Raventale (Ukraine): “Planetarium II”

When a band releases twelve albums in fifteen years, it deserves absolute respect, especially if the albums in question are all well made. This is Raventale, a Ukrainian black/doom metal project launched by Astaroth Merc in 2005 that has recently released its twelfth album, Planetarium II. The album title refers to the Planetarium album from 2017 and therefore stands as its ideal continuation, even if it is not a real follow-up since, in the meantime, two other albums had already come to light. Astaroth Merc is truly a prolific guy as he is also the mastermind of another amazing band, Chapter V: F10 about which I have already written a couple of times; once again, Planetarium II fully demonstrates how talented he is. This album blends the harshness of black metal with the dreamy vibes of atmospheric black metal, while the instrumentation has both grove and symphonic arrangements. The best song is perhaps “Extra Terrestrial Arcana” for its catchy blast beat part. For sure, one of the best black metal albums in 2020.
 
Notes:
Planetarium II was released on September 8, 2020 through Ashen Dominion.
 
Personnel:
Astaroth Merc: everything
 
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com