ASTARTE - DEMONIZED CD
Yeah we saved the best one for last. This release, which is the fifth by this female trio from Athens, Greece, is are favorite for 2007. From the opening pounding of "Mutter Astarte", you realize that this is going to be intense and incrediable. It's like being dragged kicking and screaming down to a torture chamber of horrors, in a good way of course. Tristessa's vocals are pure demonic. You wonder how something sounding so horrifying could come from one so beautiful. And the title track tells all, "Fire in her eyes. Her beauty hide the signs. She devil female disguise. Innocence has died". Add to that the blackened death sounds backing her up on here. "God I Hate Them All" is like the soundtrack to an artillery barrage, provided by the percussion talents of guest drummer Ice and guess guitarist Lycon. (As of now they are perminant members of ASTARTE) "Lost" is more destruction to your senses, if you are weak. And since this CD's release in the early part of 2007, I've read some unflattering reviews done by men who can't grasp the greatness of this. They are the weak wet shit butt pissers who dismiss this as just a female fronted act in the Black/Death Metal genre. I see this release as something sinister. Musically this is like a firestorm on the horizon coming to feed it's hungry flames on your flesh. On the back of the CD insert there's a final line comment from the band which reads as follows; "A Big Fuck Off To All Of Those Who Tried To Take Advantage Of Us and Do Us Harm We Are Still Here Alive and Kicking"
And now onto the incrediable parts, this release features Tristessa performing vocal duets with a perverbial "who's who" of underground metal guests. "Lycon", which opens with the howl of a wolf from far off, features MAYHEM's own Attila Csihar sharing the mike with Tristessa. Actually Attila sounds better on this song than he did on this years MAYHEM release, Ordo Ad Chao. Obviously Tristessa has a way of bringing out the best in others like on the song "Queen of the Damned". Here she pairs up with Henri Sattler of GOD DETHRONED. Henri almost comes off sounding as if he's in worship mode and why not, Tristessa is a Demoness! Another guest, Nicolas s.i.c. Maiis of LLOTH, adds some gutteral monster vocals to the song "God Among Men". The fourth guest vocal duet is obviously the most interesting to say the least. It is on the song, "Black At Heart" where Tristessa pairs up with Angela Gossow of ARCH ENEMY. Here we have the two great goddesses of Extreme Metal Destruction on one hell raising track. It's as if these sisters of evil are standing upon a mountain top looking down into a valley of bloodied and blackened bodies who they have just slaughtered with their bare hands.
It was at this point of the CD that I told myself months ago, when I first listened to it, that this was going to be on my best of 2007 list. And as time went by, whenever I wanted to listen to something which would share my anger, hatred, and disgust for things around me. I put this release into the stereo and joined in on the chaos as the music charged out of my speakers. And there's a song on here, "Black Star", which conveys that feeling. "Feel the tension in your mind, black is the sign. A sign that fades into, into your eyes. tghe sin was never clear, a statue born of fear. As things were never clear". Well listening to "Demonized" makes alot of things clear to say the least.
http://www.myspace.com/astartetristessa
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