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Without doubt some of the most psychedelic, uncomfortable & warped pieces of black metal history i've recently discovered. This is some awfully eerie material that sends shivers down your spine immediately. I was already sold on the majestic artwork courtesy of the always inspiring Luciana Nedelea - Artworks. I could be wrong but it looks like a giant killer piranha under the Aurora Borealis. It was almost a done deal. Until the otherworldly mysticism of a man called Cody MaIllet put a spell on me. Cryostasium have been cranking out bizarre musical endeavors since 1999 when they were still going under the moniker The Abhorrer. This is a hypnotic and bloody genius song off the band's upcoming 'Starbound' album released on CD with a Japanese style obi-strip by a label called Grimm Distribution in Belarus. The true underground spirit roars it's ugly head again...
https://www.facebook.com/infamuz.haze/posts/1438413439570572
I didn`t know this one man outfit until the now discussed Ep “Starbound” came out, although the project is 15 years old and released a lot of material since then. This is Black Metal that mixes raw, experimental elements, ambient synth landscapes, very odd sounding vocals and dark morbid melodies. The songs are mostly slow or mid-tempo with the right amount of change to keep it interesting. The atmosphere is really on the dark side, transporting the listener in otherworldly realms of existence. The faster paced songs/passages are pure hatred, death and aggressive to the core like only black metal can make it. I recommend you readers to check this out, might be one of the better EPs from 2017.
http://www.vm-underground.com/review/cryostasium-starbound-ep/
The requests we receive to share premieres of new songs often become a source of discovery for me as well as for many of you, and this is one of those times.
Before listening to the track you’re about to hear, the name of which is “Magnetic“, I was unfamiliar with Cryostasium. Only after becoming captivated by the song did I learn that the EP which includes it — Starbound –is merely the most recent in a very long list of releases that extends back to 2003 (and possibly earlier, when the project was known as The Abhorrer). Because this is such a recent discovery, I can’t tell you how the new EP compares to the five albums or the two-dozen shorter Cryostasium releases that have preceded it.
But I can tell you that the haunting fascinations of “Magnetic” act as a powerful lure, not only into the depths of Starbound but also into Cryostasium’s previous creations.
If it happens that the name is new to you as well, Cryostasium is the solo project of Boston-based creator Cody Maillet, formerly a member of such black metal bands as Witch Tomb and Bone Ritual.
“Magnetic” is indeed magnetic, though its attractions are strange and its evolution unpredictable. The music could be thought of as dark ambient metal, but that label is an amorphous one, and could be misleading here anyway.
A buzzing haze of eerie, abrasive sound does surround and shadow the progress of the track, creating (along with other ingredients) a chilling, otherworldly aura. A slow, deliberate drum rhythm and a metronomic bass pulse establish a connection with the reptilian complex of our triune brains, and a wailing melody animates primitive fears of poltergeists in the ether. Chiming notes ring out as the thump of the drum slows. A wailing soprano voice rises, deepening both the music’s haunting atmosphere and its depressive, bereaved cast. The effect is more hallucinatory than hypnotic.
I mentioned that the song “evolves”. The drum and bass rhythms accelerate before the end, and the combined sounds build tension and draw more closely to the surface the song’s undercurrents of emotional trauma and incipient lunacy. You might imagine a journey through time and space. You might also imagine a trip into some cold nether-dimension where what dwells there is made of something other than flesh and blood.
Speaking of otherworldly visions, the cover art for Starbound was created by one of our favorites, Luciana Nedelea. The guest vocals were provided by Meiko (aka VOCALOID: 00). The EP is recommended for fans of early Manes, Thorns, Strid, Xasthur, Khold, Tulus, Ved Buens Ende, and Brown Jacobs.
http://www.nocleansinging.com/2017/09/20/an-ncs-premiere-cryostasium-magnetic/
U.S. psychedelic black metal project Cryostasium is back for another sanity-shattering assault with the "Starbound" EP, coming October 16th.
Ahead of that release, we're exclusively premiering new otherworldy, mind-numbing track "The Eye," which can be heard below. Pre-orders for the album are also live here.
