Stellar Descent – …fading…
What is a risk? The easy answer is something, anything, where one takes a chance equaling failure or reward. The complex answer is either possibility is due to the application of the idea itself. What do we mean? Well, let’s elaborate. In these times when music is so easy to create, not necessarily well, and distribute, not necessarily necessary, how to determine which result has been achieved? Has a new genre been created or another revitalized? Or has an astounding failure occurred? How do you even know? Usually when an idea gets in the way of the music itself, which must always be objectively analyzed, not merely for the idea. Ideas can love, ideas can breed, ideas can spawn, and ideas can, unfortunately, kill. This is a story about such an idea. Was it nature or was it nurture that created it? Was it rather a combination of both? We aren’t here to provide an answer to such questions, unfortunately, and we don’t think anyone could. Some things exist in this world to only do one thing, suck.
If you in any way already support this label, before you go too far and smash your head into pieces on the keyboard while attempting to start a comment box flame war, stop. Dusktone is an awesome label, it really is, and we’ve occasionally reviewed their stuff over the past decade. In fact, when the new site went live one of our most enjoyable reviews was Black Hate’s Los Tres Mundos, so much so that this guy (editor), bought the limited digipak. So before you hate on our hate, get it straight, Dusktone is great. Regardless, as you should know, or at least respect if you disagree, with all greatness comes weakness. Usually this happens when one’s vision gets in the way of objectivity, when you assume something is the next epiphany because you’re blinded by years of experience. See too much of the same and anything different is suddenly appealing, and becomes a risk. It’s a real danger, such risks, because after you’ve heard it all, your mind can start to interpret things as splendid when in fact they’re just plain awful. Here we are again…
Before this review goes off, please note, we’re not dealing out agony on Stellar Descent as a person, but as a musician. Anythony W. is a one-man interpretation of black metal from the wilds of Canada. As you can assume, he fuses his native land’s atmosphere with classic black metal. Honestly, thinking of the genre’s roots, Canada is a prime location, but Stellar Descent’s general focus is on natural beauty, not misanthropy. Now, this in itself, though against that original, hateful sound, is ripe with potential. Melancholic beauty is what a lot of post-black metal is about. Sadly, in spite of the fact that Stellar Descent’s earlier work is quite accessible, though derivative, …fading… is another matter entirely. It’s a huge risk that lead to disaster incarnate. The entire thematic focus of this release, all done in a single track over an hour, is…migrating geese… Read that again, because it’s totally serious. In fact, seeing that in our thousands of promos was why it was selected, because it was either going to be a mind-blowing application of black metal or just so horrendous you had to tell the world. …fading… sadly, is a story that must be told, forever. Interestingly the issue isn’t the idea. To his credit it’s incredibly daring, it’s the application of it that makes it so god awful. Stellar Descent drags what should be roughly 3-5 minutes in one song over a damn hour, and the production is about as good as early 1990s kvlt bvllshit black metal, in fact it might be worse because the patterning features almost no variety. The guitars are brittle and atmospheric playing practically the same chords on loop, the vocals scream into the ether, but then, there they are, samples of geese hooting as they take flight. Hearing black metal wails with geese is a sound you can’t even fathom until it’s experienced, preferably alone where no one will ever know you listened to …fading… We can appreciate the risk, but the end result is so ridiculous it’s almost unbelievable. Perhaps with more variety and crafted by better hands it could have been amazing, but in the end it’s lo-fi black metal with water fowl.
Stellar Descent Official Facebook
Written by Stanley Stepanic
Stellar Descent: …fading…
Dusktone
1.6 / 5
