GRAND ASTORIA, THE- FROM THE GREAT BEYOND EP (Addicted 770)

I did not know that my friend Kamille had a new Grand Astoria record out until I got this  in the mail from the Russian label. It is listed under misc at Discogs so I am not 100% sure this is all new material but I think so.  Anyway, the EP features 6 well produced tracks staring with the mainly acoustic guitar and vocal track From the Great Beyond. A few spacey sounds mixed in as well until 2 minutes then some keyboard dominate the melodic theme but this is a track focused on the vocals, which are sung almost all the way through. Wasteland starts with a heavy riff and some dark lyrics. Short 3min track. Njanatilka is a heavy metal track with some double kick drums and a heavy riff that is repeated over and over for the first minute. The vocal is very pressed and strained at the very edge of the vocalist range. The track has a very groggy mid section with nice keys and flute before stepping back into the heavy direction. Great stuff. Us against the World, is a very intense track with a lot of ups and downs, heavy, melodic, etc… Towards the end, the vocals are in the higher range again as the drummer pounds and the guitars twist and grate and the intensity just does not let up. Phew… The CD ends with a short track called Ten Years Anniversary Riff.  

This is a killer band, one of the best and most unique in this genre in Russia. Just excellent stuff.  The CD digisleeve comes with a nice booklet with all the dark lyrics! Nice package. 

http://thegrandastoria.bandcamp.com

http://noname666.bandcamp.com