ASTRONOMIKON - DARK GORGON RISING

Pure Legend Records
2013

Astronomikon are a new act from Greece. To be precise they hail from Cyprus.From Cyprus? Yes, I said the same thing. I never realized this large island had a thriving metal community. Turns out that I need to pay better attention! Paris Lambrou (bass) and Nicholas Leptos (vocals) formed this band back in 2008. The pair had previously shared time together in the bands Arrayan Path and Prodigal Earth. With Astronomikon (a mouthful of a band name!) the goal was to form a band that tackled myths and legends. You know, gods and heroes, monsters, mythical creatures, etc. That kind of stuff. Previous to this album the band released a 3-track, 2010 demo (also called "Dark Gorgon Rising") and appeared on the Cyprus Metal Scene United compilation CD released by Cy-Metal.com in 2011. That CD actually featured the pair's previous band, Arrayan Path, as well as groups like Lethal Saint and R.U.S.T. That's not bad company to keep if your a young band! Anyway, for this new album the pair sought out some like-minded musicians.That call was answered by guitarist Socrates Leptos and drummer Stefan Dittrich. Incidentally those two musicians also played in Arrayan Path so there was plenty of chemistry to be found all around. The band's full-length debut might be a concept album about the myth of Perseus and Medusa, but you don't have to even like concept albums to appreciate the material. I'll admit that since this was a Greek band there was fear on my part that "Dark Gorgon Rising" would be boring Epic metal. More then anything though this 4-piece band blends power metal (of both the American and European variety) with the sounds of a band born and raised on traditional heavy metal. As AC/DC put it "Hail hail to the good times". Astronomikon actually seem to hail from the city of "I know it's only heavy metal, but I like it!" as under some fancy riffs and soaring vocals is a band that knows you've got to rock to stay alive. Clearing these guys won't be confused with any of the retro-metal loving bands out there these days as there is still a glowing amount of Euro-style power metal. Some hardliners would even argue that it still constitutes epic metal. I'd counter that the songs are constructed in such a way that you can't help but notice a band that really likes old-fashioned heavy metal. In the end this one will be up to debate as to what genre exactly the music should fall into, but there shouldn't be any debate that it features well-crafted, well-played heavy metal.