ASTARIUM The Ghost Kings CD

Astarium is a long-running symphonic black metal and ambient project from Russia, helmed by the prolific multi-instrumentalist SiTex, known for crafting deeply atmospheric, cosmic, and horror-infused extreme music. In 2023, the project continued its vast sonic journey with the release of the full-length album The Ghost Kings, issued through the specialized French underground label Acid Vicious. The record seamlessly showcases the project's signature style, which marries raw, blistering black metal guitar work and frantic drum patterns with prominent, otherworldly synthesizer arrangements, creating a haunting, vintage atmosphere reminiscent of the 1990s symphonic extreme metal scene. The spiritual and horrific journey initiates its descent with Beyond Reality, a track that instantly breaks the boundaries of the physical world, leading directly into the chaotic and aggressive sonic onslaught of Cadaveric Invasion. The album then shifts into its monumental and defining moment with the title track, The Ghost Kings, a piece that masterfully balances harsh, spectral vocals with dramatic keyboard melodies to evoke images of ancient, phantom rulers. The narrative maintains its tense, mystical momentum through the chilling, arcane textures of Touch to the Primordial and the hostile, suffocating energy of Possessed by Demon. The second half of the record delves even deeper into the abyss of classic black metal mythology and darkness, beginning with the claustrophobic and shadowy sounds of The Inhabitant of Gloom. The project then delivers a fierce statement of ideological intent with the relentless, fast-paced rhythms of Return to Satanism, before shifting into the sweeping, mythological grandeur of The Serpent God. Finally, Astarium brings this grand, otherworldly odyssey to a grim and powerful conclusion with Cursed Gates, sealing the album with a final wave of dramatic symphonic layers and unyielding black metal dissonance that leaves the listener trapped in a realm of eternal darkness.