Cryostasium started in 1999 under the name The Abhorrer, changing to its current incarnation in 2003. Most notably known for a split release with Xasthur, Cryostasium has mainly stayed underground making peculiar dark ambient metal. The project's sole member is Cody MaIllet, also known for black metal bands such as Witch Tomb and Bone Ritual.
http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=137075
Il progetto Cryostasium è qualcosa di inclassificabile. O meglio lo era fino a qualche tempo fa. Rumori vari, molesti e affascinanti si susseguivano in una carriera lunga e fittissima, di cui ho ascoltato solo tre o quattro lavori. So solo che ascoltando di seguito Empowerment del 2012 e il nuovo Starbound, potrebbero sembrare due gruppi differenti, ma di base è sempre Cody Maillet. Il perché è presto detto: ha vinto il metallo, ha vinto il black metal sulle pulsioni noise/industriali. Questo già dal disco collaborativo con Meiko dello scorso anno, schizzatissimo, ma più definito che in passato. Oggi Maillet è ancora più domo, ordinato, organizzato. Psichedelico sì, senza tocchi di pazzia e ancora una volta con Meiko ad allucinare dietro al microfono. La copertina della ottima Luciana Nedelea ha catturato bene la natura liquida dell’opera: notturna, fosforescente, aliena. Ovviamente per chi si approccia ora a Cryostasium l’effetto immediato sarà questo. È tutto molto singolare, acido e fascinoso, in particolare le prime tre traccie. Una conferma importante da parte di uno dei punti di forza di Satanath/Grimm Distribution.
https://blogthrower.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/size-doesnt-matter-i-dischetti-del-momento/
Зимняя меланхолия захлестнула короткие серые дни и ранние тёмные вечера. Настроение непонятное и тягучее, как смола. И, вместо того, чтоб найти способ встрепенуться, я выкопала блендер и на полную мощность запустила его в уши…
Яркая чудная обложка привлекла внимание и даже заставила зависнуть и всмотреться в детали: иссиня-чёрная морская гладь, несущая на себе огромную хищную Рыбину, мило переговаривающуюся с неоново-жёлтой малюсенькой Смертью, спокойно стоящей на сырой земле, очертания сказочного города на острове поодаль, небосвод, усыпанный звёздами и растушёванный северным сиянием… Красиво, честное слово.
А вот совпадения с музыкальной составляющей мною не обнаружено.
О чём это я? О ЕР бостонского one man проекта Cryostasium "Starbound" (2017).
Весь музыкальный ряд испещрён нойзом и шорохами непонятной этиологии. Разобрать отдельные партии при увеличении громкости становится просто невозможным. Характеристики данного релиза типа «психоделик» совершенно не укладываются в голове, потому как для меня это совсем не равноценно ералашу и неразберихе. Ниточка мелодичности всё же тянется сквозь этот густой грязно-серый звуковой мусс. Где-нигде россыпью прорываются ударные, чтоб снова утонуть в визгах дребезжащей изогнутой пилы, которая, видимо, играет роль устрашения, копируя ситуацию из ужастиков, где прячущаяся от маньяка девушка в тёмной комнате вздрагивает от каждого шороха и изо всех сил сдерживает тяжёлое дыхание.
Как по мне, то самая перевариваемая и, более ли менее, соответствующая обложке композиция – Magnetic. Она, будто магический говор той самой рыбины, которая отвечает согласием на приказ собрать как можно больше душ и затянуть их в солёную морскую пучину.
Этот мини-альбом, думается, для весьма узкого круга слушателей. Если Вы склонны к вязким болотным мыслям, которые уносят Вас в далёкий космос рассуждений о бренности бытия, то это однозначно идеальный катализатор для глубочайшей подавленности и тотальной отстранённости.
https://vk.com/wall-154276216_15
Long are gone the times when ambient music was something easy listening. As things are bound to change as our master Engels says, ambient music has changed violently through the years. Getting used to the weirdest is our motto nowadays. This Cryostasium “Starbound” is weird. But it takes only a while to get used to it and enjoy.
