Album Review: The Thirteenth Sun – Stardust (Aural Music)

The debut album, Stardust from Transylvanian band, The Thirteenth Sun is out on May 12th 2017 via Aural Music.

A mix of atmospheric progressive rock with plenty of stoner riffs, Stardust is a journey through space & time that will haunt your memories but leave you feeling uplifted.

The opening song, Universus is a sultry piece of music that sets the bar early on. Lovely sounding riffs built around some memorable slow melody, it kicks things up a gear near the end adding more layers to the sound.

This strong, spacey start flows perfectly into the more haunting & melodic Pathways. Here computerised effects are utilised more but it doesn’t detract from the great sounding rock rhythm. Instead they enhance the atmosphere & really put you in the moment.

Stardust is a really beautiful piece of work & continues to go from strength to strength across its 7 tracks. Built on such an expansive & imaginative sound, it’s impossible to feel anything but wonder.

The opening melody of Planes of Creation is another serious highlight of the record picking up nearer the end & switching to death metal vocals. It offers some variety in sound & is a nice change of pace.

Talking of which, Universe offers a differing vocal style & approach to the rhythm. At first it doesn’t even sound like the same band!. The way it reverts back to the more recognisable sound though is fantastic & the piano melody just caps the quality off perfectly.

The Thirteenth Sun know how to play, they know how to get the most out of their instruments with the penultimate track, The Fabric of Time proving to be the best so far. Upbeat melody, a slow, methodical pace that kicks into some hard-hitting metal, it really is a special sounding song.

Stardust finishes off with near 6 minutes of guitar melody. Glowing Sun is not the strongest finish considering what came before but it works well & sees things out softly.

An incredible album, filled with proggy guitars, stoner style riffs & enough hooks & melodic moments to keep you coming back for more. The future is very bright for The Thirteenth Sun, indeed.

The Thirteenth Sun – Stardust Full Track Listing:

1. Universus
2. Pathways
3. Planes of Creations
4. Universe is Burning
5. Melting Skies
6. The Fabric of Time
7. Glowing Sun

Stardust is out on May 12th 2017 & can be ordered over on Bandcamp. You can find out more about The Thirteenth Sun on Facebook & Aural Music here.