ALBUM REVIEW: Sulphur Aeon, "The Scythe of the Cosmic Chaos"

By: Conor O’Dea

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 21/12/2018

Label: Van Records

It is dynamic, transporting, deeply mature and brilliantly executed.  “Scythe of the Cosmic Chaos” easily ranks among the top albums of 2018.

“The Scythe of the Cosmic Chaos” CD//DD//2LP track listing:

1. Cult of Starry Wisdom
2. Yuggothian Spell
3. The Summoning of Nyarlathotep
4. Veneration of the Lunar Orb
5. Sinister Sea Sabbath
6. The Oneironaut - Haunting Visions Within the Starlit Chambers of Seven Gates
7. Lungs Into Gills
8. Thou Shalt Not Speak His Name (The Scythe of Cosmic Chaos)

The Review: 

"... The walls melted away, and I was swept by a black wind through gulfs of fathomless grey with the needle-like pinnacles of unknown mountains miles below me. After a while there was utter blackness, and then the light of myriad stars forming strange, alien constellations."

- H.P. Lovecraft, "The Book"

It is nearly impossible for me to relate how I came to be here, in this state, near mad and plagued by nightmares. A fragment of the cosmos according to Azathoth, a cthonic gospel in eight blasphemous hymns, has fallen into my hands in the course of my pursuit of things hidden and forbidden, and I have listened, listened to the void and have become damnedI am forced into this account because other listeners may well refuse to follow my advice without knowing why. Let me pray that, if I do not survive this review, that my editors may put caution before audacity and see that this music greets no other ear without an awareness of the perils embedded therein. 

Sulphur Aeon are the primus inter pares of the extreme metal heralds that dare to bring us tales of Lovecraft's disordered, nihilistic and meaningless universe. “Sulphur Psalms” (2010) already bares the tell-tale traces of the mental and emotional scars associated with too many encounters with damned incanabula and unnameable entities, but as witnesses of horrors as opposed to the evangelists of those same abominations. 

“Deep Down They Sleep” (2012) is demonstrative of men who have immersed themselves too long in knowledges best forgotten and a clear tidal mark of having disturbed things best left asleep. It is in this two-track that we first get a true sense of the esoteric conjurings and depth of atmosphere that the band goes on to deepen in their future albums. There is a first warning of the cavernous oceanic depths and bleak cosmic emptiness that marks the sonic landscapes of both the excellent “Swallowed by the Ocean's Tide” (2013) and the brilliant “Gateway to the Antisphere” (2015), which remains one of my favourite metal albums of the last decade and one that I return to listen to regularly. The band has consistently displayed an unerring capacity to capitalize on their strengths in developing winding, hypnotic melodies and absolutely entrancing atmosphere and ambience; there is little doubt you are in the hands of the preachers of the cosmic chaos itself when you take the time to sit and absorb this music. Each iteration brings new depth, new clarity to their vision, and a renewed sense of awe, wonder and horror for the rapt listener. 

“Scythe of the Cosmic Chaos” opens with the eerie “Cult of Starry Wisdom”, a haunting and ominous track that tells the story of the faithful coming to pledge themselves to Great Old Ones and Outer Gods. There is a beautiful, Pink Floyd-reminiscent segue at the end of this track that leads into the utterly furious “Yuggothian Spell”, a menacing, swirling cyclone of unspeakable magics inspired by Lovecraft's Whisperer in Darkness. The Crawling Chaos himself manifests in the “Summoning of Nyarlathotep”, and evokes the sense of a seeker further imperiling both his mortal soul and immortal mind in contacting this terrible being. 

“Veneration of the Lunar Orb”, likely a reference to Lovecraft and Barlow's superb The Night Ocean brings us back to the edge of the fathomless sea beneath an unspeaking moon. Sulphur Aeon's sepulchral marine gospel continues as the children of Dagon are referenced both in “Sinister Sea Sabbath” and “Lungs into Gills”, a direct encomium to the infamous Shadow over Innsmouth. Shifting into the strange, ethereal realms of Lovecraft's dream-cycle, The prog-inflected “Oneironaut” moves us from the drowned into the dreamed, the multiversal space in which things not dead may eternally lie. The final fury of closing (and title) track “Scythe of the Cosmic Chaos” raises the spectre of the King in Yellow himself, Hastur the Unspeakable, Lord of Carcosa. This is a dramatic and fitting close to the powerful nightmare journey that this album embodies, with a clean vocal ending that brings to mind the gothic baritone of Fields of the Nephilim's Carl McCoy.  

“Scythe of the Cosmic Chaos” is not yet my favourite Sulphur Aeon album, but it is their best. It is dynamic, transporting, deeply mature and brilliantly executed. Profoundly holistic, greater than the sum of its excellent parts, “Scythe of the Cosmic Chaos” easily ranks among the top albums of 2018. 

"And vast infinities away, past the Gate of Deeper Slumber and the enchanted wood and the garden lands and the Cerenerian Sea and the twilight reaches of Inganok, the crawling chaos Nyarlathotep strode brooding into the onyx castle atop unknown Kadath in the cold waste, and taunted insolently the mild gods of earth whom he had snatched abruptly from their scented revels in the marvellous sunset city. 

