Band: Am Himmel
Album: As Eternal As The Starless Kingdom
Country: Netherlands
Genre: Transcendental Black/Doom?
Release Date: June 30th, 2022
Label: Burning World Records
Author: Michael Litteral
I didn’t find this album; this album found me. I forget the specific context, but I wound up downloading this promo on a whim, essentially picking a piece of paper out of a hat, and my God, was I blown away right from the get-go with Am Himmel’s As Eternal As The Starless Kingdom.
The moment you press play, you are transported to otherworldly soundscapes that stack layers upon layers on top of one another, and as much as it fits, it makes each layer known so you can feel how textured the air really is. What I’m about to say might be an awful example, but it’s like an accordion? Like, how layered and textured one instrument can make a solo piece of music? Idk, this album is hard to describe for a metalhead like myself, but we try new things!
With its slow tempo and droning notes, one can not help but fall into its trance. Add in some buried vocals that echo out into oblivion, and baby, we have ourselves an absolute home run! The notes pulsate in and out with each breath the music makes. It radiates something vital yet toxic at the same time. Funny enough, kind of like the sun. We need sunlight in order to live, but at the same time, the sun can kill us with its deadly UV rays. Good thing our destination is The Starless Kingdom.
Through despair and constant movement, which means no rest, even when its desperately needed, we can feel the agony and yearning that comes from the spirit of the album, but we must continue, for the time and dedication that is put in will set us free and come back to us in amounts of dark matter that is beyond our wildest dreams.
And as the album ends, movement ceases as well. We’ve finally made it. Now rest dreary one. Its all over now…
As Eternal As The Starless Kingdom was released on June 30th, 2022 through Burning World Records. You can own this metamorphic masterpiece digitally and/or on vinyl.
Biography: Michael Litteral is just your friendly neighborhood metalhead who can’t seem to find his way out of the black, and he’s just fine with that.