Essentialy, Cryostasium “Starbound” is an instrumental effort with some incidental voices in it. Tracks are of a pure ethereal atmosphere. They are the pure essence of Black Metal. “The Eye” is strong, noisy as true Black Metal should be. The incidental voices are souls in despair. Picture yourself in the void looking to the doomed souls that wander around. That is exactly the idea. The leading idea in “Starbound,” unlike their peers, is to make you feel you are into the void. But Cryostasium idea of void is not simple. It is a place of suffering, of wandering and lost souls. Not hell at all. It is something much different. Those souls are condemned to be out of any human contact. They are lost in space. The horror they experiment is absolutely out of the imagination of mortals. So is “Starbound” main concept.
Title track, “Starbound,” introduces us to the journey. It is a song that eventually pleases. Its cadence is of a movement that makes you rock. The unexpected cadence marks “Starbound.” There are few incidental voices. With less distortion, “Starbound” would be called old school heavy metal. But not “Magnetic,” which begins complex, dense. As a matter of fact, “Magnetic” has the incidental voices that give “Starbound” its ethereal atmosphere. “Magnetic” works pretty well with feeling of beinf g lost in the void. Despair is the motto to “Magnetic.” The same goes with “Melancholera,” which almost seems to be a sequence. Same despair and anger, same desire to escape, to run away.
Cryostasium are a band which work pretty damn well with some unwanted emotions. That is its stapler. “Starbound” is an effort of respect. We must hail it for that.
http://www.metaladdicts.com/site/cryostasium-starbound/
And as we come to the end of this Grimm expedition, one final salvo. US one-man dark ambient BM artist Cody Mallard conjoured his latest EP ‘Starbound’ a month ago; his thirty-third (!) release under the Cryostasium moniker since the project’s birth in 2002. Off the top of my head I don’t believe I’ve heard a single one, and you might not have either. But hey, what better place to start than here?
I can tell you right now I’ll be going back and checking out more of his work, as this surprised me immensely. Oppressive, cold riffs are thrown in a blender and slither askew over psychedelic and dark ambient elements. The vocals vary between the faint demonic howls and haunted synthetic la-la-la’s of a man gone insane, trapped far away in a hell of his own creation. There’s recurrent use of bells which only serves to fuel the odd atmosphere. Occasionally (and fittingly as they did release a split together) the songs hit almost Xasthur-like levels of dysphoria; tracks like ‘Magnetic’ or EP closer ‘Adventurine’ sometimes call to mind what Malefic might have produced if he was rocking knees-up in a corner singing to himself instead of just mentally tortured.
Featuring great Luciana Nedelea artwork that perfectly illustrates the warped, otherworldly sounds within, this may just be my pick of the entire bunch. Quality stuff, I can’t wait to head back over the rest of his discography; and it’s a fitting end to this spotlight. Hails.
Cryostasium é uma one-man-band norte-americana que já tem uma longa carreira no underground. Black metal atmosférico e com detalhes industriais é o seu móbil e tem tido bastante actividade nos anos mais recentes, com inúmeros lançamentos divididos entre EP, álbuns e splits. "Starbound" vem entre a linha daquilo que já nos habituamos a ouvir da banda embora tenhamos que confessar que é bem melhor que "Project:00" que analisámos meses atrás. Com um fio condutor hipnótico que nos vai arrastando para um vale de vazio aos poucos. Por vezes sente-se a falta de uma maior dinâmica mas se calhar o objectivo é mesmo esse. Para quem gosta de música estranha, é hora de conhecer este projecto.
This is the latest EP from US one man black metal band Cryostasium.
This is black metal that mixes raw, depressive, and psychedelic elements, with ambient, experimental, and atmospheric moments. The end result is this 26 minute EP, which is engaging and highly immersive.
Fuzzy, underground black metal is what greets you when you press play, but it’s a particular strain of the virulent blackened plague that’s enhanced with atmospheric accompaniments and emotive groove by the bucketful.
Usually slow or mid-paced, the rhythm guitars alone are enough to grab and hold the listener’s attention. Add to this rich leads and enhancing synths, as well as some cosmic melodies and the occasional, exceptional use of bells, you have a collection of tracks that are quite sublime.
