We Are Already Living In The End of Times

Astral Sleep

There are moments when it seems that the album has everything together, but in between, it doesn’t. Doom Metal can be exciting and invigorating and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. This is where the album is lacking.
January 19, 2024

From Bandcamp, “We Are Already Living In The End Of Times” witnesses the apocalypse as it manifests, and explores the thoughts and feelings that emerge in the face of the Doom. Why did this happen? What can we do about it? How should we feel about it? Should we care? Does it even matter? The album takes it path through powerful scenes of destruction, loss, and despair, but also of deliverance, self-realization, and existential enlightenment.

 The album has six songs, and the title track is first. It opens with a good deal of guitar feedback, and a creepy, evil whispering voice. The entering pace is slow and lumbering, but some of the clean vocals don’t work as well as they can. I feel like the music lends itself to harsh vocals more, but this is just a preference. “Torment in Existence” has harsh vocals that work a little better. But the main riff isn’t very exciting, even for Doom Metal. This is one area so far that the band needs to develop. “Invisible Flesh” is much meatier and more dangerous at first, but it settles into a familiar groove that the band needs to just kick up a few notches. I love their clean guitar work in this song, but it just suffers from thinness.

 “The Legacies” has a thick riff and supporting bass work, and once again, the clean guitars create a nice opposing atmosphere. At times however, it seems the band has figured out their sound, but other times, they just don’t quite make it. “Time is” begins with steady clean guitars and a bit of tension. Once again, it just fails to get off the ground. “Status of the Soul” closes the album, and the length of the song just draws out some of the flaws of the album that much more. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed with the album. There are moments when it seems that the album has everything together, but in between, it doesn’t. Doom Metal can be exciting and invigorating and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. This is where the album is lacking.

5 / 10

Mediocre

Songwriting

5

Musicianship

6

Memorability

2

Production

7
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"We Are Already Living In The End of Times" Track-listing:

1. We Are Already Living in The End of Times

2. Torment in Existence

3. Invisible Flesh

4. The Legacies

5. Time is

6. Status of the Soul

 

Astral Sleep Lineup:

Jaakko Oksanen – Bass

Rolle Heinonen – Guitars, Keyboards

Markus Heinonen – Vocals, Guitars

Jiri Pyörälä – Drums

Santeri Kangasmetsä – Guitars

 

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