The third instalment of Panzerfaust’s sweeping Suns of Perdition journey kicks off in typically bleak and suffocating style with a ten minute spiral into purgatory that reminds us what we’ve been missing since the last release. Not that we’ve had to wait that long. The first part discharged itself upon us back in 2019 and the follow up only a year later. That’s some impressive output right there – and can I venture that the 33 minute opening salvo ‘I: War, Horrid War’ and the follow-ups at 45 minutes each have made this all the more enjoyable rather than some vast extended opus sometimes favoured by black metal bands that no one ever gets round to listening from start to finish anyway. As if to illustrate this is a band that does things its own way, the album immediately begins to build some fairly intense atmosphere with distinctly undistorted, siren guitars and rolling drums that mushroom into a smoky chorus before dissipating back again into darkly hypnotic percussion and strafing vocals.
If you’re still catching up with the Panzerfaust journey, it might be worth saying now that this is not some war themed Marduk-a-like. There are no howitzers or rocket propelled anti-tank grenades to be found – even though the experience does sometimes feel like cowering in your very own shell crater on a bombed-out First World War no-man’s land. That said, there are some distinctly militaristic tones to the incredible, coiling drum patterns which alone are worth a listen. But the power and the fury builds gradually rather than trying to boot your door down and melt your face in the first ten seconds of every track. It’s more a melting of the mind as deftly delivered clockwork riffs weave themselves at a snail’s pace over not-to-be-outdone, pulsing basslines.
There is a flowing, almost tribal feel to the Panzerfaust sound – here more slowly grinding than ever before. Restrained layering of sounds, peel back elements to allow the atmosphere to build – which very often amplifies the artful drumming of Alexander Kartashov even more. The atmospheric scope of the album grows track by track – from the Eastern vocals, the background choral chants and the addictive, 80s vibe of The Far Bank at the River Styx. By the final track you’re wondering what they could have done with another 30 minutes. But the best entertainers always leave you wanting more, right?
The question remains whether you’re getting anything from this you didn’t get from the first two parts? ‘War, Horrid War’ was undoubtedly the opening barrage in pace and sound – albeit with those now familiar experimental and progressive elements and a final 13 minute epic that heralded what was to come next. ‘Render Unto Eden’ (the second part) was even more ambitious in scope – both jarring and delightfully atmospheric at the same time. Rather than trying to top that incredible experience for sheer intensity, The Astral Drain takes us on its own path while losing little from the Panzerfaust signature sound. A slow, calculating burn of an album that claws its way through your consciousness at a steady pace but one that can lift you off your feet one minute, then leaving you to freefall the next. While a part of me wonders if it’s possible to ever match the heady heights of the last release, what Panzerfaust have done here is take a markedly different path – slowing down the relentless charge into an introspective descent. Both the previous efforts in this series have been a slow burn and, as before, I suspect the true gravity of what we have here is still unfolding and will reward repeated listens. Here’s waiting for the next and final chapter of the Suns saga and more from this hugely talented outfit.
(8/10 Reverend Darkstanley)
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