The vocals are low in the mix, hidden behind walls of powerful-yet-fragile guitars. The singer is clearly more interested in staying out of the limelight than becoming a traditional focal point, but that doesn’t lessen his performance in a range of styles one bit. Both cleans and screams are used, both extremely well, and both in such a fashion that they merge with the music to become one with everything else here.
This is a very enjoyable release, it must be said. This is highly atmospheric black metal that really does take you out of your surroundings and into another world.
Very highly recommended.
https://wonderboxmetal.com/2017/11/23/cryostasium-starbound-review/
Cryostasium is a one-man project from the USA, created by Cody Maillet. He is a rather prolific musician, releasing over 30 recordings since 2003. He is probably most well-known for his split with Xasthur. Cryostasium prides itself with it's unique blend of industrial, black metal and dark ambient, which work together in creating a somewhat otherworldly sound.
Right out of the gate, Cryostasium's "Starbound" kicks off with a rather discordant, dissonant track that shares the title of the EP. It's a faster than average track that serves as a quaint opening to this album. The bass on this track is quite present, and I can say the same about the other tracks on "Starbound". As you delve deeper into this EP, it becomes more ethereal in nature.
The vocals vary from loud screams to almost ghostly humming, then they'll go to spooky vocals ripped straight from a Scooby Doo cartoon. On later tracks, the vocals appear to be performed by a woman. I don't know if effects were applied to existing vocals, or if a woman vocalist was brought in to perform, but either way the creepy harmony adds to the overall uneasiness this album permeates. Sometimes the vocals are a bit too much and add a mostly unneeded amount of ridiculousness. There are times where the vocals sound like a person who cannot play the Theremin very well. It's a bit too corny and not appropriate for an album like this.
As I said before, "Starbound" has an otherworldly feel to it. It's as if the album were recorded in a cave thousands of miles beneath the Earth, or thousands of leagues under the sea where no one could hear you cry in anguish. The tracks range from rather fast, almost headbang worthy ventures to slow, dreary exploits that could be used for a death march. Tracks like the opener "Starbound" and "The Eye" really kick it up a notch. "The Eye" is definitely one of the better tracks, as it sends the energy of this album into overdrive, even if the vocals on it are a bit ridiculous. The guitars on this album are played loudly and proudly. The guitars are loud and are played vigorously, with most of the riffs sending you into a downward spiral of depravity.
Even though there are some standout tracks on "Starbound", after one listen the album does tend to sound a bit repetitive. The musicianship presented here is nothing short of fantastic, but I just wish there were more variety on this record. A lot of the tracks sound very similar to each other. With that being said, the album could be a lot worse, but I can't help but feel there is so much potential to be found here. "Starbound" does not disappoint, but it doesn't amaze either.
https://www.metalmaelstrom.com/single-post/2017/11/17/Album-Review-Cryostasium---Starbound-EP
Another one from the prolific Cody Maillet, whose Project:00 we reviewed here previously.
This time, he’s working more of a black metal crossed with experimental electronic music thing than the oddly likeable j-pop crossover of Project:00, so it’s both more familiar (“starbound”, “adventurine”) and more bizarre (the other tracks) than our last encounter.
Strange, or to quote the promo materials, “peculiar”.
Yeah, I like that, describes this one quite well.
Boston, Massachusetts solo project Cryostasium have returned with a new recording that is in more of a a ambient and experimental style of black metal and this is a review of his 2017 ep "Starbound" which will be released as a joint effort between Grimm Distribution and Metropolitan State Records.
A very dark, heavy and atmospheric sound starts off the ep while elements of ambient and experimental are also utilized at times along with the music also bringing in a very lo-fi atmosphere as well as all of the musical instruments having a very powerful sound to them and back screams screams are mostly kept in the background.
When guitar leads are utilized they are done in a very distorted yet melodic fashion while the music also captures the atmosphere of depressive black metal along with melodic chants are being added on some of the tracks as well as a small amount of synths and all of the music sticks to mostly a slow or mid paced direction but there is also a small amount of blast beats and tremolo picking on the last 2 songs which also gives the music more of a raw feeling.
Cryostasium creates a recording t hat is mostly in an experimental and ambient style of black metal and also avoids the use of lyrics on this recording and the production sounds very dark and raw.
