Astarium – Ostracism of Anachoret (2011)

The highly atmospheric Astarium strikes again with their 2011 EP titled “Ostracism of Anachoret”. In this bone chilling release this one-man band continues with their highly creepy and theatrical music and delivers 4 very solid tracks filled with eerie atmospheres and sorrowful shrieks. Having been released and re-released multiple times since 2011, we are writing this review based on the Hexenreich Records highly limited edition that we got in the mail.

Opening with the lush “Birth of the Flame”, the band sets a very creepy Dracula-esque mood with excellent orchestrations and a tense development. The guitars finally appear on “Recantation by Death”, a track that keeps the same atmosphere but delivers some very solid riffs and shrieks. The drums are clearly programmed, but they don’t sound as fake as many one-man releases, and they nicely set the pace for the track.

“Expelled into Obscurity” is our favorite track in this release thanks to the deep vocals and haunting keyboards. This son is quite well composed and would have been benefitted by a bit more action, but as it stands it is both chilling and crushing. SiN closes this Astarium release with the enigmatic outro “Autumn Coda”, featuring soothing synths and very cool campfire sounds.

As this short but sweet release comes to a close, we are more intrigued by Astarium’s excellent use of synths to create eerie atmospheric passages. If you are looking for something along the lines of Elend, but with a simpler and more direct approach, look no further and check out this excellent Russian band.

Label: Hexenreich Records

Release: 2011

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal

Country: Russia