- H.P. Lovecraft, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

“The Scythe of the Cosmic Chaos” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Astrosoniq, "Big Ideas Dare Imagination"

By: Victor Van Ommen

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 02/06/2018

Label: Van Records

“Big Ideas Dare Imagination” DD//LP track listing:

1). King

2). The Great Escape

3). Mindless

4). KEPPRA!

5). Vision Factor

6). Freezen

The Review:

A year ago, Astrosoniq lost a close friend and sometimes band mate. His name was Bidi. He was a guy who clearly made an impact on the heavy rock scene of The Netherlands and beyond. As a tribute to their fallen brother, Astrosoniq took to the studio and made this, their new album, “Big Ideas Dare Imagination.” The band brought in many friends to participate in the making, writing and performing of this album. It’s a group effort. It’s an album the band and their surrounding community needed to make.

Astrosoniq has been around for quite some time. The amount of recognition that they’ve received for their work is arguably underrated. Albums such as “Made in Oss” (technically an EP), “Son of A.P. Lady” and my personal favorite, “Speeder People” are incredibly adventurous. These albums push the borders of every genre in existence – yes, even that one – and they make it work. Doomy jazz with a country twang? The Wizards of Oss master it.

Surprisingly enough, this new album is not as adventurous as the band is known to be. Each song on here is a rock song- sometimes metal, sometimes stoner – but the adventure factor is missing. The experimentation can be heard when it comes to song structures and the addition of a saxophone, for example, but the wild ride Astrosoniq is known to offer just isn't here. For me, as a fan of the band, this took some getting used to.

So I wondered - does the passing of a friend call for a wild adventure? The slow, weirdo hook of opening track “King,” certainly doesn’t think so. It makes its point just fine. The rolling bass and passionate vocals of “The Great Escape” also see no reason to fly off the handle. It’s a sturdy song, just as the straight up rockers of “Mindless” and “Keppra!” are pretty cool songs. Album closer, “Freezen,” is the weirdest and most refreshing track, even if it is just leaning on 1 idea the whole time. So the songs are good. But where does this album fit in the Astrosoniq discography?

I’m left with mixed emotions here. Astrosoniq have made an album that’s close to their hearts. That’s obvious. The passion, courage and heartfelt emotion are certainly present in these 6 tracks. Involving guest musicians was a good move. Bidi made an impression on many people, so it’s a no-brainer to involve these people when making a tribute to the guy. At the end of the day, though, “BIDI” doesn’t gel as an album. Each song very much stands on its own, almost to the point that “BIDI” sounds like 6 songs made by 6 bands. However, considering the context of the album, this isn’t a critique in the slightest. This is the album that Astrosoniq needed to make. This is the adventure Astrosoniq needed to take. The listener will just have to approach these songs with an open mind.

“Big Ideas Dare Imagination” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Hemelbestormer, "A Ring Of Blue Light"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 02/03/2018

Label: Van Records

“Hemelbestormer's musicianship is excellent, and signals a new maturity in the band's evolution.”

"A Ring Of Blue Light" track listing

1. Eight Billion Stars

2. Clusters

3. Towards the Nebula

4. Redshift

5. Blue Light

6. The Serpent Bearer

The Review:

Crafting heavy music that is at once original, attention getting and accessible is no simple task. There are absolutely many bands who skillfully offer fantastic albums with a lot to offer in terms of creativity. For Belgian quartet Hemelbestormer, however, the feat of doing something especially different comes through a non-denominational approach to metal, winging elements of doom, progressive and sludge into its second album.

"A Ring of Blue Light" is one of the more interesting releases of the young year simply for the fact that, rather than embracing or promoting the shopworn notion of defying categories, Hemelbestormer features music that reflects a range of influences that come together within every track, rather than standing as is typically done: 'here's the fast song,' 'here's the contemplative song," and so forth.

"Eight Billion Stars" begins the recording with an atmospheric pacing that melds well with "Clusters." The lolling chords here crest into a thicker river of sludge. Hemelbestormer took some criticism early in its arc for taking too liberally from its inspirations. What comes across from the start of "A Ring Of Blue Light" is more of a desire to take that feedback to heart and forge something new. The guitars of Jo Driesmans and Filip Dupont carry the day on "Towards the Nebula," as the band hits its midpoint, while Frederik Cosemans' drumwork and synths represent well elsewhere

The 14-minute-plus "Redshift" seems intended to be the zenith for this album, and it is in fact a really promising song that might have possibly benefitted from tighter editing, since, about 11 minutes in, the switch in pacing feels forced in an otherwise sturdy doom-influenced song. At other turns, there are moments when spot trims could have improved the overall composition – brief cuts like "Blue Light" underscore this, with the reliance of short songs that feel like there's more there, and long tracks that could use a firmer approach. Regardless, Hemelbestormer's musicianship is excellent, and signals a new maturity in the band's evolution.

With the closing notes of "The Serpent Bearer," a showcase for the band's heavy music potential and its willingness to push some boundaries, you leave "A Ring Of Blue Light" with a great deal of hope for what this invigorating four-piece can come up with next.

"A Ring Of Blue Light" is available here

Band info: facebook