Katuar

Here is the split release of uRAn 0 and Astarium, the two one-man bands from Russia (although uRAn 0 had some additional musicians on some releases, the material for this split was recorded by Oleg Helk alone). Originally it was released on CD-R by NitroAtmosphericum Records and Satanarsa Records, and now re-released on tape by Thorn Laceration Records with one additional track from each band. Actually these additional tracks sound a bit out of place, they are just bonuses and nothing more, so the original material of the split is of the main interest here. The split has got its title - "Katuar" - from the first three tracks of the uRAn 0 part, and I believe that it's named after the place near Moscow, which is known due to its UFO visits.

uRAn 0 share of the split is completely instrumental and it can be relatively divided into 2 parts. The first part consists of the first three tracks - the "Katuar" trilogy - and "Reality Failed", which somehow logically completes the picture. These tracks are electronic/industrial/ambient, quite atmospheric, but nothing that would really stick to my memory. The second part can be described as raw atmospheric black metal with ambient elements. Actually the "Descending to Autumn" is an ambient track with the organ sound imitation, and "Into Darkness of the Forest" is half ambient as well. As for the black metal part, it consists of quite simple slow melancholic riffs with some programmed drums at the background, nothing new, but at least Oleg Helk has succeeded in creating some "dreamy" melancholic atmosphere.

Astarium plays symphonic black metal, but not of the modern cheesy kind with all that gothic imagery, but more in the vein of the second half of the 90's, probably raw atmospheric symphonic black metal would be the best description. Guitars are buried under the monument of symphonic keyboards and someone may say that it was done to hide the weakness of guitar parts. Well, the riffs are nothing special and they really wouldn't have much sense on their own, they just help to keep the rhythm (along with programmed drums, as the bass is simply absent), but at the same time they are somehow a part of the atmosphere. But still keyboards play the leading role here, being responsible for both atmosphere and melodies (probably only in the fourth track of Astarium part we can hear a melody played by guitar while keyboards are just accompanying it at the background). The overall sound is melancholic and "otherworldly" and the vocals fit the atmosphere very well. Actually there are no usual black metal vocals here, just kind of narration performed by very low voice; some symphonic black metal bands of the 90's have used this kind of narration as the additional vocals, but Astarium decided to use it throughout all the songs. Quite unusual, but, alas, it's impossible to decipher the words.

uRAn 0 and Astarium play a bit different music but at the same time they have something in common: both have created quite enjoyable melancholic atmosphere while having weak musical parts, especially the guitars. I like Astarium part more, because it's more solid and consistent, and the uRAn 0 part is less original and a bit ambivalent in itself.

This album, released by both NitroAtmosfericum Records and Satanarsa Records (although the version I am reviewing is the Thorn Laceration Records re-release, which features one extra track from each band) , is a split between industrial black metal group uRAn.0 and symphonic black metal band Astarium. Although each band has a very distinct sound from the other, they share something of an atmospheric similarity, both attempting an eerie, desolate aura. Personally, I found that uRAn.0 did a far better job of reaching this goal, as their music was miles ahead in terms of quality.

Having recently been converted to the musical excellence of Gnaw Their Tongues, to which some parallels could be drawn to uRAN.0, and with my long established enjoyment of dark ambient and drone, I found uRAN.0’s side of the split to be quite satisfying. There are elements of these types of bands as well as such black metal standbys as Burzum; there is no shortage of influence here. To kick off the album, the first track: ‘Katuar I’ presents a wall of keyboard-backed noise, which instantly sets the bleak atmosphere which will continue throughout the album. However, the songs are far from homogenous, as we find as quickly as the second track, which is a more industrial, electronic track. Despite the changing nature of the songs, there is always that lurking malevolence which binds the tracks together, showing the listener that this is no aimless keyboard experimentation. Continued shifts in instrumentation and style continue throughout the album, so much so that the genre is a bit uncertain (every track seems to incorporate a different sound), although it is definitely commendable that uRAn.0 have attempted to stay outside of the constricting borders of genres. This works to their advantage at times, although there are points where their side feels more like a various artist’s compilation than a single unified whole, and it is clear that they excel at some styles more than others; some of the tracks are mesmerizing while others are almost amateurish. It is clear that have some ties with ambient and atmospheric black metal, with repetitive guitars and keyboards paving the way for a good portion of the album.