In my opinion this is another great sounding recording from Cryostasium and if you are a fan of experimental and ambient black metal, you should check out this ep.
http://occultblackmetalzine.blogspot.ru/2017/11/cryostasiumstarboundgrimm.html
Cryostasium è il progetto solista di Cody Mallet, musicista di Boston decisamente prolifico.
Infatti, in poco meno di una quindicina d’anni di attività con questo monicker, Mallet ha assommato più di trenta uscite tra full length, split album ed ep, il che come sempre in questi casi lascia qualche dubbio sull’effettiva incisività di ciascuna di esse, stante il grande rischio di dispersione di idee.
Diciamo subito che il genere proposto dai Cryostasium è un black sperimentale, ritualistico e fortemente dissonante, il che non sarebbe affatto male se non fosse che lo schema compositivo è sempre piuttosto simile, con l’eccezione dell’incremento ritmico presente in The Eye.
Starbound è un ep indubbiamente coraggioso e anticonvenzionale ma è anche piuttosto difficile da digerire, perché diversamente dal canonico black ambient, la presenza di una base ritmica unita al tipico ronzio in sottofondo e di un vocalizzo lamentoso, riempie ben più del sopportabile i canali uditivi dell’ascoltatore.
In definitiva, siamo al cospetto di un’opera non deprecabile e nemmeno priva di spunti interessanti, ma caratterizzata dalla poca attrattiva, anche nei confronti dei più aperti alla fruizione di soluzioni sperimentali.
http://metaleyes.iyezine.com/cryostasium-starbound/
I throw on the ''Starbound'' EP by the band Cryostasium, and what I hear is what I consider to be really talented musicianship. This EP is almost entirely instrumental, which is odd for me. Still, I would without a doubt check out more from this one man band of Cody Maillet in the future. The drums switch from loud and on time to being a back drop for relentless atmospheric carnage. Aside from your standard black-metal riffs, the best way to describe the guitar work on this release is ''spooky'' or ''eerie''. There is something completely alien about this release, but it works perfectly with the sound Maillet is going with. Nearing the end of this release, I feel as if I am about to be abducted by satanic aliens on a quest for sustenance. My flesh and blood would nourish their voracious appetites... along with the flesh and blood of the entire human race. Usually my favorite part of a release involves the music, but for this piece what strikes me the most is the cover art. I really enjoy the style used, and if this had not been sent to me, I probably would have checked it out on my own anyway if I came across it. Atmospheric mastery from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, this release is available through SATANATH RECORDS (Russia) and GRIMM DISTRIBUTION (Belarus). Listen to this release, or else Maillet might send to you an aquatic monstrosity, its teeth and terrible jaws sent to consume your entire waking existence. This is great black-metal and I will for sure listen to this again
http://aeafanzine.blogspot.ru/2018/02/ep-review-cryostasium-starbound.html
Nel 2017 me lo ero perso, ma fortunatamente qualcuno mi ha dato una mano a recuperare l'EP 'Starbound' della one-man-band statunitense Cryostasium. Pensate che Cody Maillet, il factotum di turno, ha partorito una cosa come 32 lavori, tra split vari, EP, collaborazioni e full length, in quasi 15 anni di militanza nell'underground, senza contare le sue altre innumerevoli creature. Insomma una fucina di idee che convogliano in questo EP di quattro spettrali pezzi. Il dischetto si apre con la title track, che propone quello che amo definire cosmic black metal e dove in realtà convogliano sonorità estreme con elementi più ricercati, quasi psichedelici. Questa caratteristica si fa ben più marcata in "Magnetic", dove i suoni glaciali di un lento black primordiale vengono inquinati da voci lontane e da gelide (e stralunate) interferenze dronico-ambientali che rendono per certi versi affascinante questo EP. Come al solito, siamo al cospetto di un'opera di non facile assimilazione: quel ronzio confuso di chitarre black, unito alle sperimentazioni dell'artista di Boston, rendono l'ascolto decisamente complicato, un po' come se stessimo ascoltando i Burzum sotto l'effetto della mescalina. Metteteci poi una registrazione lo-fi e potrete lontanamente capire come il suono risulti impastato e ancor più confondente. Aggiungete poi una componente vocale che sembra arrivare dalla costellazione della Lyra per cercare un contatto con la razza umana e capirete ulteriormente quanto sia complicato approcciare questo cd. E dire che in "Melancholera" il frontman statunitense non si perde in troppe chiacchiere, optando per concedere maggior spazio ad una musica alienante, mentre in "The Eye" il nostro polistrumentista opta per aumentare il numero di giri, in un pezzo dal piglio post black, un attacco arrembante dai forti connotati horror, ascoltate la tastiera della traccia per credere. Le sonorità divengono ancor più becere con la conclusiva "Adventurine", l'ultima testimonianza di un malefico sound proveniente laddove Vega splende nel cielo. Mi sa tanto che gli extraterrestri siano sbarcati sul pianeta Terra, ma questo già lo avevo già immaginato guardando il delirante artwork di 'Starbound'.
