Stutthof "And Cosmos From Ashes To Dust..." CD Digipack

When you listen to an album like "And Cosmos from Ashes to Dust", you get a flashback of the feelings back in 2004 when this album came out. After a long period of stupid black metal trends trying to cope with commercial forms (with only a few exceptional releases here and there), this album signified a change in the tide. Stutthof were always walking a different path and "And Cosmos..." was a remarkable release for their journey.
"An Invocation to Those Who Have Risen" and the intro sets the scenery under the sounds of an eerie melody, a theme from the well-known occult movie The Ninth Gate. It serves a higher purpose here as "Wampyric Metamorphosis" crushes through the gates. Early 90's black metal influences and aggressive riffs under blasting drum tracks merge with the unique musical patters known from the previous Stutthof releases and especially "Towards thy Astral Path". Occult references are here that only a few dared to use back then with long compositions and a ritual ambient atmosphere. Also remarkable are the acoustic breaks that serve their purpose to create an astral ambiance. After the anticipated "Κερασφόρος Σελήνη" comes the track "Crossing the Ninth Gate to the Kingdom Of Shadow", a 20-minutes hymn to the Great Passage and a long composition that only a few would dare to create. Again the atmosphere is thrilling and the song reveals more and more as it unfolds.
"Δράκων Ό Μέγας" opens with a great chorus, creating a perfect calm before the storm coming. Razor-like vocals and aggressive riffs with a great break for mid-tempo melodies burst out again in majestically fast-tempered riffs with lyrical endings paying tribute to the masters of the Scandinavian black metal. Emperor's first albums are a great influence here as the riffs are aggressive and lyrical at the same time, leading in an end that leaves the listener poisoned and entranced under the sounds of the outro "The Breaking of the Seventh Seal".
In conclusion, I have to admit that "And Cosmos..." was a great album for that period. Along with a few others, this emerged from the stagnated Hellenic black metal underground as a tempest and opened new pathways that many followed later, like long compositions and a unique occult aura totally anticipating and noncommercial structures. The lyrical references were thrilling and clearly declare the origination of Stutthof. History crowned this album with a handful of followers that became influenced by its musical structures and riffing, giving it an undisputed reputation among the universal black metal underground. A"must-listen" for every black metal follower and a classic release of Occult Black Art.

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