It’s hard to think of an area where the seemingly endless expanse of atmospheric black metal could end by any means with it feeling like every other band has been doing their best to push the boundaries of the style further and further every single year, and Nebula Orionis has been one of the acts that have been on the frontlines of many excursions. After a very hot streak of five releases last year, the Russian act cooled off just a little this year as this release marks the third, and I would be remiss to say anything other than how it’s one of the band’s most compelling works to date.

Out of the growing catalog that Nebula Orionis has made for itself in such a relatively short amount of time, “Aether” absolutely has its place towards the top as it effortlessly carves out its own position in the hierarchy, but it’s the simplicity of this album that both works to its advantage and detriment. Granted, the disadvantages are greatly outweighed by all the glory that’s on full display throughout this entire eight-track creation, but it’s the only thing stopping this from certifiably becoming a need-to-know album from Nebula Orionis in my eyes. “Aether” takes direct and strong influence from the fantasy world of Cairn that can be found within the property of Grim Dawn, and it’s once knowing that we can really get into the mindset that Nebula Orionis carefully crafts for us in each track. This album is still absolutely an atmospheric black metal release, but Nebula Orionis finds itself experimenting with different sounds like from the worlds of djent and epic metal to create something that does the many facets of Cairn justice, and it’s that specific imagery that allows “Aether” to rise spectacularly into something that’s no to be denied. The instrumental factor greatly allows the imagination to simply run wild as the riffs are vicious and the ferocity of it all is calculated to a great extent, but it’s in the synths where this record finds its core that takes us forward in each track to give us something that keeps our attention for the entirety of the release without a single moment of wavering, and it goes to show just how masterful Nebula Orionis has become at songwriting without a single word being needed in order to deliver a gripping performance. The only detriment to “Aether”, though, is the repetition throughout the tracks that I just find leaving me wanting more out of this surely expansive world that Nebula Orionis is drawing the lore of this release from, but it still doesn’t take away the power and magic that’s flowing in every note despite how much it keeps staring in the face.

Be that as it may, it’s by the end of “Aether” that I cannot help but feel massively enchanted by what I had just experienced. It’s no surprise to me that Nebula Orionis has created another noteworthy work for us to really sink our teeth into, but if this is just a hint of the experimentation that we will see more of in future releases then I am truly shaking for what’s coming next! “Aether” speaks volumes for Nebula Orionis’s passion for another world as well as this music, and it goes far too well with the quality that Nebula Orionis is becoming all but synonymous with.

LISTEN to “Aether” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Nebula Orionis on Facebook here.