https://thepitofthedamned.blogspot.com/2018/11/cryostasium-starbound.html
I throw on the ''Starbound'' EP by the band Cryostasium, and what I hear is what I consider to be really talented musicianship. This EP is almost entirely instrumental, which is odd for me. Still, I would without a doubt check out more from this one man band of Cody Maillet in the future. The drums switch from loud and on time to being a back drop for relentless atmospheric carnage. Aside from your standard black-metal riffs, the best way to describe the guitar work on this release is ''spooky'' or ''eerie''. There is something completely alien about this release, but it works perfectly with the sound Maillet is going with. Nearing the end of this release, I feel as if I am about to be abducted by satanic aliens on a quest for sustenance. My flesh and blood would nourish their voracious appetites... along with the flesh and blood of the entire human race. Usually my favorite part of a release involves the music, but for this piece what strikes me the most is the cover art. I really enjoy the style used, and if this had not been sent to me, I probably would have checked it out on my own anyway if I came across it. Atmospheric mastery from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, this release is available through SATANATH RECORDS (Russia) and GRIMM DISTRIBUTION (Belarus). Listen to this release, or else Maillet might send to you an aquatic monstrosity, its teeth and terrible jaws sent to consume your entire waking existence. This is great black-metal and I will for sure listen to this again.
http://aeafanzine.blogspot.com/2018/02/ep-review-cryostasium-starbound.html
I have a very ambivalent relationship to CRYOSTASIUM. I want to unconditionally love this but they don’t make it easy to do so. This is so weird that even I take notice. Basically this is black metal but it moves motionless between ambient and psychedelic and black metal in a combo that at times can be too much to take in. But when it is good it is bloody good. This EP is some of the better stuff I have heard by CRYOSTASIUM. It is still as weird as I’ve come to expect from them but at least I can listen to it without cringing. This is the definition of an acquired taste.
http://battlehelm.com/reviews/cryostasium-starbound/
Siempre me ha costado horrores reseñar los trabajos del prolífico Cody Maillet (cerebro detrás de Cryostasium) y esta no parece ser la excepción. “Starbound” vuelve a la carga con la marca registrada del estadounidense, donde mezcla elementos crudos, depresivos y psicodélicos, con momentos ambientales, experimentales y atmosféricos.
Por lo general el álbum transcurre dentro de los ritmos lentos o medios, las guitarras rítmicas solas son suficientes para captar y mantener la atención del oyente. Si a esto se le agregan ricos sintetizadores y las voces (bajas en la mezcla) que varían desde gritos fuertes hasta susurros casi fantasmales, tenemos un álbum que, a pesar de ser un tanto repetitivo, los fans del estilo lo encontrarán sin dudas atractivo y altamente envolvente.
https://rockarollazine.blogspot.com/2019/02/cryostasium-starbound-2017-grimm.html
Американский Psychedelic Black Metal/Dark Ambient проект гражданина Cody Maillet, который сам все сочиняет и делает, кроме гостевого вокала Vocaloid 00. Я знаю, что CRYOSTASIUM не в первый раз слушаю, пробил на сайте — уже три отклика было. И впечатления \m/. Не иначе.
