“This seems so impossible; I don’t believe in hypotheticals.”
‘Space metal’ is a term that some other music critic has probably already canonized, this is a shame because I’d love to coin it right now. Since their debut self-titled album, Astronoid have tending to their own cosmic melting pot of modern rock, metal, and shoegaze influences. After touring in 2019 with bands in the prog metal universe (Between The Buried And Me, Plini, Periphery, TesseracT, and The Contortionist), Astronoid have spent their pandemic years cooking up Radiant Bloom. This new LP treads the same sonic territory that was established on their self-titled record.
Most of the guitar is tremolo-picked and distant, which at first thought, might be more at home in some sort of formless post rock project. Instead, the band’s makes their songs charmingly accessible and immediate. Occasionally, some chugging riffs flourish, but the production prioritizes a glossy, smooth experience. The drumming does the real legwork of distinguishing individual passages and transitions, with occasional blast beats betraying Astronoid‘s appreciation of black metal. The vocals are particularly unique – sung clean and heavily treated, sounding like an angel-alien hybrid who is here to bring you love. The high-pitched vocals will inspire comparisons to anthemic 00s emo such as Coheed And Cambria. Combining these elements leads to larger-than-life, upbeat, and astral music. At times, it’s even cheesy – a whiff of power metal inadvertently seeps in, particularly at the peak of songs, in the afterglow of guitar solos.
Radiant Bloom‘s greatest strength is its consistency. If their ethos and approach work for you, you won’t find any disappointments in this tracklist. Opener “Admin” is not as meat-and-potatoes as its name suggests. It’s a great introduction that carves the sonic plateau the band sites their record on. The record’s three singles (“Eyes”, “Sleep Whisper”, and “Human”) are high points. Human is the penultimate track and feels desperate and dark in its verses and triumphant in the choruses. Its synthesizer-driven ending is so powerful that the following track (“Decades”) must take it a bit slower to close out the record in good pace.
Astronoid‘s main flaw is not really of their own making – their sound genuinely combines so many disparate styles that one aspect might not sit right with your own tastes. I don’t fault the band for this at all, as the soft vocals and pop-oriented songwriting distinguishes them from other so-called ‘blackgaze‘ projects like Deafheaven and Mol. However, several of Radiant Bloom‘s properties do give me pause. Since the songs adhere to pop structures, it’s disappointing that the catchy moments aren’t catchier, perhaps a consequence of the heavy vocal effects. A greater shame is that Radiant Bloom is seriously lacking in dynamics. The existing sonic palette could easily expand into quiet moments or destructive crescendos, but instead the band performs at roughly the same volume at all times. It’s also let down by its production, where much distinction is lost in the soupy, space-like atmosphere. This is not to say the record is not enjoyable. Rather, I feel that Astronoid might reveal some of their still-untapped potential if their next record explores their current sound from some different angles.
7/10
Radiant Bloom will release on June 3rd via MNRK Music, and you can pre-order it here.