Astaarth - Golden Age of a Dead Empire (2002)

Astaarth are yet another band whom I consider myself very attached to. It's part of a longer string of underground French black metal acts across which I came by accident, and my first contact with them was through this release - Golden Age of a Dead Empire. What's to be said about these lads, on the biographical side of things? They're from Dijon, they were born in 1996 and they sing about the rich Burgundian history and, subsequently, nationalism. Their style consists of black metal and has changed in time - this first album shows an affinity towards symphonic and atmospheric elements, while their second and last release, "Gloria Burgundia", is more filled with folk metal influences, especially with the use of some specific instruments (hurdy gurdy, flute, mouthharp, violin). While this second material is an enjoyable piece of music, I consider their first release to be their true masterpiece, since Golden Age of A Dead Empire is a great example of raw, symphonic, atmospheric black metal. It consists of 6 tracks, of which 2 are the intro and outro respectively, the rest of them ranging from 6 minutes and a half to over 13 minutes. Guitars are distorted and raw, just as it's meant to be, drums are fast, and the keyboards create a history-filled, dense atmosphere. All this is enhanced by the male speeches and the female chants, which really bring up the glory of times past, truly evoking the golden age of a dead empire... I recommend this album to anyone who enjoys raw, atmospheric black metal, anyone who wants to relive history and the secrets of the past with a touch of melancholy and despair to it. Score : 9 / 10.

Band :

 

Members :

Lord L. Moloch - vocals

Lord Gondebaud - all instruments

Album cover : 

Year : 2002

Genre : Atmospheric / Symphonic Black Metal

Tracklist :

1. Requiem to a forgotten splendour (Intro) - 03:09

2. To Die with a Sword in Hand - 11:39

3. Through the Candlelight - 08:56

4. La foy de Bourgogne - 06:37

5. Gold, Blood, Azur and Whithe - 13:26

6. The Final Crusade (Outro) - 02:25

Links :

 Last.fm

Encyclopaedia Metallum 

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire)