EP Review: Stellar Remains – Wastelands (Gutter Prince Cabal Records)

Australia, Brisbane’s Stellar Remains explore the formless void of the cosmos on their debut EP, ‘Wastelands’, out on February 15th, 2024, via Gutter Prince Cabal Records.

Plying a death metal trade, but with a side-job of progressive and technical intricacies, Stellar Remains make one hell of an impact with this debut EP. Showing that the over-saturated genre has plenty of fresh and exciting bands coming on through.

The entire EP is appealing in a horror-laden, cosmically troubling, and savage way. From the building layers of worrisome noise that emanates from Ceaseless Charade of the Living Dead, to the eruption of brutal guitars, scathing harmonisation, and garish blast beats that comes from Obsolescence, this EP sets out the level that Stellar Remains is at already.

A level that suggests they’re a band with several big releases under their belts already, such is the tightness of their sound. Not only that, they have a varied outlook and it results in a track like Weeping on the Shoulder of a Memory. Which is a more morose and melodic effort, but with plenty of crunch overall. It’s just one example of the band’s unpredictable nature.

Following a spacey and ambient intermission that is The Invisible Man, things get bigger, much bigger, as Stellar Remains really expand on their progressive side with the title track. One of two tracks, the other being the finale of Cloudbearer, that really push the grandeur this band has, alongside their venomous and heavy edge.

Stellar Remains – Wastelands Track Listing:

1. Ceaseless Charade of the Living Dead
2. Obsolescence
3. Weeping on the Shoulder of a Memory
4. The Invisible Man
5. Wastelands
6. Cloudbearer

Links

Bandcamp | Gutter Prince Cabal Records