Funerals from the Astral Sphere 2011

"Australian one-man black metal act Midnight Odyssey are back with another dark and atmospheric release which is so cold and depressive it is hard to believe that Australia is not a grim and frostbitten place. Midnight Odyssey mainman Dis Pater is a man who does not feel the need to rush thorugh things and thus the listener is treated to a two-hour double disc full of dark and ambient black metal tracks. Combining lush atmospheric keyboard arrangements with lo-fi distorted guitars and repetitive drum patterns, Dis Pater has created music which is melancholic and darkly epic and easy to lose oneself in. Vocalswise, you can hear both tortured black metal screams and clean choral arrangements, both of which contribute - each in its own way - to the overall ambient feel of the album; the black metal screams, just like the distorted guitars are drowned in reverb, which is one of the oldest trick in the black metal book (but it works). Black metal fans should not expect a ferocious black metal album though, as the atmospheric aspect is in focus, to the point that the ambient keyboard arrangements are dominant in relation to the black metal instrumentation - both in terms of quantity and sheer volume. While I do find that this release is a very interesting and entrancing one, it also requires a lot of patience. As mentioned Dis Pater does not rush things, and many of the tracks are around seven to ten minutes long and extremely slow in build-up, which means the two hours is a long time if you are not into this kind of music. Fans of dark, atmospheric music, however, should definitely check out Funerals from the Astral Sphere, as they are bound to love its lush and dark soundscapes and expressivity. (review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)"