Voice of the Stars review by Ian Morrissey for Doom-metal.com (website)
As far as I understood it, Stijn van Cauter wasn’t making much in the way of music nowadays so imagine my surprise when Arcane Voidsplitter's 'Voice Of The Stars' was posted to me to review, and I saw that it was one of his many projects! I don’t know Stijn van Cauter personally but when it comes to music, he’s one of my favourite artists because we seem to be in synch with one another mentally, if I can put it that way, so to say that I was excited to hear this release was an understatement. Basically, what he classes as good music appeals to me too, and I’ve yet to find an exception from all of his many projects in spite of the diverse styles adopted ranging from Until Death Overtakes Me to Catnoms For Fluffy to The Sonitus Ignotus Ensemble. Suffice to say that my expectations were high because of this similar musical preference, and I was not disappointed.
For any fans of Stijn van Cauter’s earlier work (a la Dreams Of Dying Stars, Until Death Overtakes Me), Arcane Voidsplitter is a must. I enjoyed 'The Reach Beyond', which was the first album of Arcane Voidsplitter, and 'Voice Of The Stars' only serves as a magnificent follow-up for it. The former has more of a Dreams Of Dying Stars lean with more focus on a Space Ambient side of things whereas 'Voice Of The Stars' has a heavier sound with more organs, leaning more toward Until Death Overtakes Me.
I should point out at this stage that Arcane Voidsplitter is not a copy of any of Stijn van Cauter’s other projects, however. It stands on its own rather, traversing whole new areas of space, as always seems to be the case with this artist. I find it remarkable how one artist can fuse so many different atmospheres. For me, his music is always deeply beautiful but others I’ve spoken to have described it as ‘haunting’ or ‘dark’, and I couldn’t disagree with either assessment. Within it is woven some emotion too though, which I find particularly intriguing because it’s not conveyed in a traditional sense. For example, some bands would use violins, acoustic guitars, or simply slow the music down and utilise spoken vocals but that’s not what happens here. The way it’s composed is unique because it encompasses so much but all in its own manner.
Essentially, Arcane Voidsplitter is the perfect hybrid of Funeral Doom and Ambient, creating powerful and intriguing soundscapes via droning guitars and keyboards. The one thing it’s missing that Until Death Overtakes Me had is vocals. I know that’ll be a stumbling block for some listeners but the atmosphere generated on 'Voice Of The Stars' more than makes up for it. Honestly, from my perspective, the music is so good that vocals aren’t even required, which is a big compliment in my world. Another thing I would advise you on is that this musical style doesn’t deviate much on the album. Bluntly put, if you don’t like a sample you hear online, you’re not going to like it at all. Fans of more atmospheric Funeral Doom/Ambient releases are going to love this though. Personally, I could listen to this type of music all day long because it’s sheer perfection to me.
To cap it off, this particular release isn’t just online, unlike most of Stijn van Cauter’s projects nowadays as prolific label Aesthetic Death has released it in a lovely digipack, which really is the icing on the cake. I can’t even think of any negatives to mention because everything on the album, as per usual, suits me down to the ground. I heartily recommend 'Voice Of The Stars' to all fans of Funeral Doom/Ambient, enough so to hand out what I believe is my first 10/10 rating on this site.
(10/10 & album of the Month July 2019, Ian Morrissey)
As far as I understood it, Stijn van Cauter wasn’t making much in the way of music nowadays so imagine my surprise when Arcane Voidsplitter's 'Voice Of The Stars' was posted to me to review, and I saw that it was one of his many projects! I don’t know Stijn van Cauter personally but when it comes to music, he’s one of my favourite artists because we seem to be in synch with one another mentally, if I can put it that way, so to say that I was excited to hear this release was an understatement. Basically, what he classes as good music appeals to me too, and I’ve yet to find an exception from all of his many projects in spite of the diverse styles adopted ranging from Until Death Overtakes Me to Catnoms For Fluffy to The Sonitus Ignotus Ensemble. Suffice to say that my expectations were high because of this similar musical preference, and I was not disappointed.
For any fans of Stijn van Cauter’s earlier work (a la Dreams Of Dying Stars, Until Death Overtakes Me), Arcane Voidsplitter is a must. I enjoyed 'The Reach Beyond', which was the first album of Arcane Voidsplitter, and 'Voice Of The Stars' only serves as a magnificent follow-up for it. The former has more of a Dreams Of Dying Stars lean with more focus on a Space Ambient side of things whereas 'Voice Of The Stars' has a heavier sound with more organs, leaning more toward Until Death Overtakes Me.
I should point out at this stage that Arcane Voidsplitter is not a copy of any of Stijn van Cauter’s other projects, however. It stands on its own rather, traversing whole new areas of space, as always seems to be the case with this artist. I find it remarkable how one artist can fuse so many different atmospheres. For me, his music is always deeply beautiful but others I’ve spoken to have described it as ‘haunting’ or ‘dark’, and I couldn’t disagree with either assessment. Within it is woven some emotion too though, which I find particularly intriguing because it’s not conveyed in a traditional sense. For example, some bands would use violins, acoustic guitars, or simply slow the music down and utilise spoken vocals but that’s not what happens here. The way it’s composed is unique because it encompasses so much but all in its own manner.
Essentially, Arcane Voidsplitter is the perfect hybrid of Funeral Doom and Ambient, creating powerful and intriguing soundscapes via droning guitars and keyboards. The one thing it’s missing that Until Death Overtakes Me had is vocals. I know that’ll be a stumbling block for some listeners but the atmosphere generated on 'Voice Of The Stars' more than makes up for it. Honestly, from my perspective, the music is so good that vocals aren’t even required, which is a big compliment in my world. Another thing I would advise you on is that this musical style doesn’t deviate much on the album. Bluntly put, if you don’t like a sample you hear online, you’re not going to like it at all. Fans of more atmospheric Funeral Doom/Ambient releases are going to love this though. Personally, I could listen to this type of music all day long because it’s sheer perfection to me.
To cap it off, this particular release isn’t just online, unlike most of Stijn van Cauter’s projects nowadays as prolific label Aesthetic Death has released it in a lovely digipack, which really is the icing on the cake. I can’t even think of any negatives to mention because everything on the album, as per usual, suits me down to the ground. I heartily recommend 'Voice Of The Stars' to all fans of Funeral Doom/Ambient, enough so to hand out what I believe is my first 10/10 rating on this site.
(10/10 & album of the Month July 2019, Ian Morrissey)
