Space, the final frontier… well it is as far as Starless Domain are concerned. For some who decide to take a trip to the fringes of the universe with them it was not the easiest of journeys. The US based trio who share duties in Boreal, Stellar Descent & Twilight Falls arrived on earth with their 58-minute repetitive astral mind-fuck Eos in 2019. It was definitely an acquired taste and did not go down very well with us on review although I actually loved it myself. We also encountered them via their split with Tome Of The Unreplenished which fared slightly better and in between the 2 they independently released Alma. Now that has been picked up by Aesthetic Death for wider appraisal and falling into my sweaty palms, I am able to fly off to that place where space is deep and try and get my own head around what is going on.

Well those who don’t like overly repetitive music should be warned Alma is one track spinning out over 44:42 and again it is a total assault on the senses. Drifting in on static and spacey type ambience things take form slowly. For those wanting to know how these frequencies are achieved it is via DSI Tetr4, Yamaha TG-33 and Roland Jp-8000. From here we get hammer smashing drum blows and what sounds like an organ emulated via synth adding some wispy undertones. They say “in space no one can here you scream” but they certainly can here. The musical soundscape is torn asunder by JR’s piercing screams and they really are a fascinating highlight of the recording, full-blooded, piercing and utterly anguished, howling in discontent. The pace gradually builds up, the repetitiveness not a problem for me as it is all so thick and layered there is plenty to focus on and occupy your mind with. The organ rises sounding like a mad and demented overlord is playing some sort of twisted game as the screams of torture and dementia resound over an ever more jarring and baroque soundscape. This is downright scary stuff and strikes a bit as some sort of cosmic explosion between Darkspace and Lychgate; if you can imagine that.

At around the 15-minute mark when you think this cannot get anymore insane, we suddenly have the drumming and other frenzied accoutrements dropping out for a passage of rumbling fuzzy distortion and ambience. Make the most of it there’s not time to make a cup of tea but you can certainly brace yourself and grab a much-needed breath before everything plummets back in again. The organ sound is b-movie overload and if he were listening to this Ed D Wood Jr would be curled up in the corner wrapped in angora sweater gibbering like a nervous wreck. This is space littered with cosmic debris, it is far from empty. We are being shook by the debris of an imploded planet whilst caught in an asteroid storm with a black hole looming in the background. Things get so intense they border on giving the listener a panic attack, claustrophobia is crafted as this universe is gripped in the carnage of uncreation at the hands of a malevolent race. I should mention those piercing screams accompany us the whole way and just when you think this can’t possibly get even more manic, it does and there is 20 minutes left! Hang on for dear life.

If you have ever wondered what it would feel like if your brain exploded, listening to Alma is about as close as you can get without being actually shot in the head. The bludgeoning force and shrill sounds just overlap continuously and suddenly you are aware of some rising choral sounds behind it adding a further spectral and deeply unsettling element. Relief comes with 5 minutes left as we fade out the ballast and bring things down, the void now emptying out, the black hole having syphoned the debris into another dimension.

This really is an experience but be warned once play is pressed you simply cannot press stop until the very last note and you are in for a nerve-shredding musical ride like no other. Welcome to the event horizon!

Extra half mark added for the sheer audacity of it all.

(8.5/10 Pete Woods)

https://www.facebook.com/starlessdomain

https://starlessdomain.bandcamp.com/album/alma

https://www.aestheticdeath.com/releases.php?mode=singleitem&albumid=4754