Astarium – Dethroned of Impostor (2011)

In the very saturated genre of Atmospheric/Symphonic Black Metal is very hard to standout since most bands sound the same or just sound like shit. However, Astarium from Russia manages to create a positive impression due to the overall sound of their music: not too raw, not too brutal, not too fake (except for the drums). In “Dethroned of Impostor”, we are presented with 40 minutes of engaging music.

Being a one man band, Astarium is limited to using a drum machine (or similar) and this is probably the weakest element of the release, since when they go ape shit, they sound as fake as Pamela Anderson’s titties look. After the creepy opener intro, “Bloodshed Must Goes On” (some grammar check wouldn’t hurt before making the song titles), delivers a nice and brutal attack of fast ‘drums’, traditional guitar riffs and a combination of pseudo growls with pseudo shrieks. The music is very familiar to Limbonic Art (early) and even some hints of Mysticum, etc.

Keeping the creepiness levels high up, “Invasion to Forbidden” takes off with a eerie in the deep wood’s setting and elevates the users level of awareness with very well crafted keyboards. These keyboard sounds remind us of an early Charmand Grimloch, due to the originality and how eerie they sound. The guitars sound weak in comparison to the keyboards, but this actually works in favor of the band.

“Whims of Divine Hand” features a more ‘industrial’ sound and it actually works well for the album since it changes up the pace a little bit. This song is actually our favorite of this album. “Primordial Spawn” gives us more of that eerie atmosphere and with the wolf howls it would creep the shit out of people during a dark night.

Closing with “Obsessed by Astral Hunger”, Astarium makes sure that this album stays fresh in your head. Being the longest track of the release (9 minutes) it is also the best crafted one since it allows the momentum to nicely grow slowly and painfully. The distorted vocals are pretty creepy and the fact that the keyboards drown almost everything else in the mix of the album keeps things very atmospheric.

If you are looking for the perfect album for Halloween, look no further and get “Dethroned of Impostor”. This one-man band from Russia is excellent in creating creepy atmospheres and pairing them with raw and nihilistic Black Metal elements. Be sure to get this re-release of the album since it will surely run out fast and will become a cult item.

Release: 2011

Country: Russia