I feel like I’ve been here before, and I don’t know if I will ever get tired of it. The very state of melodic death metal is something to behold as we can see quite the schism happening with the style being pulled into two completely different directions. Some bands favor the more literal route where it’s straightforward, intense death metal with a supreme melodic factor to really melt the flesh off the bones, but some bands go for something more colorful and, dare I say, plenty progressive in more than one instance. Astralborne is easily of the latter. Their debut album was the best of its kind that I had heard since the benchmark name of Countless Skies, and the prospect of a follow-up was something that we’d been waiting patiently for years now. After listening to this new effort, it’s clear that the patience has paid off in spades!

Out of the gate, there’s no way for me to deny just how adept and capable Astralborne is with how much they dare to bring to the table. In any lesser hands, such a concoction would blow up in the faces of those foolish enough to trifle with it, but it’s with the knowledgeable hands of skilled craftsmen that the ingredients of “Across the Aeons” have come together for an effort that isn’t just well-put but gripping, satisfying, and undeniable to the fullest. Where some may merely check off some of the boxes of what this modern vein of melo-death can deliver, Astralborne leaves the listener absolutely floored by how encompassing it is for the sound with every given factor of this sound having time to breathe within the twelve tracks of “Across the Aeons”. It is even then, however, that Astralborne manages to sneak even more in.

A thematically stunning record to match the wild level of musicianship that’s on constant display, Astralborne takes us across the cosmos as humankind itself struggles with its own sense of impermanence in a universe so vast and endless only to ultimately finds solace in the finality of it all. It is in that realization that “Across the Aeons” truly comes to life. Able to find beauty, grandeur, and even joy in such a concept, Astralborne flourishes! Their brand of melodic death metal is the very definition of frenetic as they never stay in one place for long nor do they squander any opportunity to explore other territories like that of folk with instrumentation that is truly unexpected but done so exceedingly well that one cannot help but be enamored by it all. Be it the colorful solos, superb vocals whose intensity never falts, the compelling melodies that permeate every possible facet of the work, the expansive and fascinating nature of Astralborne’s sound itself, or something else entirely, you can enter “Across the Aeons” knowing damn well that the record has it all!

Creations such as this are exceedingly few and far between even as this fabulous branch of melodic death metal finds itself more populated by the year, but only the best rise to the top with Astralborne more than earning a seat at the peak with this work. Any and all expectations are blown out of the water without question as “Across the Aeons” quickly makes a claim as one of the year’s more captivating releases in all of metal. The stars shine brilliantly in their presence with the cosmos coming to life at the very wave of their hands – Astralborne’s future is brighter than any supernova that can be found.

“Across the Aeons” releases on July 28th via Prosthetic Records!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “Across the Aeons” on Bandcamp here or via YouTube below.

LIKE Astralborne on Facebook here.