.’ V’ is more of a traditional ambient number from Astarium, especially if you’re familiar with the band’s black metal leaning music. It still has the fantasy edge of the previous songs here but it sounds more serious to me. It’s certainly more dramatic and orchestral.

The first real percussion-like textures can be heard on ‘VI’, which is another very minimalist song. In fact, it’s the longest song the album (unless you count the near nineteen-minute untitled track that’s listed on Metal Archives). It’s very relaxing because of that minimalism, with its almost laid-back hip hop beats. ‘VII’ is a very different beast with the strings/synths taking the lead throughout and just a subtle undercurrent of what could be considered dance/trance music in the background (maybe?) minus the beats this time.

‘VIII’ is another one of those songs that sounds like it’s being led by a xylophone or a glockenspiel, with the bubbly kind of sound that’s super relaxing throughout it’s short playing time. In fact, the rest of Growths Of The Past goes by rather quickly. ‘IX’ (a Varg Vikernes cover apparently) is a sub two-minute ambient piece made entirely out of Astarium’s more traditional synths. Again it’s orchestral but more upbeat too. SiN delves back into the video-game synth realm on ‘X’. The organ-like sound is quite beguiling when it’s in full flow. 

The penultimate song on the album is once again a world away from Astarium’s atmospheric black metal. ‘XI’ is filled with that dance-vibe without being an actual dance track, which in my opinion makes it a lot better. It’s instrumental layers are perfect and really upbeat making it very euphoric to listen to. The twelfth and final song here ‘XII’ is very brief just like the opener and it’s a nice way to close everything out. Really well thought out and performed throughout. 

I have to say that from somebody who is probably more familiar with heavier, more dissonant music, especially when it comes to Astarium’s black metal releases, Growths Of The Paths is a side to SiN’s music that I really enjoy. I consider myself surprised and also ashamed that I left it so long before writing this review. Great job! Hopefully more people will pay this album the attention it deserves. 

You can stream and purchase the full album digitally below:-

I don 't know if there are any physical copies left of this album (after searching) but you can reach out to Astarium and/or NitroAtmosfericum Records below to find out:-

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

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

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

Astarium - Hyperborea

Labels: GrimmDistribution/Gravações Tunguska

Formats: CD/Digital

Release Date: 18 Apr 2020

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

Diving back into the review pile revealed this, the 8th (and newest) full-length from Russia's symphonic/ambient black metal band Astarium. A familiar band to those who have been following this blog over the years. Hyperborea was recorded a couple of years ago before being self-released in March 2019. It has since been released on CD via GrimmDistribution (Ukraine) and Gravações Tunguska (Portugal). Astarium has always been an intriguing project for me, as in spite of being very productive, the creativity put into it by sole member SiN has always shone through.

This album contains sixteen songs, of which four are ambient/instrumental numbers like album opener ‘Mysterious Fog’. That may not seem like a positive statement to begin a review with,  but I’ll expand on it later on.

‘The Wild Hunt’ typifies Astarium’s approach to synth-led black metal. To some it may be an acquired taste, but it’s charm is unmistakable and here SiN provides a song that’s certainly more fun and avant-garde than normal thanks to the melodic keys and faster tempo.’ Doomed’ comes at you with a heavy dose of industrial atmosphere and majestic power from the powerful horn/orchestral tones that exist in between the brief guitar passages. 

When Astarium focuses it’s energy on slower songs, it show/s a completely different side to the band. ‘Halls Of Winter Gods’ is one such song and the lengthy opening passage makes you think that something mournful and slow is around the corner, but what it actually reveals and a mid-paced folk/black metal song that’s very well put together.

The mind is often misunderstood, especially when it comes to creatives and that’s definitely the case here. The tracks here follow on from each other well but also seem to be independent of each other, as if they were composed at random points during Astarium’s tenure (they possibly were) and then put together quickly to form this album. ‘When The Proud Die’ is an oddly meandering but short piece of black metal, which leads to ‘Snow Storm’, which provides somewhat of an escape thanks to it’s melody.

There’s a more accessible feeling about ‘Sign Of Cosmic Might’, mainly down to it’s structure and nod towards alternative music as well as just extreme metal. At least that’s how it comes across to me anyway. Feel free to tell me I’m talking rubbish here! Next up is another folk/medieval led song in the form of ‘For The King!’, which is also one the longest present on the album. In parts it’s mystical, while still being a challenging listen in same way that Norway’s Fleurety can be.

The instrumental interlude ‘Battle Glory’ retains the odd momentum that the album has, thanks to the use of upbeat tempos again and an air of fantasy. Brilliant played organ and woven samples make ‘Daughter Of Imir’ an obvious standout on Hyperborea. It sounds more accomplished and well rounded alongside the stirring guitar work and sensitive use of vocals throughout.

The brief chaos of ‘Red Rose’ that follows is a bit of a shock. I say that only because ‘Daughter Of Imir’ was such a complete song. Thankfully, ‘Kill To Survive’ brings that feeling back with whale-song and a cosmic atmosphere that’s as sinister as it is tuneful. The rest of the song is filled with Astarium’s signature ambient black metal.

