Album Review: Rise To The Sky – Per Aspera Ad Astra (GS Productions)

With death, times stops, matter fades, present and future cease to exist, and only the past remains. (Sergio González Bombardiere, 2019).

Rising star in the death/doom underground Rise to The Sky has yet another full audio experience to unleash upon us. Prepare to be immersed in ‘Per Aspera Ad Astra’ which is out on the 3rd of September 2021 via GS Productions.

Sergio says of this album:

On Wednesday January 6, 2021 my father, Sergio González Bombardiere, passed away suddenly. We buried my father on Friday, I went home afterwards with certain relief that he had already received a proper funeral and that it was now time for us to grief. On that weekend, while trying to cope with this new reality, I went to my studio, and having no idea what to say or do, I wrote the song Per Aspera Ad Astra.

It should be no secret that I think Rise to the Sky is one of the best things in music today. I fell in love with the late 2020 album, Death Will Not Keep Us Apart (9/10), got obsessive after the EP, A Cold Embrace From Life (10/10) and continued that love-affair with early 2021’s Let Me Drown in You album (10/10).

There are few bands that I genuinely get excited about when they appear in the email but one that always perks me up is Rise to the Sky. I’m still flabbergasted that it is a solo project.

It’s got the stage now that I don’t even wonder if a new release is going to be good, I know it will be. Such is the immeasurable talent involved. Importantly though, part of what makes Rise to the Sky such a joy to listen too is just how emotive and powerful the music is.

Per Aspera Ad Astra comes from a grief-stricken place and that is something that resonates throughout. It’s an incredibly expressive and sensitive album but one with heavy death and doom at its core. It just so happens that Rise to the Sky twists melody around those heavier elements with such ease.

Musically, it’s a maelstrom of feelings, turbulent depths, haunting power and impressive weightiness. Flowing beautifully, to pick one track out specifically seems unfair. However, the title track needs special mention because of when and why it was written. Even if you’ve never suffered a devastating loss (very unlikely), you will be captured by the commanding sentiment in this track. It seems a strange thing to say but it’s up there as one of the finest tracks written by Rise to the Sky.

I don’t know what you want me to say. Rise to the Sky is one of the most phenomenal acts around today. I knew that before I hit play on Per Aspera Ad Astra and this thing of beauty just adds more weight to that claim. It’s an exhausting listen but worth every second of your time.

Rise to the Sky – Per Aspera Ad Astra Full Track Listing:

1. Life in Suspense
2. The Loss of Hope
3. Per Aspera Ad Astra
4. End my Night
5. Deep Lament
6. Bleeding Heart
7. Only our past remains
8. Horse – (Bonus track- Bandcamp and CD exclusive)

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