SOUNDS OF DARK MATTER

Sounds of Dark Matter was thought to be the flip side of the first demo Andromeda’s Heart, released in 1999. Similar aesthetics, progressive compositions with uncanny energy, as if the original band had never wavered in their sound and vision. With over 20 years separating these 2 records, undoubtedly the unfettered songwriting resumes its exploration of Nightshade’esque sonic landscapes over the eight tracks of the album. This revival was made possible sonically thanks to Sebastian Has, known for his work on the late Behemoth albums, who masterfully combined the band’s heavy guitars with complex, multi-layered synth orchestrations.

Newcomers and come-back-arounders alike should appreciate its modern, heavy production. Lyrically, the album lives best among the old creeds, occult and modern science that chases Dave.

• Zero Matter Gravity stands out with its memorable and cartoonish synth hook and catchy melodic lead guitars. A video was shot on location in Iceland for this song.
• New Era is arguably, for the newly initiated or casual fans of their classic songs like “Raging Sands”, the album’s centerpiece with its striking choir and interlude taken from Chopin’s nocturnes, re-arranged and played at much higher tempo.
• Andromeda Defiled revisits the eponymous original song, for the second time after Nebula Trance, with the opening riff and heavy, melodic ending of the song directly inspired from its original version.
• Closing the album, A Call from Distant Skies, is the slowest and longest cut in their discography. A slow, painful and aerial journey transcending genres, with orchestral arrangements, percussions and an uncanny piano intermezzo, La Sicilienne, originally written by French classic composer Gabriel Fauré (1845 – 1924), marks the piece with all the more fascinating and stirring emotions. The lyrics belong to Dave’s most personal and deepest ones.