17 лет корпит Коди над своей музыкой, и те, кто имели честь прикоснуться к его творениям, знают, что это всегда материал взвинченный, острый, прекрасно приспособленный под психоаналитические операции, как финский нож хирурга для профильных испытаний. Где-то под 40 разного вида форматов артефактов издал эмбиентальный психоделический блэк-металлист.
«CRYOSTASIUM встретил песочным звуком, а может и целой песочной бурей. С оголтелым блаковым вокалом, оттопыренном в местах - «болезненность» и «мизантропия». Да и вокал-то пока чисто условный — это просто дикие звуки поветрия, пустынного бурана. Это сногсшибательное продуктивное начало. Ибо видим, что к блэк амбенту здесь относятся серьезней некуда». Это из оклика на альбом 14 года. Песочный звук мы находим и здесь, и предрекаю, что Азазель - демон пустыни радуется знакомому аккомпанементу.
С какой-то точки зрения CRYOSTASIUM можно назвать true black metal, ибо мелодическое начало здесь выхолощено до адских показателей. Хотя конечно остались риффовые намерения, гудки внутренних пекельных поездов, … да чертовы колокола бередят воспоминания из прошлых жизней.
Но все-таки получше будет зафиксировать это как 5 пустошных штормов разной длительности, но объединенных намерением, подобному выхлопу из сопла реактивного самолета. Где деловито и гибельно долбит ритм-секция, а ведь низкочастотная басовая компонента где-то прикопана в песчаной буре, и там буйствует, составляя с иными ингредиентами многожильную мускульную плоть трэка. Уже упоминал колокола, они не так хаотично, как вам может показаться, отбивают воистину...
Коди гитарно работает над длинными риффами, которые опоясывают тело трэков так, что уже непонятно, где начало, где конец, ...может быть там где-то, - за горизонтом. И вдоль этих гитарных трубопроводов, мостятся ухающие и глюкающие звуки, тоже вроде отбивающие темп... или почки.
Да вокал здесь есть, определенно, но более НЕ определенно, потому что существуют космические пробросы, например, в трэке 2, но это может быть и не вокал. Есть там осколки более похожие на вокал, но в любом случае они только музыкальная составляющая, определенный элемент для создания ощущения полного одиночества посредь выжженных равнин. Для эмбиентного репрессивно-депрессивного блэка, подразделом которого можно считать этот диск, голосовая линия прилично подготавливает психику слушателя.
Дивная и мрачная психоделическая обложка.
Совместный релиз с Metropolitan State Productions (USA). 4-страничный буклет. OBI. Pit-Art CD. А диск оформлен как виниловая пластика.
https://vk.com/wall216331265_3670
I am not going to write a full introduction on Cryostasium this time, for you can find all info you want in one of the reviews I did for this American project in the past. Just enter the band-name in the tab ‘Search’ to find out more about this frenzy solo-outfit of one Cody Maillet…
And hey, I will not digress too intensively about this new recording either. The reason: same fabulous shit! Ha!
No, seriously (for a while), Cody wrote and recorded (at the K2 Studio in Waltham, Massachusetts, very close to Boston in the North-East of the Divided States of America) some new tracks, totally created by himself (vocals, guitars, basses, drum programming, effects, and even some of the visual art), only assisted by the beautiful Meiko (a vocaloid ‘guest singer’, used before as well), haha… Actually, this stuff was already recorded during Spring 2017, and released in Autumn that very same year, so this is an older release, but whatever. It is never too late to offer some additional (and highly professional) support / promotion. Two more things before coming back to the sonic side. The digital edition is available on the project’s Bandcamp-page, and the physical version, a compact disc in jewel-case with a four-page booklet, saw the light in a partnership, once more, in between Metropolitan State Productions, home to many releases done by Cody and / or his brother Thor, and GrimmDistribution, a side-label of Satanath Records, which released some Cryostasium material before (among which, and that’s an important detail, a split in between Cryostasium and Abigorum, the latter being an outfit by label owner Aleksey). Second thing I wanted to mention is the astonishing cover artwork, courtesy of the young yet extremely talented Romanian (female) artist Luciana Nedelea. This must be one of the most intriguing cover paintings ever.
