EP review: Onirism “The Well of Stars”
Onirism is a symphonic black metal project from France with a great EP out now.
Onirism is a one-man project created in 2014 by Antoine Guibert (a.k.a. Vrath), who has performed as a guitarist with French black metal bands Hentgarm and Belenos. Guibert is not only the artist behind Onirism, he has also produced, mixed and mastered “The Well of Stars”.
Onirism’s debut album, “Cosmic Dream”, came out barely six months ago and now Guibert is back with a brand new EP. The EP kicks off in a calm but haunting fashion. It’s like a horror movie film score where everything seems fine at the beginning but you know that there is some kind of brutal horror around the corner.
The opening track, “The Well of Stars Part I”, is a beautiful symphonic landscape with a myriad of different instruments which adds to the appeal of this EP. As “The Well of Stars Part I” becomes “The Well of Stars Part II” we move into proper black metal territory. The symphonic elements remain present throughout the EP. They add a haunting atmosphere to the brutality of Onirism’s more traditional black metal side. Large parts of the EP are instrumental. The combination of extended instrumental parts, brutal black metal and haunting sound landscapes, is an epic journey of beautiful darkness. This is perhaps the year’s most beautiful black metal record so far.
