Atenvx

Astarium is a one man symphonic black metal band hailing from the Novosibirsk region of Russia. Formed in 2005 by SiN, the band has put out a rather steady stream of releases, including splits, EP's and, to date, four full length albums. Atenvx is Astarium's most recent full length, initially released in the spring of 2013, and serves as my introduction to the band's brand of music.

Spurning the recent theatrics of symphonic black metal, Astarium's music focuses less on full bodied orchestrations and overly produced metal, instead utilizing second wave structures and simplistic yet overpowering keyboard work. The music switches between melodic minor key wandering with underlying mid-paced power chords and raging tremolo riffs with blasting programmed drums, but rather than the standard instrumentation taking the front seat, the keyboards are pushed to forefront. This aspect works both for and against Astarium, as, keyboards aside, the instrumentation is decent but not anything profound. The guitar work is solid, but falls into the generic side of mid-paced black metal riffing. The vocals are a mix of growled rasps with some strange digitized effect and haunting screams, which fits the music well but aren't a huge selling point here.

The keyboards are certainly the focus through Atenvx, as every track boasts a wide range of keyboard embellishments and accoutrements. Take the album's opener, “Crespuscle”, as it moves through layers of whimsical notes and haunting organ patches. It's interesting how Astarium is able to merge two competing layers of keyboards into a cohesive sound, but it does take away from the intensity of the instrumentation. The end result mixes a sense of eerie grandeur, like on “Spiral of Purgatory”, with an eldritch touch of cosmic avantgarde-ism. Despite the amount of care and effort that obviously went into writing the keyboard parts, there are a few moments that sound sloppy and unfinished, mostly involving some type of warbling noise that seems to come from holding a note for too long.

Initially, it was quite difficult to focus on the music with the keyboard dominance, but subsequent listens allowed for the music underneath to reveal itself. It certainly isn't groundbreaking, but the use of cyclical tremolo riffing and minor key picking allows the keyboards the needed room to maintain the focus. While there are a few sections that sound forced, SiN is able to conjure a few moments of sheer brilliance when the guitars and keyboards join together for a grand crescendo of cascading symphonic black metal. Fans of early Emperor and Arcturus should find something to enjoy here. This is a really enjoyable piece of music once you give it time to sink in, but I can't shake the feeling that I believe Astarium can improve immensely on this formula.  Regardless, a great symphonic nod to the originators of the genre with a unique twist.

Written for The Metal Observer.