Band: Labyrinthus Stellarum
Album: Vortex of the Worlds
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: Ukraine
Released: 6th of April 2024
From the moment you put this on, it gives you a feeling of being in the vastness of space, it’s haunting but also beautiful at the same time.
Introduction
Labyrinthus Stellarum is a relative new black metal band that emerged out of Ukraine. Their debut album Tales of the Void gained a lot of traction and is one of my favorite albums of 2023.
The band consists of three members, which have changed a bit since the first album. For their second full length, the band consists of the brothers Alex and Misha Andronati and Dmytro Bokhan. On the first album, guitars were recorded by Alexander Kostetskyi and Misha Andronati. Vocals, arrangements and drum programming was made by Alex Andronati. On the second album guitars were recorded by Misha Andronati only and drum programming was made by Alex Andronati and Dmytro Bokhan. Alex Andronati was also responsible for composing the music for both albums. So a small change in the lineup, let’s see what changes it brings to the album Vortex of the Worlds.
Space Black Metal
The previous album Tales of the Void oozed of the Cosmos and all things outer space related and this is also the case on the new album. From the moment you put this on, it gives you a feeling of being in the vastness of space, it’s haunting but also beautiful at the same time.
I always liked the idea behind black metal with a space ambiance, and that started with the album Nexus Polaris by Covenant. It’s been 28 years since they released that album, but I still remember the feeling it gave me when listening to it for the first time. That feeling returned when listening to Tales of the Void, Labyrinthus’s first album. That feeling is still around because this output has much of the same feel and style as their debut. That certainly does not mean the album is worse or bad, don’t get me wrong, it’s more a sense of the same great ambiance and soundscape that you are already familiar with it.
I could go on and on about the sound of the band and the feeling it gives me, but it’s something you need to experience for yourself. The album consists of 6 new tracks with a runtime of 36 minutes.
Tracklist:
- Transcendence
- Downfall
- Interstellar Wandering
- From the Nothingness
- The Light of Dying Worlds
- Vortex of the Worlds
The track The Light of Dying Worlds is one of the tracks that gives a great impression of the band and the new album. The opening of the song feels like you are in space and part of a great adventure. The drums (programmed, but done right) keeps on pummeling and makes for an ominous feeling. I could go on and on about the album and its tracks, but ultimately, you have to listen to the new album yourself and just experience it.
Conclusion
So, is the new album an improvement over the first album? For me, it’s a big yes it is, you can tell the band is further etching out their sound, and it shows they have matured on their second album. It’s a stellar composition overall, and I’m eagerly awaiting a CD release of this masterpiece (and for those that collect them, a vinyl release).
BMZ Rating: 9 out of 10
Support the band here: https://labyrinthusstellarum.bandcamp.com/album/vortex-of-the-worlds
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