If there is one band from Australia who have a musical ability worthy of worldwide praise, this may be it. Astriaal`s long awaited full length heralds a new age in Australian metal, and how it will be viewed by the rest of the world.
Renascent Misanthropy is a landmark. It is a tribute to all that has been, and a promise for all that will be. The true values of black metal are strong here, honouring the originators like Mayhem, Darkthrone, Emperor and Burzum. They also show a very strong sense of originality, pure compositional bliss, and a amazing riffs that are unimaginably unique.
The album starts on a dark, moody intro before delving into some of the hardest hitting, coldest yet fieriest metal known to man on `Ritual Hate Construct`. The intensity is beyond all description. This is well followed by the track `Revere the Labyrinth`, a track from which they have made much of their successes in the past from radio airplay.
From there, I didn`t think it could get much better, but then, starting with a slow intro, a remake of a track on their original demo `Glories of the Nightsky` absolutely toppled me. This has got to be one of my favourite tracks of all time. Even better than `Celestial Transcendence of the Aphelion` on the `Summoning…` MCD.
The album does not go downhill from here though. Ode to Antiquity was a track they`d previously released as a teaser on the `Deception Revelation` MCD, and it sits very well in this album. The next song, Arborescence, brutalizes but doesn`t have the feeling of entirety of the previous tracks. Finally, a break comes in the form of `Acquisition of the Stars` which is a purely instrumental track. It is progressive and bloody amazing. The track explores astral existence in music alone. Reaper of Dark Ages is the conclusion to this brilliant masterpiece. It wraps up everything and leaves you hungry for more. The final outro, `The Halls of Perdition` just caps it off nicely.
What more could you ask for? I cant praise this album enough, it`s perfect.
Tracks:
The Funeral Procession (Intro)
2. Ritual Hate Construct
3. Revere the Labyrinth
4. Glories of the Nightsky
5. Ode to Antiquity
6. Arborescence
7. Acquisition of the Stars (Instrumental)
8. Reaper of Dark Ages
9. The Halls of Perdition (Outro)
