Astrosaur - Portals (Album Review)

Date Released: November 18th 2022. Record Label: Pelagic Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Portals: Tracklisting

 

1.Opening

2.Black Hole Earth 

3.The Deluge 

4.Reptile Empire 

5.Eternal Return

Members

Eirik Kråkenes - Guitar

Steinar Glas - Bass

Jonathan Eikum - Drums

Review

Norwegian Powerhouse Instrumental Rock/Metal outfit Astrosaur return with Portal. Their third full length and perhaps their best album to date. Astrosaur drift the finer realms that Post Metal visionaries such as Pelican and Russian Circles call home but adding the complex Prog Metal sludgy grooves that Mastodon use. Quite a stark contrast to their last album which sadly I never fully got on board with. Portals is a completely different story with Astrosaur perhaps leaving the Jazz Rock influences heard on their last two albums behind for a more Progressive Space Rock and Stoner Metal feel.

First song Opening is a heavy psychedelic affair with Astrosaur combining Post-Doom sounds, pounding drums and heavy fast-paced progressive sonic guitars that build upto an exciting Spaced Out finish. Flashes of intense of Sludge Metal grooves are only hinted at but showcases how heavier the band have become.

Second song Black Hole Earth is the perfect marriage of Post-Whatever Cinematic sounds and modern day Sludge/Stoner Metal sonic riffage with the band employing a more direct classic Post-Metal feel. Different styles of Psych Rock allows Astrosaur to fine tune their droned out parts of their sound. The song becomes more alive when the quieter organic parts appear. As the song drifts into Ambient Mode which gives the album a more chilled out effect before a bone-crunching atmosphere fully takes over again. 

Third song The Deluge is another lengthier composition with Astrosaur trying different complex melodies and rhythms whilst maintaining the albums earlier dynamically powerful Post-Metal drive. This song is quite a moody and cinematic journey with more direct focus but still maintaining a cool Doom/Stoner Metal influence. Heavy drums and Psychedelic Tribal grooves have a fantastic AMPLIFIER DISTORTED effect with fantastic heavy instrumental work from start to finish.

Fourth song Reptile Empire is the shortest track on the album running under the four and a half minutes mark. Less time for Astrosaur to play but perhaps one of the most thrilling songs on the album. More direct grooves with the band focusing less on Progressive themes and perhaps playing the most riff based track on the record. Sublime classic Stoner Metal grooves are being played with a slight Mastodon vibe but still with ASTROSAUR being ASTROSAUR.

The final track Eternal Return is the centrepiece or star attraction of the entire album. A twenty three minute song that is a Psychedelic/Progressive Metal epic which is the finest musical composition that the band have written to date. Intense, Melodic, Solitary, Cinematic and Groundbreaking are some of the words I use to describe this track. Astrorsaur provide a dynamically powerful song that moves between the finer lines of Post-Rock, Post-Metal, Sludge Metal, Doom Metal and Stoner Metal for a song that seems endless at times. The instrumental work is first rate and it does feel like Mastodon teaming up with Pelican whilst still allowing Astrosaur deliver a truly powerful and original sound of their own. Though, it’s the things you don’t notice first that stand out the most. Strands of Ambient Rock, Space Rock, Jazz Rock and Psych Rock being injected into the background for a song that’s nuanced and multi-layered at the same time. 

With first rate production values being felt throughout every second of this brilliantly recorded album. Astrosaur have delivered an album that stands out heads and shoulders above all the Instrumental Rock/Metal albums released this year. This is without doubt the finest Instrumental album I’ve heard this year.

Portals is a first rate album and perhaps a future classic in the making.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Pelagic Records for the promo. Portals is avaiable to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Pelagic Records.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

ASTROSAUR share new single & video 'Black Hole Earth' from the upcoming album 'Portals' out November 18

ASTROSAUR share new single & video 'Black Hole Earth' from the upcoming album 'Portals' out November 18

Norwegian power trio ASTROSAUR, led by former Leprous and Ihsahn session guitarist Eirik Kråkenes, employ the riff as their principal mode of transportation for their third album Portals. The first single is a masterclass in soaring post-rock guitars offsetting a glorious main theme against a blistering desert rock riff. Like a starship phasing in and out of hyperspace, Black Hole Earth alternates between crushing the guts in your bowels and showing you the most marvellous views of deep space.

Somewhere between the late 1990s and the early 2010s, the rif largely disappeared from mainstream rock & pop. Its transformative power – the rif as a means to transport the listener into another dimension – became an art cherished only in the underground of rock and metal. One of the strong proponents of that transformative power is ASTROSAUR, an overlooked gem in the international heavy psyche rock and post- metal scene. 

The Norwegian power trio has been employing the rif as their principal mode of transport since their 2017 debut album Fade In // Space Out. Now, with the release of their third album Portals, ASTROSAUR are sounding more expansive and convincing than ever, delivering an intuitive exploration of the infnite powered by soaring guitars and surging grooves.

Links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Official

Astrosaur - Fade In // Space Out (Album Review)

Release date: April 28th 2017. Label: Bad Vibes. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Fade In // Space Out – Tracklisting

1.Necronauts 11:00

2.Space Mountain 06:10

3.Yugen 04:48

4.Fishing for Kraken 09:29

5.Fade In // Space Out 13:30

Band Members

Eirik Kråkenes: guitar

Steinar Glas: bass

Jonatan Eikum: drums

Review

Astrosaur's debut album Fade In // Space Out is a very pleasant surprise indeed. As the album is made up of different sounds such as Space Rock, Stoner Rock, Psych, Doom Metal and a subtle hint of heavy progressive jazz. Add all these elements together and you end up with an intriguing sound that defies the normal genre conventions.

Opening track – Necronauts – is a heavy spaced out exercise in noisy doomed out jazz theatrics. The song has quite a diverse LOUD vs QUIET approach. As the band try many different ideas and sounds with their music. For the most part it sounds very good indeed. For other the song could have been more redefined. Though you cannot ignore how supremely talented the band actually is.

The rest of the album follows the same formula that the opening track confidently creates with songs such as: Space Mountain, Yugen and Fade In // Space Out impressing the most on the album. Astrosaur don't stick to one conventional sound as they try their hand at different sounds and genres on each of the songs. The album truly comes alive when they play a more straight-forward psychedelic doom/stoner rock sound.

The progressive jazz vibes may put some people off but it's good to hear and experience something different within the realm of Instrumental Rock/Metal. Fans of Monomyth and Shooting Guns will find much to enjoy here. The production of the album is immense with the different sounds and experimental noises making their presence known throughout the album.

Fade In // Space Out is a fantastic debut album. Though it's not the most easiest album to listen to. Give yourself a few listens to fully appreciate this album and you will have one hell of a wild ride.....

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp