With just 13,000 followers on Facebook, ASTRONOID remain one of Metal's best kept secrets. During their early years, they dubbed their sound "Dream Thrash," due to the dual nature of their rapid drumbeats and furious riffing, over a bed of ethereal, dreamy vocals that are often a bit hidden in the background. The Metal Archives calls them Post Metal/Rock/Shoegaze. Genre labels be damned, but they do help the listener gain some footing, and some perspective. I've been a fan for a while now, and their new album promises a slightly different sound. They have a new drummer, but I was unable to find out his name. "Stargod" is the new album here.

The album has ten songs, and "Embark" is first. Out of the gates comes a lush keyboard and guitar sound, and melodies shoot into the skies like fireworks. The vocals might be the best part of their sound, and they are rich and harmonized. They are still just a bit in the background, but it helps them stay dreamy. "Love Weapon" begins with a firmer and heavier riff, but glorious melodies ride into the battle of infantry on horseback and slaughter the army. The lead breaks are outstanding, equaling the vocal melodies. The title track features fat keyboard notes and a mix of magic and wonder. The catchy, jovial beat could easily be something you hear on the radio, and the band delivers the chorus like a speeding freight train. This is one of the best songs I have heard this year, bar none.

"Third Shot" is captivating. Keyboards play a crucial role on the album, and here, the trifecta of keys, guitars, and vocals each add their own layer of melody to the energetic, hasty and catchy song.  They are unabashed in this approach as well. "Dream Protocol '88" is aptly titled, because it carries me through a time machine back to the 1980's, when melodic music ruled the airwaves. It has a darker sound, but also one that shines brighter than a beacon that guides ships to the shore during a storm. The melodies are quite linear, but that doesn't take away from their emotional impact. "Beneath the Lights" is another winner, combining lush keyboard notes with melodic guitar notes. Add gorgeous vocals, and you have a memorable song. For some reason, it reminds me summer nights in my youth around a campfire that just never seemed to end.

"Depressed Mode" has a firmer backbone but also one where the melodies hit like the wonder of stars on a clear night. The bass work is as well done as the keyboards and vocal harmonies, and this is a song that begs you to sing along. "Vicennium" has entering vocals over a bed of supporting keyboards that is just beautiful. There is something monumental about their sound that is hard to put into words. It just moves me on a deep emotional level. "Arrival" is the final song, and it's as if the band saved all of the hidden magic they had buried in their pockets for this last melodic push. The drumbeats are fast and infectious, and the melodies shine brightly once again. It's funny…the title of the song describes the feeling I have when listening…like I finally arrived at my destiny.

This album stands as a testament to how metal's ironclad backbone can hold up something far brighter than despair or aggression. It can carry joy. Here, the riffs are still muscular, the drums still hit with thunderous conviction, but instead of summoning darkness, they blaze with sunlight. What's most remarkable is how it embraces melody, harmony, and a sense of fun that most bands in this genre wouldn't dare approach. In a genre often defined by gloom and fury, this record is the outlier that proves heaviness doesn't have to mean hopelessness. It's a joyful roar, a masterclass in making something heavy feel light on its feet, and it burns like love.