Here would be a good point to mention these guitars, as they are one of the questionable points of the album. While the compositions were of above average quality, the guitarist seems to be unable to make up his mind about what tone to use, as it shifts somewhat throughout the album. True, it does keep a standard black metal tone, trebly and reverberating, but while at some points it is a wash of desolation, at other times it sounds almost midi-like, almost begging the keyboards, which are very tastefully executed, to become more prominent (the inverse of a problem on the other side of the split, which will be detailed later). It improves significantly later in the album though, and the irritating moments early on are eclipsed by some of the more chilling atmospheric tracks later in the album, so I wouldn’t call it a major concern, but it is something which definitely could have been improved. Another issue is the lack of vocals. While it may be that many bands in this genre are instrumental (and instrumental black metal can work very well if done properly), in my mind the songs would have benefited greatly from a singer who could impart that last bit of melancholy and bleakness to the album. Overall, uRAn.0 performed quite well, although there is a fair bit of room for improvement; they earn an 85% for their side of the split.

Now onto Astarium. This was a little difficult for me to review… it’s certainly different, although I’m not sure whether or not this works to the band’s advantage. What immediately caught my attention were the vocals. SiN employs a very strange style of singing… if it can be called that, though it certainly isn’t a scream. It is a very odd, muffled, pitchshifted talking. They’re very reminiscent of a generic narrator for a haunted house attraction, speaking to the guests and trying to ease them into an uneasy state, but ultimately sounding a bit silly. It isn’t easy to ignore these vocals when they appear, which, thankfully, is somewhat infrequent; when they do arrive, they are placed at the forefront of the mix, doing a very fine job of taking attention away from the other instruments.

Compared to the off-putting vocals, the rest of the music is a bit more digestible. Thin guitars warble behind somewhat oppressive key-work. This brings me to my second complaint with this side of the split. There are some decent tremolo patterns on this album, but the somewhat obnoxious orchestration has a tendency to bury any chance they have of adding much to the songs, outside of a few glancing riffs which peak their heads over the sugary fog. Now, I’m not much of a fan of this type of faux-classical symphonic synthesizing, so perhaps my judgment is somewhat flawed, if sweeping melodic keys are your mistress, then maybe you’ll find something here. I don’t mean to imply that the keyboards are worthless, as they do succeed in adding a bit of depth, but at times they’re executed so awkwardly that any attempt at setting a mood is harshly punctuated by fumbling strings of attempted melody. It’s almost as though whoever produced this album wanted to accentuate the irksome moments of this album while burying the more palatable bits under a mountain of feathers: not especially painful, but oh so irritating.

While the imagined orchestra and baritone rambling lord it over the foreground, the rhythm section goes with the flow, adding a sense of normalcy to this uncanny album. A drum machine plods out the beat in the background while the bass lets out slow a echoing of the guitar and keyboard interplay. Surprisingly, the bass is somewhat present; it doesn’t really do anything of note, besides perhaps keeping the raging tedium in place. Overall, I really can’t give Astarium more than a 40% for their output. Those points are mainly a result of their attempt at creativity, which is respectable, but overall the amplified mumbling and awkwardly loud keys drag the less-than-breathtaking guitar down into a lumpy mass of grayish oddity.

As a whole, this album does well in many places (most of them being on uRAn.0’s side) but suffers from an overall lack of cohesion. Still, if you like atmospheric black metal with a fair bit of industrial influence, then you may be justified in purchasing it for uRAn.0’s songs alone, and perhaps you keyboard lovers out there could find some merit in Astarium’s orchestral floundering. I won’t say not to buy this album, but don’t expect a masterpiece.