Astronoid - Air (Album Review)

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Incandescent - The album opens with lush walls of atmospheric sound, leading into solid riffs and drumming to start our journey through Astronoid's newest offering, 'Air'. The vocals rise out of the soundscape, layered and multifaceted, working beautifully with the droning guitars and driving percussion work. The vocals work beautifully to close out the intro.

Up and Atom - The album's second track immediately launches into blistering guitarwork, the soaring sighs and vocalization blending with the black metal styled drumming and guitar riffage. Astronoid's technical prowess is shown off without being shoved in your face, each riff reminding you of their ability and skill at songwriting. The choruses echo beautifully along with speeding guitar and pounding drum and bass rhythms. There's a very airy (appropriate given the album name) feeling to the songs, like if you were to listen long enough you might start levitating. The slower sections float along into blazing fast sections, transitioning seamlessly. The guitar solo hits you like a balloon of nitrous and then backs away for the rest of the band to come in and make sure you'll be humming along to the melodies of the songs for weeks to come while at work or in the shower. This song is full of incredibly catchy sections, broken up by straight up metal riffing.

Resin - Resin opens with a grimy sounding guitar assault, dirty yet pristine and uplifting. The many layers of sound ensure you'll find something new to enjoy with every listen. The harmonious vocals are used excellently throughout the whole album, without feeling cliche or contrived like many modern metal groups' 'Radio Rock' offerings. Resin reminds me of a bittersweet summer memory, driving along highways with someone you used to love and smoking cigarettes or joints on the beach. The  band's self-described genre of 'Dream Thrash' is extremely apropos, the entire album feels like a lucid dream of blinding white lights, angelic choirs, and an element of brutality with the technical drumming and guitar work. The black metal influence shines through often, tremolo picked riffs over blast beats and drum fills while the cloud of sound floats above it.

Violence - An echoing melancholy acoustic guitar intro starts off the next track 'Violence'. Ghostly singing accompanies the dark and depressing chords, conjuring images of walking through futuristic cloud cities. The shortest song on the album at 2 minutes 22 seconds, it serves as a great reprieve, and the fading outro heralds the band's return to form on the next track.

Homesick -  A veritable fortress of heavy guitar, pounding drums, and floating atmospheric layers of sound open up 'Homesick'. The singing reminiscent of fuzzed out alt-rock like Silversun Pickups or Nothing. Astronoid really has hit their stride with this album, especially this track, which contains elements of everything that makes the album so great. Their songwriting ability perfectly underlines the melancholy of Homesickness, while the fast and complex riffing and drum work back it up. A great guitar solo follows and leads into the track's final breathy outro.

Tin Foil Hats - A straight up black metal attack opens up this track, soaring leads, tremolo picked passages and blast beats segue into the choir-like vocalization seamlessly. The middle of the song features an extremely heavy breakdown and the guitars showcase their technical ability well without detracting from the rest of the sound being produced by the band. A slower guitar and drum break follow, the upbeat sounding riffing leading well into the final section with an extended guitar outro.

Air - The album's title track perfectly encompasses the theme of the whole album. An ethereal sounding wall of thrash and black metal influenced instrumental work underneath beautiful, soaring vocals. The song feels like inhaling helium balloons and laughing with your friends until you get a little too lightheaded, then the guitar and drums begin pounding away to bring you back down to earth.

Obsolete - A far away guitar and steady drumming open up this track ,leading to blistering fast sections of guitar, layered on top of one another, creating a giant cloud of emotion. Some more classically death metal sounding riffs are present on this song, working well leading into the open chords and steady rhythms of the choruses. The bass sound is incredible on this track, keeping everything on point. A slow and pounding break down follows in the middle of the track, making way for a great guitar solo accompanied by great rhythm guitar work and drumming. The vocals kick in again, ghostly, echoing, effects-laden crooning. A number of small electronic sounds are used well throughout.

Trail of Sulfur - The album's closer conveys sadness right away, the feeling of farewell, before launching again into the speed and technicality present throughout the album. The vocals never feel out of place among the madness, adding an edge to the sound that harsh vocals could not replicate. Soaring their way through your senses, Astronoid are out to show you why they deserve your attention on the albums last track, making their last impression with their trademark 'Dream Thrash' sound. Around the 5 minute mark, the guitar feedback echoes and the rhythm section keep you on the edge of your seat, waiting for whats next. The vocals come in, the feedback turning into an escalating assault that finally explodes. An insane guitar solo follows, closing out the album with a bang.

Overall this album took me by surprise. I had never heard of Astronoid before a month ago when they popped up on my Spotify, but this album solidifies their place among the best albums of the year and definitely will be a favorite of mine for years to come.

8.5/10