While we live in an age where every vein of the wider styles of metal have more than enough of a platform to really deliver on their own kinds of greatness, there will always be a few sounds that don’t get the attention that they rightfully deserve. For black metal, I’ve always felt like there could be more said for when it overlaps with the worlds of doom metal. The sheer potential of those two styles coming together has been demonstrated to great extents time and again, but not nearly as common or often as such potential deserves. As one of the leading names in what it means to keep the style going strong in today’s landscape, Ashtar’s presence cannot be understated. It’s been three years since we last heard from the now one-woman band, and it’s clear that those three years were well-spent honing an already magnificent sound with this new opus a tremendous step forward.

Having already made its name known from its last two albums, the very reputation of Ashtar and its talent is nothing that needed confirming as we come upon the act’s third full-length creation. Without question, however, it is with this new effort, “Wandering Through Time” that I feel as though Ashtar has made one of its most mature and complete works to date. Despite losing one of its integral members before the release of this album, there’s no denying that everything Ashtar has been crafting up to this point has been leading to these six tracks that stand as not just a testament as to what Ashtar itself is capable of but what the style itself is still able to deliver in no less than staggering quality. Not as heavy as it is mystical in many of its approaches, the very essence of “Wandering Through Time” invokes many aspects of blackened doom metal that far too many acts seem almost hesitant to tackle for reasons I cannot fathom with Ashtar reaching further into its folk tendencies as they play key roles in morphing this album from a darkly lit performance in the night but one that taps into the very fabric of nature and soul should the listener simply given in with their guard fully lowered. Just as capable of immense power and it is a captivating visage of the old world where the spirits danced in the trees, Ashtar’s third full-length creation is a multi-faceted effort that has far more to experience than I think many of us could have hoped for despite Ashtar’s growing reputation.

We need more creations like this in order to not just give this particular corner of metal a better representation of what’s possible but to give us another window into old magic that very few are able to bring about in such a way that leaves you feeling sufficiently impacted like what Ashtar has summoned here. “Wandering Through Time” shows us Ashtar for all that it is, and it’s truly a sight to behold that I can only implore you to lose yourself in fully for there is magic here the likes of which we simply do not get often.

“Wandering Through Time” releases on July 28th via Eisenwald!

PRE-ORDER  “Wandering Through Time” on Bandcamp here.

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