As we Wither
Together to the Stars
TOGETHER TO THE STARS is a two-mand Black Metal band based out of Stockholm, Sweden. There was not much information on their Facebook page or Bandcamp page, so as far as bio info I fell short. "As we Wither" is the band's second album, set for release in April, 2020. The album contains six tracks.
"Respire" opens the album. It has a familiar Black Metal sound, but with obvious notes of melody. The vocals are screams, anguished wails. The guitars create this beautiful melody, as the song straddles that line between despair and hope. Those lead guitar notes towards the end push it into the light. "Bioluminescence" opens softly and with clean vocals. But then the screams come in and the guitars come to life. It's the yin to the yang. It takes a brief pause to breathe, but the madness returns. "Wither" is a beast, at over ten minutes in length. It follows a similar pattern as the first two tracks, with ravishing vocals and melodic guitars. The pause is followed by beautiful lead guitar notes. It's sort of like THE CURE crossing over to the dark side.
"Forgotten Tongue" opens with clean, solemn guitar notes and grey skies ahead. The chaos kicks in as it normally does. The vocals tear out his throat and your soul at the same time and are impossibly bitter and violent, while the lead guitar notes provide hope and salvation. "Som Hangandes fran Varlden" is a short, three-minute song where it sounds like the boys are having a little bit of fun. Spoken vocals are soft at first, but the screams return. The long pause of clean guitars coupled with anguished screams is key to the sound here. "Endeavor" closes the album, with more of the same. A slow pace at first, with picked lead guitar parts, and that one-two step of Black Metal, going from light to dark with each new note.
I love the sound and the approach here, but unfortunately the album is repetitive. They are very good at pulling emotions from their music. But, a familiar pattern is repeated in each track, despite the varying lengths. It seems like they have found what works well for them and then just stick to that formula through all six tracks. I really enjoyed it during the first two, but by the last was disappointed that things didn't change much. Even varying things a little bit would have greatly improved the album. As it is, it's good, but could be much better.
7 / 10
Good
Songwriting
Musicianship
Memorability
Production
"As we Wither" Track-listing:
1. Respire
2. Bioluminescence
3. Wither
4. Forgotten Tongue
5. Som Hangandes fran Varlden
6. Endeavor
Together to the Stars Lineup:
David Steinmarck - All Instruments
Franco Fuentes - Vocals
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