Band:	Sun Of The Blind
Album:	Skullreader
Style:	Avantgarde black metal
Release date:	March 2009

01. Cursed Universe
02. Lord Of Mind
03. Fire And Thirst
04. Ornaments
05. Vanitas

It's been pretty quiet around Darkspace lately, our beloved real-life version of the Total Perspective Vortex, but thankfully its members are not resting on their well-earned laurels. Well, at least guitarist/vocalist Zhaaral isn't, fellow members Wroth and Zorgh seem to have taken a break for a while. Oh well, each to his own, right?

So Zhaaral, who is that exactly? As said, he is the guitarist and one of the vocalists of Darkspace, and now he is also active as brain, body and soul of the Avant-garde Black metal band Sun Of The Blind. He's not on his own though, he has two companions in the form of "RM" (synths) and MH (vocals). First attempt of the new Swiss awesome threesome: Skullreader.

And trust me on this, it's definitely one for the space-obsessed Blackies out there. There's the obvious influence of Darkspace, especially in the guitar sound. But Zhaaral luckily didn't simply copy Darkspace's sound, no, he took it and added a whole lot of obscure melodies to it. And that makes the guitar sound downright awesome. It's like you see towers of bright and beautiful light rocketing up towards the heavens everywhere around you. Those are the souls of the starchildren, once bound by earthly shackles, now free to roam the vast and endless fields of Time and Space.

-Hey, usually I'm not so out-of-here, it's what Sun Of The Blind does to me.-

The other very important aspect of this album is the synthesizer. It is employed as counterpart of the guitar and with its infinite, open sound it accomplishes the guitar wonderful. They often intertwine and push each other to astral heights during the album, sharing small gems of melodies and sky high painter-like streaks of space colour with the listener. MH, who I suspect is a woman, counters the tortured shrieks of Zhaaral with dreamy, elusive and at first hard to notice vocals, like shadows against the inky cosmic blackness of the night sky. A nice finishing touch.

It may take a dreamer's mind to enjoy this, or a drug-riddled one. Or simply someone that wants to escape reality for a moment, someone that needs to wander among the stars for some time in order to find a little peace of mind. In any way, this is Avantgarde (or Ambient) Black metal at its best. A strong concept wonderfully written out in overwhelming music. One for the lotus-eaters.