Novarupta - Astral Sands - Metal Epidemic

Novarupta – Astral Sands
Release Date: 14th February 2025
Label: Suicide Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Post-Metal
FFO: The Ocean, Pelican, Dvne.
Review By: Mark Young

With the 4^th release from Novarupta, the band notes that this completes a journey that commenced with 2019’s Disillusioned Fire (also their debut release) and this, Astral Sands, is the final chapter of their elemental tetralogy.

There is a gentle air around the opening track, Ensamstående Enastående, acting as the settler with an instrumental piece that ebbs and flows with a constant drum that anchors proceedings. Acting as a settling piece before Seven Collides announces itself with a bent refrain and we are off. On my first listen, I didn’t take a lot from this, but diving back in, this time with headphones, the full scope becomes apparent. Vocally it leans into post-rock where the singer actually sings, and for someone who has dined on more extreme forms of music it’s a welcome change. When the riffs come in, they breathe life into it, bringing with it an urgency that pushes this forward. There’s shoegaze in there, and the drums keep their good work going. There is a lot of good stuff in here, and it really acts as the basic template for what the rest of the album sounds like. The grasp on how to make really affecting music is there for all to hear, Seven Collides comes with a chorus that is ready-made for singing live, it has that uplifting feel to it (you will know exactly what I mean when you hear it). There are some longer tracks on here, and I maintain that it takes a special talent to write a long song and keep it interesting. Endless Joy fits that bill, with mournful strings bringing it forth until the band comes in. This time, the vocals are given a little bit of grit and that makes all the difference here. The strings handled incredibly well, matching the heavier material, and together they combine to great effect. It’s an album of beauty that has the capacity to make your heart ache, the piano intro to The Clay Keeps along with the vocal line that is delivered with it will cause goosebumps, as the song progresses it just keeps lifting and building to a point where you are disappointed that it ended.

Moving further into the latter stages we are gifted the final two – Cosmographia, and Now We Are Here (At The Inevitable End). Cosmographia comes in, building in layers and again with stunning cut-glass vocals which are just top class. There is a driving central riff here which is simple enough but good enough to provide that heavy touch that is required. It’s a song you will be able to return to again and again, if only to soak in the brilliance of it. It also means that there is now pressure on Now We Are Here not to fuck it up. It doesn’t, but it does pale when held against those that came before it. It’s probably the most standard sounding song here, and maybe that was the idea. It zips along at a decent pace, the vocals descending into screams, the guitar punching away and then done, gone. If that is the last album, then Novarupta have delivered a fantastic swansong.