STARLESS DOMAIN formed during 2018 in the United States. Currently they have two albums, "ALMA" and "EOS" which were released this year. The trio plays Atmospheric Black Metal with themes focused on deep space, auras, emptiness, uncertainty and science fiction. Today I reviewing "EOS". So, what is my impression of the album? Poor. It consists of one track which is almost an hour long. You read it correctly; ONE song that lasts ONE hour. While I understand that some bands really embrace the whole experimental style with enthusiasm, this is one of those cases where it goes entirely too far.

The track begins with an eerie synthesizer sound highlighted by several types of sound effects intended to create the sensation that the listener is in some faraway, dark corner of outer space. It works, I will admit that much; I did feel as if I were drifting around outer space while being stuck in a space station which had been abandoned for some reason. The sense of isolation and fear increases as faint yet piercing disembodied screams begin at infrequent intervals. Some dark guitar riffs gradually take over and infuse the song with manic energy  The pace of the song becomes even more frantic as the frequency of the screams becomes more often as well as somewhat louder. I think the most disturbing part about them is the complete lack of humanity within them. They seem like the result of an alien being enduring some horrible form of torture. The final impression is an overwhelming feeling that the listener is hearing a sci-fi/horror movie that is unfolding right before them.

The problem is the repetition within the track. You hear variations along the same theme for an entire hour which in my case led to a lot of mild annoyance as well as a serious loss of interest due to boredom. I managed to keep focused for about the first 27 minutes before I had honestly had more than enough. The concept is interesting, especially since I am a fan of both sci-fi as well as horror. But putting the entire album into one very long, continuous track was foolish to say the least. To be blunt, I think the only way anyone could keep focused for the entire thing would be if they were really, really high on their drug of choice; and even then I am not convinced that most people would want to spend their time that way. (And NO, I am NOT endorsing drug use; that reference is strictly to make a point.)

I appreciate musicians/bands who take risks with their material because it's important to challenge yourself. But, as I have said before, you need to remember that actual human beings are going to be listening to your material. It's asking far too much of the average music fan to sit down and listen to something which essentially (and needlessly) repeats itself with only minor variations thrown in along the way. I don't think the band did it to be vindictive. I think they were too excited about their experiment and failed to consider their audience. I like Atmospheric Black Metal a great deal, but not this time.  I can't recommend this album. It's too experimental and not as interesting as it could have been.