THE BEAST

Astral Sleep - We Are Already Living In The End Of Times - Reviewed By wingsofdeath ! Check it out here at this link: https://www.wingsofdeath.net/85631-Astral-Sleep-We-Are-Already-Living-In-The-End-Of-Times

We Are Already Living In The End Of Times witnesses the apocalypse as it manifests, exploring the thoughts and feelings that emerge in the face of doom. Why did this happen? What can we do about it? How should we feel about it? Do we have to worry? Does it even matter? The album follows powerful scenes of destruction, loss and despair, but also of liberation, self-realization and existential enlightenment.

With the previous album Astral Doom Musick (2020), Astral Sleep established their precise genre definition as the namesake of the said album. With the new, fourth full-length, the band continues to evolve within these musical terms. So Astral Sleep has undergone quite a few sound changes in recent years. Originally a doom-death metal band with a thick doom sound, with a lo fi production, but also gothic and psychedelic influences. Over time, the death influences have almost completely disappeared, and it is moving more towards gothic and psychedelia.

The soundscape of the new album resonates with the immensity of the apocalypse portrayed. Below the waves of crashing guitars, the drums and bass rumble, like volcanoes erupting beneath the oceans, and above them the ethereal lead guitars and synthesizers glide, while the powerful vocals shatter the air and shake the earth. Those who expected the familiar doom death sound may be disappointed, but that does not make We Are Already Living In The End Of Times a bad album.

In any case, Astral Sleep's music is still basically ponderous and slow. As far as I'm concerned, the big difference is that even more atmosphere has been added. For example, I think opener and title track We Are Already Living In The End Of Times is a beautifully sad song, carried by a depressing combination of vocals and lead guitar. Provided with samples and ambient fragments, there is still quite a lot going on; everything has a strong narrative feel. I think Invisible Flesh most answers the call for the past, being the rawest song on the record. On the other hand, The Legacies - especially in the beginning - relies heavily on a gothic / new wave sound, while very quiet scenes pass by along the way.

In the last two tracks Time Is and Status Of The Soul we mainly hear a mix of soothing psychedelics and sparse, rougher excesses - although the latter remain part of Astral Sleep's music. I think it's a very cool mix, and consider it the best of both worlds: psychedelic doom. Beautiful right? wingsofdeath

Release Date: 21. April 2023

FFO: YOB, Crowbar, Solitude Aeturnus

Location: Finland

Short Bio: Astral Sleep hails from Finland, Tellus. The group has wreaked havoc on the metal genre since 2005. Astral Sleep's music fuses various musical styles into an unique entity dubbed "Astral Doom Musick": The boundaries of different sub-genres of Doom are ripped apart, mingled with pieces of jazz, psych-rock, noise, and various styles of metal, and sown back together into the monstrosities that they are. Astral Sleep's mission is finding eternal bliss in the world on its inevitable trajectory towards Doom.

Album art made by Mark Cooper (markcooperart.com)

Check out the videos on YouTube!

Follow them on Spotify and add them to your playlists!

Support the band on Bandcamp!

Follow the band at these links:

https://www.facebook.com/astralsleepdoom
https://www.instagram.com/astralsleepdoom/
https://astralsleep.bandcamp.com/
https://tidal.com/browse/artist/4813727
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6tRV5VBDpbCRVdEfwIzzg4
https://www.astralsleep.net/waaliteot-promotion