Thursday 17 May 2012

Born Again Nihilist 'Back to the Bog' E.P. Review- 8/10!!


By definition a Nihilist would be considered, at the very least, a cynic. Who more perfect then to review our music!? Because of the cynical nature of the Nihilist we felt that this should be a great test and we're delighted to say we've passed! We are totally humbled by the strength of the review Born Again Nihilist has given us and we're happy to present it to you in its entirety below:

  " Astralnaut are from Armagh in Northern Ireland, and are formed from the ashes of Oceanfall, Third Harvest and Stoned Messiah, and 'Back To The Bog is their debut EP.Describing themselves as 'hard rocking stoner blues', the band meld the aggression of old school doom outfits like St.Vitus and Trouble with classic rock elements and more progressive flourishes that, much like  fellow northerners Speedking , is a perfect marriage of songwriting nous and sheer brute force.

 The opening title track sets out their stall perfectly, a bruising bluesy stomper with an uptempo central riff, with a pleasingly murky but still crisp guitar tone that lends the material on offer here a hint of darkness that many bands of a similar ilk lack .The production throughout is of a thoroughly high standard, allowing each instrument room to breath in the mix, with a warm, live feel that lends the EP a sense of intimacy , despite the crushing heaviness.

 'G.U.P.I' is a  perfect distillation of the band's essence, a monolithic stoner number that makes The Sword sound like One Direction, such is it's sense of groove and weight, but with a brilliantly unexpected melodic detour , introduced by a clever sample and not a million miles away from Pink Floyd's earthier moments that showcases the band as not only clever, innovative songwriters, but also musicians of some considerable talent.Closer 'Live For Nothing' carries this further, veering  between red eyed doom rock and more inventive chord progressions a that recall , bizarrely , Opeth's earlier , more doom-centric records.

 Overall, this is a deeply impressive debut from a band that can only continue to get better.In fact, our only gripe with it really is that isn't longer.(arse kissing you say?Nahhhhhh).The band clearly have a place in Ireland's small but ever more prevalent stoner/doom scene, as well as abroad, and hopefully a full length is on it's way.Top notch stuff.

 Rating:8/10
 For fans of : Orange Goblin, Horn Of The Rhino, Speedking, Two Tales Of Woe, Reverend Bizarre
 Listen to/Buy it here: http://astralnaut.bandcamp.com/album/back-to-the-bog-ep
 Stephen O ' Connor
 bornagainnihilist@gmail.com "

Much thanks to Stephen O'Connor for the brilliant review. Worry not any Nihilist's out there we have already begun recording our second E.P., with some luck it should hopefully see an early Summer release! 

Born Again Nihilist came about in late 2010 to satisfy two guy's need to write about what matters to them, be it; music, film, comics, books, opinions, whatever! 
Check out Born Again Nihilist's blog or follow them on facebook:

The Vinyl Review – 'Back to the Bog' 8.5/10!


The guys at The Vinyl Review have reviewed our début E.P. 'Back to the Bog'. We scored 8.5 out of 10!! We're delighted! So much love and respect to The Vinyl Review, you have good taste!!
Heres a copy of the review:




The Vinyl Review is a place to find reviews on unsigned bands as well as signed bands, record stores, shows, and VINYL. They listen to Metal, punk, ambient, drone, noise, screamo and of course rock!
Check them out:


Tuesday 8 May 2012

'Back to the Bog' on YouTube

For complete ease of access you can now hear the full E.P. on YouTube! So sit back and enjoy stoner metal as its meant to be enjoyed! High!

Astralnaut -
Back to the Bog

Behold

G.U.P.I.

Live for Nothing


Spread the word and share your favorite tune with your friends! 
Thanks

Thomas

Monday 7 May 2012

DOWNLOAD 'BACK TO THE BOG' E.P. NOW!


We present to you our recently finished art work for our first E.P. 'Back to the Bog', with its arrival comes the ability to download the 4 tracks for £4 from: http://astralnaut.bandcamp.com/album/back-to-the-bog-ep



We want to extend our thanks to all who helped us through the process of recording of 'Back to the Bog', Beano Kinneas for engineering vocals,
Adam Smithers Smith for engineering drums,
Clark Phillips for mixing and mastering.
Daniel Moore for photos and art work


For anyone who's interest in purchasing an actual CD copy of the E.P. They will soon be available for pre-order!

Many thanks


Thomas



Thursday 3 May 2012

Back to the... studio!


After 6 months hard work and with our first E.P. 'Back to the Bog' for imminent release, for download and CD pre-order, we decided to reward ourselves. With a return trip to the studio!
A taste of what's to come and a sneak peek into our return to the recording process:

Drum tracks going down for the next series of tunes.



So more doom laden riff monstrosities coming your way! But fret not should you be impatient! Our first E.P. can be heard right here: http://soundcloud.com/astralnautband

Rocking tunes to keep you entertained! So let us know what you think and tell your friends!

ASTRALNAUT

Studio ventures

Well it has not been long since we finished the recording process for our first E.P.(soon to be released) and today we commence recording on number 2. We all very excited here at the Astralnaut camp and look forward to completing the work. Hopefully the new E.P. will be available for purchase by the end of July/beginning of August.

We shall post some sneak peak pictures of our next studio endeavor as we complete each stage, first up, drum tracking. Fun.

Its hectic times as we also prepare for the live launch of the band on the 18th of this month in Omagh with Kasper Rosa and Return To The Surface (other gigs have been and are being booked so keep an eye out, we may be coming to a watering hole near you) and the first E.P. is almost complete and ready for pre-order/download. We shall keep you all informed when the time comes.

Other than that i would personally like extend my gratitude to everyone that has supported our online presence thus far and those who will in the future. I hope to see everyone of you at a gig soon, thank you all very much.

Pearse

Wednesday 2 May 2012

ASTRALNAUT !! -Launch into the stratosphere!



The day has come our online presence has now been reviled!
Six months hard work is now coming to fruition and we've now launched into the universe as Astralnaut!

ASTRALNAUT - Born from the ashes of OceanFall, Third Harvest and Stoned Messiah. Intertwined with an unspoken bond of sheer riffage and groove they constituted themselves as ASTRALNAUT !! Raining down as a result of the convention came stomping audible rapture in the vein of STONER ROCK / DOOM METAL! A homage to earthly deities of worship and inspiration such as ROCKING TUNES, whiskey, weed and BEER! 
With the imminent release of their début EP, 'BACK TO THE BOG' it will set the paramount precedent of what the band represents, the dominance of hard rocking stoner blues! Prepare yourselves for ASTRALNAUT !!


There's more in the pipeline! Watch this space! Lots more content to come with inside band info and knowledge here!

Check out Astralnaut on facebook here:

Listen to our first EP 'Back to the Bog' here:

Look for an upcoming gig in your local area:


Share and Like to your hearts content!

Sinisterly

ASTRALNAUT