So, from aural point of view listen, Starbound once again stands for a weird, grim and filthy form of Black Metal. The stuff is extremely raw and lo-fi, with a sound quality that rasps, screeches and scrapes. Actually, this kind of material is highly melodious for sure, yet with a weird, psychedelic twist. More bizarre elements are, for example, the use of (church) bells (in Melancholera or in the title song, for example), the use of the vocaloid voice (not new, for several former recordings came up with that bewitching and gloomy voice), some astral synth-like effects (cf. Magnetic), and the industrialised, even claustrophobic production. Few vocals are the raspy, wretched screams, courtesy of Cody himself, and these ones surely are grim, tortured and malignant. A surplus is the variation in structure and in speed; the latter balances in between doomier excerpts (the better part), over up-tempo pieces, to a couple of nearly-pyroclastic eruptions.
So, in conclusion: these twenty-six minutes are very reminiscent of the project’s known core business – nothing more, and surely nothing less. I can imagine the ‘love-it-or-hate-it’ thing going on, and then I am referring to both the sound quality and the sonic side of the story. The digital voice of Meiko, the low-fidelity production and anti-commercial sound, the minimalistic and simplistic song structures, the mind-twisting totality; it might scare you off for sure. But hey, the geniality behind (beyond?) these lullabies is of divine intelligence, so do give it a try if you’re triggered…
http://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/cryostasium-3
I remember Cryostasium from the split with Abigorum where both projects fused their musical ideas that still disturb my mind to this day because I played that album again, just recently. Starbound however is already Cryostasium`s separate release with 5 songs on it.
I have to tell you that indeed, I have heard a few frightful sounding albums before but possibly no one of them is able to push me into abyss as music of Cryostasium, the project which is run by Cody Maillet.
The guitar sound calibration on this EP is so dark and unpleasant that I have constant and dangerous affection that some evil entity wants to break from spiritual world to the world of the living. All effects and programming sound really ghastly and it scares and literally you may feel that some invincible force wants to suck you in if you stop running from its sinister sound. This release is essentially the musical projection of darkness, as I understand it, and as I have it pictured it in my mind for many years already. One or two repeatable guitar rhythms in each song seem just falsely monotonous, but the way the music traps you in, is like facing a nightmare from which you can`t wake up. Songs like Starbound ( mature track, best one in my opinion), Magnetic (very weird track), The Eye ( the fastest song that harvests the light off you) - these are songs that play on your imagination and deepest fears because of terrifying sound of guitars which is origin of all darkness here. The various effects that Cody uses in music are frightening. I mean - more psychologically... This album possibly contain phobias that feed off on human emotions to possess them. Effect of the music on you can be accelerated if you listen to it at night which is what I did.
I think that bass has fine instrumental parts and it`s important element of the record because sometimes it bring interesting soundscape and depth to the music.
I thought - Starbound is the “darkness” album and even if you try to break through this darkness, nothing will really change and everybody dies in some horrible way.
I throw on the ''Starbound'' EP by the band Cryostasium, and what I hear is what I consider to be really talented musicianship. This EP is almost entirely instrumental, which is odd for me. Still, I would without a doubt check out more from this one man band of Cody Maillet in the future. The drums switch from loud and on time to being a back drop for relentless atmospheric carnage. Aside from your standard black-metal riffs, the best way to describe the guitar work on this release is ''spooky'' or ''eerie''. There is something completely alien about this release, but it works perfectly with the sound Maillet is going with. Nearing the end of this release, I feel as if I am about to be abducted by satanic aliens on a quest for sustenance. My flesh and blood would nourish their voracious appetites... along with the flesh and blood of the entire human race. Usually my favorite part of a release involves the music, but for this piece what strikes me the most is the cover art. I really enjoy the style used, and if this had not been sent to me, I probably would have checked it out on my own anyway if I came across it. Atmospheric mastery from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, this release is available through SATANATH RECORDS (Russia) and GRIMM DISTRIBUTION (Belarus). Listen to this release, or else Maillet might send to you an aquatic monstrosity, its teeth and terrible jaws sent to consume your entire waking existence. This is great black-metal and I will for sure listen to this again.
https://aeafanzine.blogspot.com/2018/02/ep-review-cryostasium-starbound.html