More often than not, the combination of black and doom metal is enough to get me through just about any album of its kind that you throw before me. It’s a combination that usually works out really well for most bands in my experience, but that doesn’t stop plenty others from trying to do more. Stellar Master Elite was one of the first bands I heard that really expanded the style even more for me with their potent use of electronic effects to great lengths, and it’s with their upcoming fourth full-length that they’ve accomplished glory yet again.

Something that I’ve found to be a bit of a trend throughout the dark realm of blackened doom is that the subject material tends to focus on matters of a more earthly-nature such like our emotions or the loss of loved ones. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s with acts like Stellar Master Elite that show us what grandeur can be accomplished by looking elsewhere as they do with “Hologram Temple” gazing at the impending merging of man and machine where morality becomes utterly gray and the staving of human extinction is taken to galactic lengths. The nine tracks that make up this ferocious record that tackles the classic concept of reality being no more than a simulation are no less powerful than what we’ve already seen Stellar Master Elite throw at us before as it’s through signature riffage and the beautiful diversity in sound via the strategic electronica used to magnificent effect that does no less than absolutely carry this record forward. It also must be noted that the songwriting here is just as spectacular as it’s always been, but it’s with “Hologram Temple” in particular that Stellar Master Elite has come upon an extremely organic sound that still has the classic robust nature we’ve come to expect, but the flow is simply impeccable and, now more than ever somehow, Stellar Master Elite is more infectious than the void itself at times.

A consistent increase in quality is something that I rarely get to see, and it’s the sort of thing that I just can’t not point out when I see it and, if you haven’t already guessed, it’s with “Hologram Temple” that Stellar Master Elite manages to top everything they’ve done before for me. The entirety of this record dazzles, impresses, demolishes, and obliterates as its conquest to spread across the galaxy is a force that cannot be stopped.

“Hologram Temple” releases on May 3rd via Unholy Conspiracy Deathwork!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Hologram Temple” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Stellar Master Elite on Facebook here.