Shu-Nun

After having released six consecutive full-length albums with nothing in between this past decade, Astrofaes leave their mark this year by releasing Shu-Nun, their first-ever EP and a solid effort containing two new tracks reminiscent of the new style which seems to generalise itself among the Kharkiv black metal scene in Ukraine (the other bands being of course Drudkh and Hate Forest – now in its reincarnation Blood of Kingu). This new style consists of very naturalistic and even shamanistic (in the case of Blood of Kingu’s debut album) music and themes. The most obvious effect this new style has on Shu-Nun is the naming of the EP itself and consequently of the first track, as well as the second one.

Musically the two tracks are very similar to one another and quite consistent with the previous Astrofaes releases. The band plays what could easily be described as orthodox, if well-produced and somewhat technical, black metal with a certain folkish influence which is quite restrained and sparse in its frequency. The cymbal-dominant drumming, which is also present in the last Astrofaes album as well as in Drudkh’s Estrangement but much more prominently in Blood of Kingu’s De Occulta Philosophia, is also featured here although with considerably more restraint than on the aforementioned albums. This can be heard at the very beginning of the title track, which then develops into a casual if very solid black metal song, where Thurios’ vocals really shine, perhaps more than on his other bands’ music. His performance is quite powerful even though it’s nothing overly original. He also continues his excellent work as the band’s guitarist, writing classic, varied riffs which just yell out black metal. The second half of the EP contains the track Nun-Birdu, which begins with a faster tempo than the self-titled opener but adds further variation by featuring short folkish flute passages which add a touch of beauty to the overall atmosphere created by this EP.

Overall this is an excellent effort, Astrofaes having proven themselves capable of writing great music time after time. I’m not sure if this was released in any format other than the 7'' Gatefold Record I bought but it shouldn’t really matter (unless you have no LP player, which would be sad) since the artwork is beautiful and evocative when seen up close. Since this came out only a few months ago it shouldn’t be difficult to obtain and is definitely worth buying, being a solid piece of black metal.