If you’re a fan of European extreme metal, then I’ve got a new band for you: AASAR from the cold, mountainous northern region of Italy! Formed in 2019, this four-piece band from Trento, Italy released their debut EP/record “From Nothing to Nowhere” on June 30th, via the U.S. record label Seek & Strike Records. A short but intense piece of Blackened Deathcore, the EP boasts 6 tracks totaling up to 25 minutes and 17 seconds. As a fan of LORNA SHORE, one of the most elite practitioners of Blackened Deathcore, I was very excited to try out this new record from a new band. I can honestly say that AASAR did not disappoint me in the least.

The first track “Rise Of The Dark Ether” is an instrumental track, but while it has no vocals, it is still very dark and haunting to fit the mood of the EP. The second/title track is where things get even darker with the Blackened Deathcore work of AASAR’s members. Based on the lyrics of this song, which mainly deal with themes of death, the afterlife, and desolation, this is the arena where the band delves in Black Metal. About two minutes into “From Nothing To Nowhere,” I was taken aback by the short and sudden breakdown followed by a shredding guitar solo from either Atryas or Hypnos. The double bass patterns from Exos were excellent, although it would’ve been more epic if there were some more blast beats, like the very brief one near the end of the track. The third song “Wasteland” opens with very aggressive tremolo picking and an almost primal scream from Atryas. We only get 1 ½ minutes into the approximately 4-minute track before we get another short, intense tempo drop. Overall, the breakdowns on this EP had hints of LORNA SHORE’s musicianship from their own legendary EP “And I Return To Nothingness.” “Fall Into Oblivion,” the longest track on the record, took me by surprise by starting off with a weird-sounding synthesizer before hitting me with an onslaught of guitar riffs, blast beats, and skank beats. This is not only the longest song on AASAR’s debut EP, but it is definitely the most intense in my opinion (and my favorite track of the entire 25-minute record). Although the band does remarkably well on their own, they bring in a featured artist for their next song “Court of the Unknown”: Valerio Quirini, the guitarist of fellow Italian Metal band SHARKS IN YOUR MOUTH. With Quirini’s contributing riffs and solos, this song has a bit more musical depth than the other tracks, especially with dark and introspective lyrics about facing the demons inside of ourselves. In each of the five tracks after “Rise Of The Dark Ether,” Atryas absolutely impressed me with his vocal delivery. His menacing growls were still easier to make out than most other Deathcore/Death Metal vocalists, but I felt that adding some variety to his vocal delivery with high-pitched shrieks would have given “From Nothing To Nowhere” more of a Deathcore feel.

Metalhead elitists like to hate on Deathcore a lot, even when infused with elements of Black Metal, but the genre isn’t going anywhere. With AASAR’s release of “From Nothing To Nowhere,” the four men from northern Italy have made sure of that. If this is what their first ever record sounds like, then I can’t wait to hear what a full-length album from them will sound like too. So if you’re a fan of Blackened Deathcore, stop whatever you’re doing–including reading this review–and listen to “From Nothing To Nowhere” right now.