Info
- Band(s): Cosmic Burial
- Label(s): Purity Through Fire
- Release Format(s): CD
- Release Year: 2023
- Review Date: June 13, 2023
- Author(s): Colin McNamara
Cosmic Burial is the newest project from solo Black Metal artist V.V. of Germany who is relatively unknown, but has quite a few bands under his belt. Known by some for the Dodsferd like Valosta Varjoon with its semi Black n’ Roll rhythms and the wintery Mortualia styled Nachtig, these German lyric driven songs are full of the harshness and beauty of Black Metal and general, more of the Norwegian style vs the more modern Symphonic Black Metal likes of that such as Cradle of Filth. Recently in 2019 V.V. started another project called Cosmic Burial which is a bit different than his other works. All instrumental and epic tracks (though those who know Nachtig are very familiar with his epic work), and the result is kind of a mix of both projects. It is a lot more ethereal and atmospheric, shrouded in mystery (much like V.V. who trades his corpsepainted look for more of a Gaera shrouded hood style). It takes a lot to get into it especially without the vocals but the result is more ‘Starmourner’ Ghost Bath without the vocals and less piano/ keyboard melodic sections. ‘Far Away from Home’ is less wintery and chilling than Nachtig by V.V., and certainly doesn’t have the swagger of Valosta Varjoon or the attitude, but it still features some wonderous tone much like gazing at galaxies through a telescope.
The only big struggle with this album is aside from 4 very lengthy tracks, much of the song structures are the same, and without vocals to add depth or variety, those who don’t really dig Atmospheric Instrumental Metal may find themselves bored with this. The hiss of distortion in the guitars on ‘Arrival’ along with the ethereal keyboards is exciting at first, but then 6 minutes in they can tend to wear a bit. Judging from the other projects by V.V., this is probably his most melodic output, lifting the fog of Nachtig and showing listeners what an unclouded version of the project could be, opting for a view from space vs a wintery trek through nature. Some sections the keyboards almost feel like there is a bit of a choir feeling to it, so the ethereal elements are really brought to life, but then to add in the riffs and drumming which seems a little bored or monotonous in their one tone plods, the ethereal excitement is lost a little. Fast forward to a track like ‘Solitude’ and there is still a bit of that same feeling. Thankfully, V.V. mixes things up a bit with the riffs and adds a bit more groove and melody to the music, option for almost a Melo Black route with the way the riffs go while touching on Depressive Black Metal territory. Here the music seems more lively despite the repetition, and listeners will probably appreciate it more rather than space out to the music. The bass is more audible too but doesn’t feel in competition with the distortion of the guitars. There is a bit more aggression here too with the riffs, but not so much it feels like a different project or the song is out of place.
‘Starseed’ is probably the most balanced track. Again, very spacey but the volume of loud vs. quiet sections seems balanced. The keyboards and choir sounding bits are more prominent and add more dramatic effect to the music while V.V. adds in the quiet guitar notes. While this track doesn’t quite have the headbanging oomph that some of the others do, it does end the album on a somber note the way Atmospheric Black Metal should. Overall, ‘Far Away from Home’ does feel like a stretch out of the stratosphere for V.V. as the music is semi-grounded in his other work, but rather a new adventure. Some might cast it off as too ethereal or not engaging enough for an instrumental band compared to the likes of Animals as Leaders or Liquid Tension Experiment, but despite a rather repetitive approach like Deathred, the instrumental work is still engaging and accomplishes the effect that V.V. goes for by creating a spacey, yet not quite Darkseed spacey cold, tone for listeners to enjoy. This is a bit of an alien listen for most Black Metal fans, but those who enjoy the lengthy releases of Nachtig might enjoy a less shrouded version of the music, despite the lack of vocals. Cosmic Burial may seem simplistic, but there is quite a bit going on if one is able to sit through the full 11 minutes of a track.
Cosmic Burial
- Country: Germany
- Style: Black Metal
- Links: Facebook, Bandcamp, Spotify
