Despite pushing out a couple of demos in the late noughties, it wasn’t until 2017 that Prometheus birthed a full album. Rather than steal fire from the gods, this particular Prometheus borrow contemporary dense atmospherics from Cruciamentum et al, melding them with traditional blackened death metal tropes and cursory winks to second wave black metal.

On this second album, this Greek trio display a knack for layered guitar melodies and riffs on opener “Gravitons Passing Through Yog-Sothoth”, seamlessly interwoven with cavernous vocals and spooky sounding synths that simulate the cold vastness of space. The dark horror continues with “Azathoth”, introducing some old school death metal riffage, breaking into considered yet torrid melodic playing, with ritualistic chants closing the song out. “Astrophobos” follows, plunging us into a further nine minutes of Lovecraftian nightmares.

So far so good, but it’s worth noting that the first three tracks can be found on the EP released earlier this year, though they have all been reworked for this album. The first “new” song is the title track, signalling a change of direction with urgent pace and atmospherics akin to second wave black metal. This is in stark contrast to the occasionally suffocating aura of the first three tracks.

“Ανεμοι των Αστρων” (“Wind Of the Stars) provides an ambient spacey interlude. You may hear some flute in there, but despite the band name there’s no sign of Michael Fassbender doing the fingering. Closer “Crimson Tower Of The Headless God” brings us back to the second-wave atmospherics, with a hint of that old school riffage mentioned earlier.

Those final three (well, two proper) tracks show clear progression from the opening trio, with marginally sharper focus in the songwriting, and less suffocating atmospherics. I’d have to conclude that this really is a tale of two EPs rather than an album in its own right, competent as it is in delivery.

(7/10 Doogz)

https://www.facebook.com/Prometheus-470099489729898

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/resonant-echoes-from-cosmos-of-old