R.Y.N. — Astral Death

What the acronym means is a mystery, I do know that R.Y.N. is from the UK and consists of Pete Burn (Marzuraan) and Lee Glaister(Romance). Astral Death is the first full album after a 7" on Drone Records.

I also know that Astral Death is a collection of murky ambient drones. A metallic reverberating drone and an organ chord make up opening track Conscious Patient. The constant soundpressure is dazing. The Cleansing echoes ominously but is less numbing, it's surrounding you with steady waves of sound. Mind Over Mind continues a bit in the same vein, with smaller waves and more hazy. The pressure is slowly built into something more massive during its length of fifteen minutes. It is followed up by Cosmic Research Unit, which moves more slow than the preceding track until the cosmic clouds settle into more steady, horn-like sound. A more undefined ambience hovers around you in Keel Of Freight Hulk. Finally the titletrack concludes the 52 minute program in a bit more droney fashion, with the deep thundering low frequencies and a radiostatic serving as distortion and the result reminds somewhat of Sunn0))).

Although the atmosphere is generally eerie, most of the material served here is mysteriously calm and deceivingly soothing. Only the album's closing track gets more dense and the danger that was brooding finds some sort of release without becoming fullblown violent. Astral Death is interesting listen though, the drones are monotonous enough to intoxicate and its slow revolutions make sure you don't get bored.