Astrofaes "Idea. Form. Essence..." CD Digipack

Recorded spring 2006. Remastered at Viter Music Studio, August 2020.

At first glance Idea. Form. Essence. might seem too rigid, too sparse in their style. The members of Astrofaes have proven in this and other projects that they are both capable of great feats and possess the good taste not to toot their own horn all the time. I have to admit that I was initially underwhelmed not by their ferocity (which Astrofaes has always carried by the bucketload), but by the basic arrangement and simplicity of these tracks. But like the best albums, this one bore new perspecitives with further listens, and now it gets heavy rotation.
While other acts play up the synth strings, jaw harps, flutes/recorders/ etc to the point where the music sounds more like "The Legend of Zelda," Astrofaes keep it simple with just a smattering of extra elements beyond the usual gutar/bass/drums setup. The focus here is on quality, not the forced intrusion of superfluous gimmicks. The guitars stay in power-chord riff frenzy, with occasional droning parts, only occasionaly evoking the folksy melodicism of Drudkh or other related projects. Those expecting the more introspective moments of that band to materialize in Astrofaes will probably be disappointed, as Astrofaes seems to be the outlet for most of the pure aggression with this group of busy musicians.
High points for me have been "Among Hungry Curs" with it's crushing opening riff, the instrumental "Conspiracy of Silence," and "In the Fog" which features some excellent use of dynamics, but the album is probably best taken as a whole. Despite the rigid orthodoxy initially prevalent, each track is loaded with unique characteristics, an effect of their remakable good taste.
I should make special mention of the drums. Amorth has reached a new plateau here, and also enjoys a superior production to bring out all the details. The drums really carry the rest of the music. What's amazing is his even-handed, paced approach, even at break-neck speeds. This is an amazing performance for metal drums of any genre.
What you get with Idea. Form. Essence. is uncompromising, pummelling, largely pagan-informed black metal, played with expertise and with a minimum of frills. "Martial" is the best term I could use to describe such an efficient and aggressive album as this.

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