STELLAR VOID is a newly formed project of Sigmund and Melaer, both members of Gothic Metal band INNER MISSING. They are from St. Petersburg, Russia and with STELLAR VOID, they play extreme symphonic Metal. "Chrysalis" is the debut EP and it is an independent release. The EP has a length of about 19 minutes.

Alexandra Krasnova and Pavel Krasnov have been very active as Melaer and Sigmund with their Gothic Metal project INNER MISSING as they released eight full-length albums within 10 years, and actually their album number nine just appears at the end of this week. However, their side project STELLAR VOID is very different in terms of the music and the set up. While Sigmund is the sole vocalist in INNER MISSING, vocal duties are shared in STELLAR VOID and this opens up new possibilities for the sound. While the music of INNER MISSING is a solid Gothic Metal sound, the music of STELLAR VOID may be best described as extreme symphonic Metal, although I think it has modern Black Metal vibes all over it.

"Shifting Sands" is the opener and it starts strongly with spine-chilling and powerful riffing, bombastic orchestral arrangements, hammering blast-beats, and growling vocals at the lower end of the guttural range. There are frequent tempo and rhythm changes and piano breaks as the clean female vocals of Melaer kick in and start dominating the track. Melaer provides a large range of clean vocals from low cleans up to high sopranos. The growling and clean vocals harmonize very well when both perform together. "Shifting Sands" is a grim track with dark melodies and dissonant textures and it is the official lyric video with the YouTube link given below.

The title song "Chrysalis" continues with the bombastic sound and with the blast-beat and double-bass thunderstorm. The tempo changes remain, although not as abrupt as in the opener. Highlight is Melaer's vocal contribution, which drives the song forward. Altogether, the song is more guitar oriented with the symphonic arrangements being more in the background. "The Oath" is even more driven by the guitar riffing while the vocals are a duet of the cleans and the growls for most of the time, with the growls staying in the background. The melodies are dark and grim, but epic to some extent and the atmosphere is intensified by the symphonic arrangements including an opera choir contribution near the end of the track.

"The Seer" has a melancholic start at measured tempo, but there is a seamless transition towards a more aggressive and faster sound pretty soon. Some of the melodies have neoclassical character, while the drums relentlessly hammer the blast-beats and the double-bass. The female vocals are again the dominant component while the male vocals are in the background. The 19 minutes playing time come to an end with a short orchestral sequence.

The new project of Sigmund and Melaer is a very exciting one. STELLAR VOID creates a dark atmospheric extreme Metal sound and it is an interesting combination of different genres ranging from symphonic Metal to Death and Black Metal. "Chrysalis" is grim with a lot of aggression, it has a bombastic sound, and the melodies are epic and sometimes melancholic. One feature of the EP are the permanent changes in tempo and the complex song structures. One of the highlights are the clean vocals of Melaer. The songwriting is very mature and the EP is well produced. The only downside is that "Chrysalis" is not a full-length album. However, if this is a teaser for the things to come, extreme Metal fans can look forward to future releases of STELLAR VOID.