Rediscovering oneself regardless of context can be very tiresome and daunting, yet ultimately quite cathartic and comprehensive task. Whether you need to set light to a certain passion anew or find new grooves to settle into, it’s always a balancing act between the concepts of authenticity and calculation. Ideally things would always just flow in their own way without further hassle, but I reckon most of us need to take a step back every now and then to evaluate what it is exactly that we want to do and achieve, how, and most importantly, why.
Novarupta, the Swedish experimental post-metal act are no strangers to reinventing themselves and keeping the flame of creative fervor alive by any means necessary, and that path has led them to some rather intriguing and fascinating results. Today, we are glad to be teaming up with the band and their label Suicide Records to present to you Novarupta‘s newest and perhaps most refined offering to date, in the form of Astral Sands. So sit back, throw precautions into the wind, and brace yourselves to face the utter sonic glory that the album in its entirety is, from the embed below;
Astral Sands is the final installment in a tetralogy of albums, and as monumental and pervasive effort as it is, fit to the task of closing the chapter thus far. As said above, Novarupta has always flourished in change and in driving themselves forward in manners unexpected and unforeseen, treating each release from a unique angle, with Astral Sands being perhaps the most gripping and holistic of them all. The band had the following to add;
‘How do you end one of the biggest undertakings in the history of Swedish extreme/alternative music? A collective involving 32 people — musicians, vocalists, artists and many more. Well, you do it with some insanity and a great deal of sisu. Astral Sands went through several versions before becoming what it finally is; an album that concludes a tetralogy spanning the four elements. Featuring both new and returning vocalists, new and returning musical motifs, the album comes off as a potpourri of what Novarupta was, is and can be, becoming an impossible album to pin down in a specific genre. Post-rock? Post-metal? Art rock? Alternative? Or maybe a mix of them all? It’s Bergmanesque. With Astral Sands Novarupta is dead. Long live Novarupta.‘
Fateful much? Yeah, and for a good reason. Astral Sands is a magnificent entirety that ebbs and flows between aerial and heartfelt moments on one end of the scope, and between massive and oddly triumphant on the other. The pristine production emphasizes on the band’s will to experiment and weave their aural webs to their personal taste in a way where even the most out there ideas fall seamlessly into place, adding more depth and unexpected nuances here and there. Featuring different vocalists on each of the songs adds a narrative element unlike any other, giving each of the tracks their own space to exist within a broader margin. Here, Novarupta really transcends the notion of a band and really becomes an art form in its own right.
Astral Sands is officially out on February 14, and can be pre-ordered here. When you’ve secured that, throw a follow to Novarupta on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on everything regarding the band going forward.
