Formerly a duo turned badass solo passion project by the multi-talented Witch N., Ashtar has re-emerged and rebranded with a third full length release Wandering Through Time.  Keeping true to the band’s blackened doom roots, this release is full of harsh vocals, eerie melodies, ambient passages, and a perfect flowing combination of marching and blast beat rhythms. Consisting of five original tracks and a reimagined cover of Post Mortem’s 1985 song “I Want To Die,” this is a creatively dark album with an undercurrent of whimsy by way of lyrical themes around love and personal growth.  This is all wrapped up into one witchy and magickal album that is not to be missed.

Wandering Through Time opens with an ambient electric pulsating sound before a simple and almost staticy electric guitar melody is heard.  The melody eventually takes off and makes way for drums and harmonizing sounds.  This track, “Into the Gloom” may be one of my favorites as it begins with a more doom feel before gently evolving and breaking into black metal with blast beat drumming and screaming vocals about halfway through.  Witch N.’s vocal prowess is explored here, with her haunting screams and a small section of ethereal vocalization gently rising in the background adding a little something extra.  It is these small details that make Ashtar’s sound unique and special.  The next few pieces follow suit with an alluring combination of styles while also allowing room for some ambient passages with more unique instrumentation, including strings.  Partway through the album is track “Voices (Collide Again)” which offers a dreamy resting place of a pure ambience.  It opens with the sound of a crackling fire, a gentle guitar melody, and a poetic reading in French. This zen feel transforms about halfway through when jaw harp is introduced along with a kick drum driven rhythm section transforming this track but keeping the dreamy quality as it sounds imaginative, emotive, and a little strange (in a very fun way).

The closing piece on Wandering Through Time is the Post Mortem cover which is the longest on the album spanning just under eleven minutes.  This is not surprising as the original piece is over twelve minutes.  That length is worth it as this blackened recreation is impressively performed.  It keeps the essence of the original piece while also fitting into the track list perfectly with Ashtar’s spin on it.  It contains the same raw and ragged feel while adding more instrumentation and detail.  It is another favorite of mine and is beautifully done.

I happened to review Ashtar’s last album back in 2020 and was excited to see the name appear again, three years later.  I love the current direction and am excited to see Witch N. go off on her own and mold the music into her complete vision.  Wandering Through Time feels unhinged in the best possible way.  The vibe is not very different from the last release, but the music does feel a bit more passionate with more dramatics interlaced.  I appreciate that Ashtar still sounds like Ashtar since I did enjoy their first two albums.  It is always a treat to see a band evolve and take off and I feel as though Ashtar is doing just that with this album.  Witch N.’s personal rebrand is also inspiring as she takes on this new powerful persona.  I am excited to continue to follow her on her journey and soak up all her witchy blackened doom goodness along the way.

— Angela

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Wandering Through Time is available now on Eisenwald.  For more information on Ashtar visit their Facebook page.