Sep 202017
 

 

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.

Starbound will be released jointly by the Belarusian label GrimmDistribution and the U.S. label Metropolitan State Productions.

We have included with our stream of “Magnetic” one other previously released track, cleverly entitled “Melancholera” (it’s a free download at Bandcamp).

Bandcamp Pre-order:
https://grimmdistribution.bandcamp.com/album/012gd-cryostasium-starbound-ep-2017

Cryostasium:
http://cryostasium.bandcamp.com

 

 

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