Review Summary: Melancholy....and happiness?
DSBM has always been very hit or miss for me personally. Xasthur, Leviathan and Forgotten Tomb in particular were bands that really stuck with me. The extremely lofi production mixed with the thundering, melancholic riffs and vocals that sounded like a ghost screaming at you through the static. Other bands such as Striborg and Nortt bored the living hell out of me. Their drawn out style just makes me want to sleep quite honestly. Zvyozdny Khram is a brand new DSBM band from Russia and their self titled debut album draws influences from all over the board.
Obviously I wouldn’t have mentioned DSBM if that wasn’t the primary style of music that Zvyozdny Khram was putting out! Yes, what we have here is an extremely haunting style of DSBM that harkens back to the glory days of bands like, you guessed it, Xasthur and Leviathan. Those are the clear influences on this album. The main difference is the inclusion of a haunting dark folk sound equipped with plenty of acoustic passages that will probably remind you of Agalloch and early Ulver. The two styles fit together perfectly and give the album the feeling of wanting to off yourself in the middle of a deep, dark forest.
The riffage here kind of takes a backseat, but don’t you worry bros, it's still very much present and helps to create a stunning atmosphere. Honestly the riffs are very much inspired by blackgaze which is weird for a DSBM album. There’s a twinkly vibe to them that doesn’t usually gel with an album that is very much depressing in nature. Be that as it may, the two opposing sounds come together to make one big suicidal beauty.
I’ll be the first one to tell you that this style of black metal isn’t for everyone. Some find it boring and some simply don’t want the bleak vibes in their lives, which is understandable. Zvyozdny Khram manages to blend all of the influences to where that bleakness is just a bit more digestible. Don’t get me wrong, this is most definitely DSBM at its core and it sounds like it, but the ability to blend in those dark folk and blackgaze sounds into the mix helps calm down the depression just enough for most black metal fans to enjoy.
