One of the biggest revealations of 2018 is the band Súl Ad Astral

One of the biggest revealations of 2018 for me is the band Súl Ad Astral. This is the international duo divided between New Zealand and USA, and to say the truth I never heard of them before, even though that Oasis is already their third full-length, so the surprise is even bigger. Súl Ad Astral were formed in 2011 by multi-instrumentalist Stephen Fortune (ex-Abstract Survival), the project was soon completed by American vocalist and lyricist Michael Rumple (Desiderium, Flood District, Lorelei, Skyforest,...), who joined in 2012. The self-titled debut album was released in 2012, then a split with Isle Of Skye, The Observant Darkness - The Darkness Observant, followed in 2013 and a year later the sophomore album Afterglow. Now after four years of silence we are granted with a proper masterwork named Oasis, and this is really an oasis in this desert of so many uninspired blackened metal releases that we got bombarded with on a daily basis.

Súl Ad Astral is different, still it can be roughly labeled as blackgaze, but in reality it's way more than just that. The music of this act is simply transcedental, such a cohesive, lush and flowing blend of many forms of blackened and atmospheric metal. It's true that Alcest, Lantlôs or Woods Of Desolation might be their primal influences, but the two on Oasis offer their own kind of such a mature, enigmatic and technically perfect work of sonic art that it simply draws the listener into this world which is an assemblage of long, contemplative and emphatic passages on the thoughts and feelings around change and loss. Oasis is an adventure, it's as emotional as it's intense, it can be extreme in one moment and deeply sensitive in another.


Súl Ad Astral are a true revelation in the field of everything blackened in metal music.

Track Listing

• In Dreams, Reborn
• Float
• Pennies Down The Infinity Well
• Last Regret
• Inaction And Consequence
• Hindsight
• This Broken Ideal
• Oasis

Additional Details

Label: Flowing Downward

Genre: Metal

Language: English

Run Time: 58:45 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 01/17/20

UPC: 703694706356