“Sirens” is Astarte’s fourth album, and was released a full year before this review was written, yet they are a band that I have only recently discovered. One of the reasons for this is that I am not a huge fan of Black Metal, which is the genre that Astarte are generally described as belonging to, yet I was immediately taken in by it’s heady combination of melody and atmosphere with a Black Metal edge - the very first time that I listened to this album. Astarte are a potent reminder that the Black Metal scene has many potential gems out there that can be appreciated even by fans of generally more melodic forms of metal like myself. Wannabe badgers [Hahahaha! – MM] are also suitably warned that they may want to read someone else’s review of it instead of this one.
Astarte’s first album “Doomed Black Years” (1998) does have that authentically grim “recorded over the telephone in a hut in Norway by amateurs in 1990” sound that is a much better bet for those who like their Black Metal grim and “tr00”. “Rise From Within” (2000) marked a move towards the more epic, melodic and atmospheric side of Black Metal, before their third album “Quod Superius, Sicut Inferius” (2002) completed their transformation into being a band that fitted in perfectly with my tastes, becoming melodic to the point of catchiness and even incorporating some discernable Heavy, Melodic Death and Power Metal influences into their grandiose not-quite-Black-Metal-anymore music. “Sirens” slightly reverses that trend in being generally a little more extreme than it’s predecessor, but only a little and is similar enough that if you like either album than the other one counts as a very safe purchase.
The similarities in sound between this album and “Quod Superius, Sicut Inferius” are remarkable considering that this is the first album that Astarte released since they almost completely changed their line-up. Tristessa is now the only surviving member of the original band after an acrimonious split from the other two members of the band. One of the consequences of this change is that Tristessa now takes over on vocals from previous vocalist Kinthia - as well as playing guitars and bass. This could potentially have been cause for concern as Kinthia easily ranked among the best female vocalists in extreme metal, but Tristessa here proves herself by delivering a truly impressive vocal delivery that is harsh without being overdone as well as being impressively varied.
Also worth mentioning is there are a number of guest vocalists that add extra variety in the vocals to the songs in which they appear: Shagrath (Dimmu Borgir) in the song "The Ring of Sorrow"; Sakis (Rotting Christ) as well as Nicolas Sic Maiis from the other band that Tristessa appears in (as well as the original name for Astarte) – Lloth - in the song "Bitterness of Mortality”.
One of the vocal developments of the previous album that I would have liked to have been continued here, but which hasn’t been, is that on “Quod Superius, Sicut Inferius” Kinthia did some occasional clean vocals that added a perfect compliment to her more usual extreme vocals. On “Sirens”, Tristessa sings only in her Black Metal voice, which I feel does slightly rob it of an extra dimension that “Quod Superius, Sicut Inferius” had, but it is a minor complaint.
One of the things that I particularly liked about this album was that the guitars also tend to stand out and play catchier and more distinctive riffs than I tend to find with most other Black Metal, all helped by an excellent production. Another big plus for me was that it had very effective variations in tempo and movement between heavy and mellower sections that meant that it never got repetitive or dull. 2 completely mellow instrumentals, as well as the slower sections of various songs, showcase their gift for creating melodic, melancholy and haunting atmospheres that they are able to evolve seamlessly into epic, grandiose and more extreme Black Metal parts with breakneck speed drumming and harsh vocals and back again, seemingly at will.
I would recommend hearing this album – especially to fans of bands like Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth or Opera IX. I can only imagine that if you hate those bands and love Darkthrone instead then you are probably going to hate this too and will possibly object to it even being called Black metal, but this is the perfect Black Metal album for someone with my sort of tastes in that it adds the Black Metal edge to an album that is packed full of melody and atmosphere. A thumbs up from me.
Standout Tracks: Oceanus Procellarum, The Ring of Sorrow, Black Mighty Gods.
Overall Score: 8 /10
