ISLEPTONTHEMOON “Only The Stars Know of My Misfortune”
The last quarter of the year is a time of transformation; moving from Fall to Winter. Like most metalheads, this time of the year makes me want to spend cozy nights at home, drink a generous amount of dark beer, and be transported to another dimension while listening to the most expansive black metal records available. Let’s enter the realm of atmospheric black metal, done in an unorthodox way, by ISLEPTONTHEMOON.
ISLEPTONTHEMOON is a one man project, led by an anonymous artist simply known as Annos, based in Atlanta, Georgia. The project started in 2016 as a creative outlet to explore a different way to interpret the atmospheric black metal subgenre. Annos is known to infuse shoegaze, indie folk, emo, and ambient music styles into his sound; making the listening experience feel oddly familiar yet soothing. Interestingly, the project was put on indefinite hiatus after 2017 as Annos decided to focus his energy on other musical endeavors (which are well worth a listen but are beyond the scope of this review). To everyone’s pleasant surprise, ISLEPTONTHEMOON was resurrected in 2022 with a drastic change to the production style; going from a crunchy lo-fi sound to a polished sound. The incorporation of breathy emo vocals, post rock instrumentation, and dramatic slowcore inspired crescendos was also evident in this new iteration of the project. Now in 2024, we receive the new offering. How does it compare? Let’s take a deeper dive.
The album is titled Only The Stars Know of My Misfortune; a nod to the more depressive suicidal black metal motifs explored by Annos. The album cover powerfully depicts this with a photograph of a lonesome person, trying to find their way in the middle of a desert field, under the faint glow of many stars (photographed by Jesse Sewell). Oftentimes, the album art matches the atmosphere or soundscape of the album, and in this case I would say the goal is accomplished very well. Musically, the album will leave you feeling hopeful yet existentially crippled; as if you are a spec in the vast expanse of space.
One of the most unique aspects of ISLEPTONTHEMOON is the drastic contrast between the clean and harsh vocals. Annos’ clean vocals seem to be heavily influenced by the early 2000’s emo sound. In particular, the songs “Maybe I Don't Know It Yet, But Good Things Are Coming Soon”, “I Belong To The Void”, and “Like Dying”, all remind me of bands such as Snow Patrol, Neverending White Lights, and Hawthorne Heights, respectively. Within those same songs, Annos also displays his emotive and raw harsh vocals that are seemingly inspired by the depressive suicidal black metal genre and bands like None, Begotten, and Thy Light. I must admit that upon my first listen, the contrast was a little jarring, and left me feeling like I was listening to two completely different artists at once. After the second and third listen however, these seemingly unmixable styles grew on me, and I began to anticipate the musical shifts from one to the other. A third vocal style, spoken word, is used sparingly throughout the album and seems to be used as a way to heighten the melancholy of the passage.
As I previously mentioned, the music itself conveys a sense of awe, existentialism, and introspection. The more subdued passages that begin songs like “Safety” and “Keep Hidden,” do not have distortion, and instead showcase the cleaner tones of acoustic guitar and piano. This stylistic choice was unexpected as these are not the sounds I have come to expect when listening to atmospheric black metal. Understanding that Annos’ goal is to break conventions and be creative, the emo and indie folk charm that makes up a healthy portion of this album is quite welcomed. When the music does venture into more traditional black metal territory, the lead melodic riffs are quite pronounced in the mix. While additional wall of sound tremolo picking layers are present, we also hear the use of some ambient samples as well. These take the form of distorted violins and dreamy synths. The drums, although programmed, sound full and sway between controlled anthemic beats, that contribute to the expansive nature of the songs, and relentless blast beats. The bass is simple but effective at adding to the low end of the music.
ISLEPTONTHEMOON’s third full length album Only The Stars Know of My Misfortune is a great follow up to their 2022 comeback which increases the polish on the production and adds a few new musical elements to the project. For most fans of conventional atmospheric black metal, the experimentation present here may result in mixed feelings. On the other hand, fans of depressive suicidal black metal, may fully embrace this experimentation due to the feelings these songs evoke. In both scenarios, it is likely that Only The Stars Know of My Misfortune will require a few listens to fully absorb and grow on you.
SCORE: 3.5 / 5
FFO: Ghost Bath, Sadness, None
You can pre-order the vinyl or digital album on the Bindrune Recordings Bandcamp today.
