Because the whole world was clamoring for it, here is a mashup of emo drone (Mineral, etc.) and black metal. There is a bit of a shoegazey mist as well, but this isn't that far off what might have happened had Emperor heard the first Engine Kid release and said, "Ooh, we have to try that!"

As Bright As the Stars Celestial Ascension (self-released)

The sound is muted, or perhaps simply subsumed by the shimmering scrim provided by keyboards and guitars. There's a lot of lovely doom and emo anthemitis bashing about behind that. And some words. I'm not sure what language they're in. Doesn't really matter.

To get everything in its proper place, As Bright As the Stars considers itself "post-black metal and blackgaze." So, yeah. That's about right. It is performed solely by H, who is also in the Indonesian band Dusk in the Silence. And like his fellow one-man blackgaze artist Autrest, the music transcends its roots and blasts its way to something totally new.

These songs are long, grandiose expressions. By all rights they should be ponderous and turgid, but they retain a tight, kinetic propulsion that does, in fact, lead one to think of the infinite. I don't know how long this has been in the works (the only other ABATS release was part of a split EP in 2019), but every minute was worth it. Glorious and seismic. To the stars, indeed.

Jon Worley