Your Star Will Collapse

It is expected that when you read in the promotional text that this one – man project was created as a medical treatment for the artist, you instantly get intrigued. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice their first release back in 2020, their demo called Cosmic Grave but luckily, Sun & Moon records sent me their first full length album that is going to be released on 10th of March 2023. I refer to Sir from Hungary which was created by Kryptagonist, the man responsible for everything, at the end of summer of 2020. So, the time has come for his recordings during 2022 to be released as his first full length album, under the name ‘Your Star Will Collapse’, in digital but also in a very nice digipak cd format. It contains six tracks and it lasts for about forty minutes. So, from the blurry cover to the minimal two page booklet and the photo of the artist, everything about this album is enigmatic and they don’t prepare you for what you are about to listen to. And be assured that there is a lot going on in here so read along.

The main element of the music is Doom and on top of that, the artist is painting his feelings in a lot of different ways. The elements which unfold slowly as you are going deeper into Sir’s music are Heavy Metal, Black Metal, psychedelic rock, 70’s rock, 80’s goth rock and the list goes on. Some of those elements will be found more frequently than others, while some of them show up a single moment, just to show us that there is always something more. Some bands that came to my mind are Saint Vitus and Celtic Frost. It’s impressive how that many influences have been blended so well, giving a really unique and refreshing result. The riffs have a dark 70’s approach and sound, even in the faster and more violent parts, while a dark, depressing feeling and a dangerous, menacing atmosphere are always there to add their touch to the final result. The tracks last from five to ten minutes and their structure is very good as everything is placed where it should be so that the result remains interesting even after a more experimental, psychedelic trip.

The performance of the artist is also at a high level. The guitars are clean, dark with that mixture of 70ies with southern sound, add a unique character to the result. The bass has a more supporting role, giving depth and making the sound more complete. The drums are minimal but played with power and expressiveness. The vocals adopt a lot of different approaches depending on the feeling of the music and the lyrics. In the bigger part of the album they are clean and deep, when the atmosphere becomes darker, the vocals become more hoarse and sometimes even harsh, deep Black Metal ones. The production is clean and warm, although the atmosphere is dark and sometimes depressing, the result is successful. Generally, the mixture is balanced. The lyrics are written in English and they are contained in the booklet and they present thoughts, dreams, questions or even some answers derived from the introspection of the artist.

In conclusion, I believe that Kryptagonist has done a very good job with his first full length work. He managed to combine a lot of his influences into a very interesting and quite unique result, which is a very intense and dark trip into a person’s psyche. The tracks I liked best are Cryptic Affinity, Your Star Will Collapse and Song of Amergin Part.2. If you are into more traditional styles or into the first wave of Black Metal, this one will be very suitable for you.