MISKATONIC UNION - ASTRAL QUEST

BAND MISKATONIC UNION

ALBUM ASTRAL QUEST

OUT 2018 (JAN 26TH)

LABEL IRON SHIELD RECORDS

OUR RATING 81/100

Miskatonic Union is a band from Chile on the road from 2014, when two friends as Héctor (guitar, ex ForHell) & Claudio (guitar), decided to mix all the influences from the 80s Heavy Metal, and their admiration for the world of HP Lovecraft as lyrical influence.

They recruited Carlos on drums (ex Unblessed, Torfrom) and Paul on bass to start rehearsing as a full band on april 2015, with Héctor on vocals too.

They started recording their debut album on november of that year, delayed by Hector health issues that led him to quit the singing, so in 2016 the band recruited Raül on vocals (ex Atomic Genocide). The recording and mixing process took longer than expected, so Claudio decided to quit the band to focus on his other projects. On 2017 the band tested a few guitar players to finally recruit Rodrigo on guitar.

This work starts with AWAKENING, with an arpeggio's intro almost epic before the entry of vocals. To remind the solo, suffered and well made.

This first song is a clear picture of the ideas of the band..breaks, maiden's runaways, good structures with a rougher singing.

ROAD TO THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS is another good song, sign of a band which learned the lesson from the masters but in a new key and looking to the future.

Here too enjoyable changes of time, and mix of speed anche classic HM.

BUSHIDO NINJA starts in waitin', next boosts the speed and power, reminding us somethin’about POWERSLAVE.

The title track begins with Halford's uvula, before developing itself in somethin'structured and almost "epic" but never boring.

NOSTRADAMUS is another color palette; it reminds us somethin' from first solo album by BRUCE DICKINSON before changing in a lot of paints.

ASTRAL is stronger, more classic HM, more direct and less structured, while CAPTAIN SPARROW is a track where instrumental parts prevails.

WHERE IS YOUR NATION NOW remind us somethin from MOTÖRHEAD but less rough, while I ALWAYS DO WHAT I WANT is maybe in our opinion, one of less focused tracks of the platter.

THE QUEST starts with an instrumental intro full of the right mood; a right song with a crushing solo.

A well-done job, well played and produced for all NWOTHM fans!

LINE UP

Rail Saa VC

Carlos Retamales DR

Héctor Paris GT

Rodrigo Meza GT

Paul Rajcevic BG

TRACKLIST

1. Awakening 4:56 2. Road to the mountains of madness 4:12 3. Bushido Ninja 4:43 4. Miskatonic Union 3:29 5. Nostradamus 5:49 6. Astral Wings 4:20 7. Captain Sparrow 5:22 8. Where is your nation now? 6:27 9. I Always do what I want 4:37 10. The quest 5:28

#nwothm #puresteel