The percussion on ‘Carpathian Windspirit’ takes centre stage, pulling the interlude through to it’s conclusion before ‘Curse From The Past’ fills the speakers with more upbeat extremity once again, though the constant melody that flows through it really does draw your ear in. Penultimate song ‘Lucky Bastard’ sounds like it could have been conceived during the writing of 2013’’s From The Cleaved Old Coffin, which contained two forty-second songs in very much the same vein.

Closing with ‘Zhothaqquah’, a song that draws in so many elements of Astarium’s creativity, it’s hard to deny that Hyperborea is a worthy album. Going back to my initial statement about those unmentioned songs (which are instrumental interludes), I was going to say that following my look over the album’s booklet, only twelve full songs are listed and therefore; those added instrumental songs may not have been needed; however, now that I’ve listened to the album in full, I really appreciate them. 

Even though at times it feels slightly disjointed, Hyperborea is a fascinating listen and it highlights moments from different parts of Astarium’s recording career, in the same way that compilations do for other bands. I’m not sure whether that was intended but it works all the same. 

You can stream and purchase Hyperborea digitally below:-

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

Physical copies can be purchased via the link below:-

GrimmDistribution - https://grimmdistribution.bandcamp.com/

Grimmdistribution - https://www.facebook.com/grimmdistribution/

Gravações Tunguska - https://tunguskarec.blogspot.com

Astarium - Fragments Of Nightmares

Labels: NitroAtmosfericum Records

Formats: CD/3.5" Floppy Disk

Release Date: 09 Jan 2019

Tracklist:

1. Nocturnalism

2. Morning Star

3. Aligned Planets

4. King In Yellow

5. Desecration

6. The Fourth Horseman

7. Hell's Order

8. Burned

9. In The Heart Of Storm

10. Immolation

11. Blind Beholder

12. Moist Vagina

Russian one-man black metal project Astarium is not a new name to me; however, the project's creator is taking it in a new direction in 2019 with the release of it's sixth full-length "Fragments Of Nightmares". Moving away from the more familiar symphonic black metal sound, SiN has gathered together a collection of 12 songs that barely last over a minute each. I've read that the music contained here is influenced by grindcore, so it'll be interesting to hear the difference between it and older material. Also, in true grindcore fashion, releasing label NitroAtmosfericum Records has release it on limited CD and also on 3.5" floppy disk. 

I don’t know what to really expect here as Astarium’s symphonic black metal has been longer and  more spread out in the past. Opener Nocturnalism is an ambient and synth-led black metal piece that would act as an intro on any other album. Here’s it’s actually one of a few song that passes the sixty-second mark. The majority of the music here is programmed and it does add a more machine-like industrial edge to the album. Morning Star is a short burst of music, featuring SiN’s unique, almost spoken vocals that must be uncomfortable to produce. Aligned Planets follows on instantaneously with an upbeat tempo, which is where the grind influence comes in. 

There’s an obvious shift in Astarium’s music, but out still retains the blueprint that was forged on earlier releases like “Wyrm Of Melancholy” and “Atenvx”. King In Yellow begins quietly but the layers of instrumentation and effects allows its volume to rise and addition of death metal grunts is a surprise too. It’s back to the more traditional Astarium sound on Desecration, as the pace of slowed ever so slightly. The piano on The Fourth Horseman may be hidden a bit deeper in the mix but it’s an excellent addition, especially in a song that’s certainly more avant-garde even if brief. 

I have to admit that it does feel a bit strange writing about this album when the sun’s beaming down outside, but what are you gonna do. I suppose it’s apt that Hell’s Order is next as the heat outside slightly resembles the heat down below. It’s the longest song on “Fragments Of Nightmares” but don’t let that fool you, it’s not a progressive rock opera or anything. The record also reminds of how difficult it can be to live review records when the songs they contain come and go in the blink of an eye, like Burned does. 

The symphonic majesty and chaos of In The Heart Of Storm makes me wonder why SiN hasn’t yet enlisted a full band for Astarium. As creative as SiN is here, a full band would really take things to the next level but that’s merely my opinion. At this point, the remainder of the songs come thick and fast with little gap in between them all. Immolation once again is heavily synth led and the dual high/low-pitched growls give added volume. Penultimate track Blind Beholder is ridiculously quick and it leads to the bizarrely titled closer Moist Vagina, which is not a tribute to gore or snuff grind but is an instrumental. 

Overall with “Fragments Of Nightmares”, Astarium has definitely started to move in a different direction and while the grindcore may not be as obvious, the influence is there amongst the symphonic black metal and this album will definitely appeal to fans of avant-garde and underground music for sure. The cover art is great as well. 

You can download Aligned Planets via Astarium's website here - http://www.astarium.ru/eng/index.html

CD & Floppy Disk copies can be purchased from NitroAtmosfericum Records here - http://www.nitroatmosfericum.ru/eng/

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

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