Mind Noise Network
Astral Blood - Astral Blood EP
By James Salt - 18 January 2015
Some might say that you will be left searching high and low for originality in black metal. This genre has a very distinct formula with it's thundering blastbeat drumming, high-speed riffs and screeching vocals.
And this is mostly what we are treated to as US black metal trio Astral Blood's short self-titled EP, "Secluded and Forbidden" kicks off with the afforementioned...but then a few minutes in the riffs of guitarist, Tommy Curry switch to a groovy tone and Andrew Rasmussen's vocals get deeper. The symphonic elements also help to add some atmospherics to the composition.
The second track "Interlude" is exactly what you would expect, two minutes of orchestrated spoken word. For me this would have been better placed at the beginning of the EP or on a full length album.
Third and final track "Our Almighty Gaze" takes us back to the the standard black metal template, with some added clean backing vocals and a cracking solo from Curry half way through. There are some added progressive elements here towards the end, courtesy of some nice stick-work from drummer Joe Waller altering the tempo somewhat - helping to push this song towards the 7 minute mark also.
Overall, a decent effort here - worth a listen. It isn't likely to change your opionion of black metal, but these guys are definitely one of the better sounding black metal bands to come from across the pond. Look forward to hearing a full album soon.
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1/20
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