The Owl - Silver Lines EP

Labels: Self-Released

Formats: Digital

Release Date: 24 May 2023

Tracklist:

1. Drop

2. Distort

3. Fatal Orbit

4. Back Up Plan

It's been a long time since I've featured anything by The Owl. It hasn't been on purpose, I'm just way over my head again in terms of regular posts etc. Before I get into this release I want to pay tribute to the fact that The Owl's main protagonist made it to 1000 days sober (if I remember correctly). Silver Lines is supposed to be an amalgamation of electronica, synth, breakbeat and more. Not what's usually covered here but The Owl holds a special place in my heart.

A bit of a voyage into the unknown for me this, but after reading The Owl’s story about what happened to the laptop that was destined to be used for a gig the same night, I felt compelled to listen to the release that’s cover bares the picture of the resulting damage. Silver Lines is an amalgamation of synth, electronica and breakbeat (I didn't just steal that sentence from my opening paragraph I swear!). A bit at odds with The Owl’s noisier/heavier output but really enjoyable at the same time. Opener ‘Drop’ is a pretty laid back affair, which bleeps and pulses through just over four minutes. It’s repetitive nature is really entrancing.

‘Distort’ is really aptly named given where The Owl’s roots come from in terms of heavy/fast music. The song itself however, ins’t so much heavy as it is glitchy and somewhat trippy. The breakbeat comes to the front, definitely distorting the melodies that flow in and out. The percussive side of Silver Lines takes centre stage on ‘Fatal Orbit’, moving further away from the hypnotic nature of the EP’s opening song and instead choosing to bewilder you with off-kilter beats and melodies. It’s a great piece of improv music (if indeed it is improvisational).

EP closer ‘Back Up Plan’ makes use of synths that sound a lot more analog and organic, that sit on top of beats, providing a relaxed and soothing ending. Harsh noise has always been a tough sell for me weirdly, given my love of powerviolence and noise-rock, so hearing an artist produce an EP as varied and enjoyable as this is a big plus. Maybe I should delve deeper into this musical realm.

Sonic joy is few and far between for my right now. The daily churn of work and decompressing after work has left me feeling quite lethargic. Thankfully, Silver Lines doesn’t require a huge amount of energy and instead rewards you via soothing tones.

You can stream and purchase Silver Lines digitally below:-

The Owl - https://www.facebook.com/theowlsounds

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

Master Boot Record - Virus.DOS

Labels: Blood Music

Formats: Digital

Release Date: 02 Oct 2018

Tracklist:

1. V-Sign

2. Skynet

3. Walker

4. Elvira

5. Virdem

6. Mars

7. Crash

Technology is a divisive subject nowadays. It's been used in recent times to synthesise metal music, which to me seemed weird when I first came across it; however, that was before I discovered Master Boot Record. As much as the purist in me wants to call foul, I've really enjoyed what I've heard by the project and the fact that MBR is now a live two-piece only sweetens the deal, as it makes the music more human (if that's possible). Anyway, the project's newest offering "Virus.DOS" was released digitally via Blood Music in October. This review is written out of appreciation for MBR and with that in mind, I probably won't be featuring any other synthwave/chip-tune music on the blog.

There’s something about MBR that’s caught my imagination lately and alongside the stupid “Deep Web” Youtube videos I’ve found myself watching, I’ve been a bit hooked on the band. It’s a bit of a departure for me but I’m embracing it just this once. The only problem i’ve been facing is how to adequately describe MBR’s music in writing. “Virus.DOS” is no different to the project’s previous work, where synthesisers have taken centre stage with back up from programmed percussion. Album opener V-Sign is a short intro piece, making use of the upbeat nature of the music to get pulses rising. It seems to me that MBR would sit neatly alongside more extreme bands on a festival bill with no problem at all. That thought is evidenced by Skynet, which sounds more extreme in a cyber-grind/industrial kind of way. It’s ambient and atmospheric as well as being fast in tempo, while the 80s sci-fi influence is strong. 

There’s more melody present on Walker, which subtracts the rave-like textures of Skynet and replaces them with neo-classical music and layers of noise that are quite mesmeric. It’s split into movements that are separated by brief moments of silence. The second movement of Walker grows in technicality with a beat that’s akin to dub-step in the background. The music on “Virus.DOS” does take on a more sinister form as MBR progresses through the record. Elvira takes on the horror-film vibe and turns it up with the use of ridiculous amounts of synths and energy. it’s so hard to describe it properly as it’s something you need to listen too to fully grasp. The goth/industrial dance mayhem is back on Virdem and even though describing it as such is doing the song a disservice, there are moments where it would make complete sense for this to be blasting over the dancefloor of a dark and sweaty alternative nightclub. There’s more of an unnerving and twisted plot to the music than  that of earlier release “Interrupt Request” (which has been my main reference point). 

There are still some truly uplifting moments here though and Mars is one of them, with its cinematic melody that sits at the top of the song’s opening bars. It gives way to a verse that again ventures further into the neo-classical/symphonic side of MBR’s being but it’s no less enjoyable because of that. Fun is definitely a word you can use to describe this record, in a genuine way. It’s both heavy and safe for the norms. Ending with Crash, which is similarly as energising as the album’s opener, it’s hard to fully comprehend what’s just happened. Alongside the programmed drums, there is some virtuoso synth work that can be heard. It’s as close to technical, progressive metal as you can get without really being categorised as such and it acts as a great crossover or gateway album. Chances are that if you’re reading this review then you already know and love MBR and I’m just preaching to the converted. If not, then at least give it a chance. 

Stream and purchase "Virus.DOS" as a name-your-price download below:-

Master Boot Record - https://www.facebook.com/masterbootrecordmusic/

Blood Music - https://www.facebook.com/BlooodMusic/