The cosmos is a source of endless wonder and mystique, where symbolic elements, mythologies, and other imagined worlds are inspired and marked within our collective human consciousness, and the sonic arts continue to represent one powerful medium for expressing those ideas. Such influences likewise call to the creative manifestation known as DIONE, the blackened celestial being first encountered through 2023’s debut EP titled Cosmosphere, and its unsettling transmissions have since expanded on the full-length spheres of Astrolatry. This work constructs vast auras of haunting and unbounded shadow which further advance the distinct cosmic spirit of DIONE, and they reflect a fitting exaltation of entities looming in that great expanse.
A dark atmospheric focus is launched on the title track, with the sense of speeding through outer regions created by an initial charge of blast beats and tremolos, and there is a bleakness emitted from them which develops into many dense and dismal tones found across the arrangements. Open spaces are laced with eerie-noted shapes, and their malign substance intensifies when aligned with bursts of razor-edged attack or strides in the riffing. These elements carry a rhythmic power and versatility that rages ahead on “Prometheus, Thou Absorbing the Starlight,” where frenzied and turbulent combinations are contrasted against a break into sinister groove, and its ominous concentrations exemplify how striking points are formed within the compositions. Other shades appear in the thrashy drive around icy strums during “Project Zero,” and the way it transforms into a frantic dissonant mass only further solidifies a varied and proficient wielding of hostile forces.
Certain riff elements are effective in channeling the cosmic spirit of this project, including the quickened intervallic notes proceeding on “Hesperia Planum,” and while the vocals seem a bit lower in the overall mix, as if deeply embedded in this void, the end shows one exercise of layered sections and how they can become particularly monstrous. Electronic samples emerge at points throughout, and they ably complement the surrounding orchestrations while also raising an immersive quality within. One instance of this is observed on “Lament of the Forgotten,” after traversing areas of sharpened execution and chaos to further highlight a technical edge, and its concluding ambient designs create an effect like transferring to another dimension. This suits the following instrumental encounter, where tones of melancholy and splendor are captivatingly entwined, and the added dynamic of a piano section punctuates their conjuring before the final destination is reached. It proceeds fiercely as those noted forms join a hypnotic quality to their haunting, which becomes even more alluring when the trance is broken by an abrupt shift in course, and the surrounding havoc combines with aural emanations of awe to achieve a distinguished completion.
The album name refers to praising celestial bodies, and this practice is appropriately found among its lyrical passages, with the title track’s hail to “Almighty Saturn” being one that also shows favor toward their darker varieties. Similar affirmations are found as “We, the blackest of the black, are sailing into the kingdom of night,” and that realm is grimly described in passages throughout, including the “All howling voids” and “Deathlike place” of “Black Discord.” Tormented psychological factors also radiate across these planes, taking dynamic forms like the mythological connection on “Prometheus, Thou Absorbing the Starlight,” and a Shakesperean inclusion on “Lament of the Forgotten” is another that fits interestingly among the collective.
The immersive nature of this cosmos is taken further by various scientific or technical references appearing at points, and they enhance the atmosphere notably on “Project Zero,” where “Magmatic fluids, basaltic, viral composition” partly captures the essence of a “Denser void” that reflects the inverse of outer space. Other planetary explorations become centered on Mars with the events and landscapes of “Hesperia Planum,” and the final deific calls and anguished states observed on “Contemplating Space and the Pearlike Miasma” also occur on some terrestrial surface, with the “Will to live, carrying the weight of death” suggesting a harsh dualistic ordeal. The last line of “We rise as a comet, back and forth – Wandering, lurking in time” was first encountered on the opening track, and its reoccurrence here seems symbolic in bringing the work full circle. This is consistent with the presence of deeper themes within that couldn’t be fully detailed here, which just confirms a rich galaxy of material worth contemplating in these verses.
The universe of DIONE has expanded notably on Astrolatry, with a greater array of electronic samples and keys elevating the spirit of its cosmos, and they are accurately calculated to stand out atmospherically at some points while subtly enhancing the turbulent magnitude of others. An entrancing trip into the unknown is carried through the ominous and chaotic structures prevailing throughout, and the energies gathered in those configurations reach mesmeric levels that will easily draw listeners into their void. It will be interesting to follow the evolution of this project into future journeys, which hopefully continue to build on the melodic and erratic technical formulas distinguishing its identity, but currently the essence captured on Astrolatry marks a worthwhile offering to the pantheon of blackened cosmic deities.
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