...Those Whose Past Is Immortal

Really, this review would suffice with just one word: Must-buy! It is that simple, folks.

Starting out as a somewhat symphonic band looking for a separate niche in the largely saturated black metal scene, Astrofaes found their own style with The Eyes of the Beast. Largely dispensing with the fuzzy guitar-sound and the sometimes ill-fitting keyboard parts that could still be heard on Dying Emotion’s Domain, the focus was shifted towards a clearer and more prominent guitar-sound whilst combining beautiful melodies with epic passages, furious drumming and break-neck riffs. And that is exactly what we get on this album.

Once again Astrofaes was able to come up with songs that are nearly perfect in their compositional make-up. As with the band’s previous efforts, each song stands convincingly on its own without ever getting repetitive or plain boring. Moreover, I couldn’t find any part in any song that sounded like filler or something hastily composed just to draw out the song’s duration.

While this in itself is something noteworthy, it doesn’t stop there. Besides the originality, Those Whose Past is Immortal is about emotion and reminiscing about a past that must be rediscovered and retrieved, something that is conveyed perfectly throughout the album; it is filled with a strong sense of longing. As said before, the music shifts from relatively peaceful passages to a whirlwind of (blast-beat) aggression, and back again, in a never-ending stream. Exactly these epic passages, such as can be found in “The Principle of Existence” and “Blackest Mountain Chain of Cursed Time,” express this feeling of longing, which adds a certain atmosphere that makes Those Whose Past is Immortal more than just highly original black metal.

All in all I can plainly state that this is one of the better albums I’ve heard recently. Together with Drudkh’s The Swan Road, Those Whose Past is Immortal is one of the albums to buy.

Now - I came to this recording with it being the first piece of ASTROFAES that I had heard. I have for a long time been a subscriber to the Supernal Music distro and so was intrigued when it was recommnded as sounding like "the first DRUDKH album with a constant blast beat". This is in fact a fairly accurate description for the unintiated and defintely any fan of DRUDKH should pick up this CD.

However - "constant" blast beat this certainly isn't. The first two tracks rage by in typical blasting BM fashion - but, as with DRUDKH, the guitars are very much pushed to the forefront of the mix - making this a very pleasurable listen. The style of riffing is akin to DRUDKH in so far as the dominance of minor chords instead of straight forward power chord progressions - which for me - is ALWAYS a plus point in BM - evoking an extra air of melancholy throughout.

The real highlight of the album for me follows - the beautiful "The Depths of the Past" - where the tempo lets up considerably and the melancholic riffing really comes through - the outro riff to this song is particularly stunning - and it's wonderfully supported by very understated keyboards that just dwell in the background perfectly.

After such a track - the perfect contrast comes in the album's most raging track - "Blackest Mountain Chain of Cursed Time" - a 9 mins + epic of blasting unrelentless BM in true Ukranian fashion - jaw dropping stuff.

In short - as said earlier, this is a must for all fans of DRUDKH (Thurios appears here on vox & guitar), HATE FOREST & NOKTURNAL MORTUM and I'm glad I gave it the time of day.