bmurator
US Symphonic Black Metal. This is very inventive indeed & mixes parts of Symphonic BM with Atmospheric BM in a way that works perfectly! Highly recommended!!!
Favorite track: Uncovering.
Turd Ferguson
This album is phenomenal. Equally beautiful and devastating. A must have for anyone who likes symphonic black metal!
Favorite track: First Morning Light.
Includes unlimited streaming of 18° Below the Horizon
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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Test Pressing
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
There are only 3 test copies in existence. I have one, Adirondack Black Mass has one, and now you can have the third. The money from this sale will be donated to ESMA, the animal shelter I volunteer for in Egypt. esmaegypt.org
Includes unlimited streaming of 18° Below the Horizon
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Sold Out
Lathe Cut Double Vinyl
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Two 10” black lathe cuts discs. Mono mix.
This is the only copy that exists. It was made in 2020 as a test before the album released or had been picked up by any labels. The mix is mono and a little muddy so I decided not to move forward with it. I will upload a short video to Instagram so you can get an idea of how it sounds.
It’s the only copy in existence and if it sells the money will be donated to ESMA, the animal shelter I volunteer for in Egypt. esmaegypt.org
Includes unlimited streaming of 18° Below the Horizon
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
“ Normally, I’m not a fan of anything labeled symphonic black metal. Normally, I give everything Fólkvangr Records releases a chance, because they’re so consistently good. I’m glad the latter impulse won out. It didn’t take long after pressing play to realize that this was not symphonic black metal in the usual sense. It’s certainly synth-heavy, but the synths are subtle. There’s none of the over-the-top bombast of other artists I’ll leave unnamed. In my full review I wrote that this album hard to write about. That’s still the case. It really must be imbibed to be understood. Imbibe it.”
- Moshpit Nation (EOTY list)
“Starer are one of the closest things USBM has to our version of Drudkh. Epic, well crafted black metal themed around nature that I could use a lot of annoying journalism cliches to describe but you can read that uninspired shit somewhere else. All you need to know is if you’ve enjoyed the aforementioned Drudkh, Frost– era Enslaved, and a drop or two of The Shadowthrone then you’ll dig this."
- Neill Jameson, No Clean Singing
Notable release of 2021
- Dragged Into Sunlight
Best of 2021 Atmospheric Black Metal Albums
- Unstille Magazine
"The debut album from Starer has stayed with me all year, demanding I occasionally return to it and bask in its keyboard-heavy atmospheric black metal. The music is darkly expressive and very enthralling. A keeper, for sure."
- Wonderbox Metal, #24 Best of the Year
Best of 2021 List
- Deaf To All But Metal
"Near Miss" Top Albums of 2021
- Black Metal Daily
“ Kicking myself for missing out on this Starer album all year. Great symphonic black metal! Another Kentucky Klassic! Check it out.”
- Forever Steel
"Nice. That’s my main takeaway for Starer’s debut. This album plays like a lovechild between Wolves in the Throne Room and early era Arcturus. It’s a weird mix of moody post black metal and spacy, synth led symphonic black metal. The name of the game here is emotion and atmosphere. If you’re looking for something evil or angry, this isn’t gonna do it for you, but if you like your black metal majestic and cosmic, you’re gonna have a good time. Don’t worry though: there is enough technical skill and songwriting prowess here to keep things from getting boring. It starts a wee bit slowly, but once it gets going, it’s a fun ride."
- Toilet ov Hell
"18° Below the Horizon is one of those elusive albums whose nature is so hard to pin down, I’ve had trouble writing about it. The album transports me into my own mind, then leads me on an exploration of that infinite space. Subtly exceptional, Starer has released an album that is both worthy of, and requires multiple listens to fully grasp. Possibly infinite listens. I’m well into the double digits and hear new elements each time. Press play and be overwhelmed."
- MoshPitNation
"...obscure & somber Black Metal, that owns the personality & the ability to paint dense soundscapes through an evocative & crepuscular black art."
- A Different Perspective
"Very understated, cosmic-sounding atmospheric black metal. Fitting to the star-filled void of this Bandcamp page's aesthetic. Drums echoing into eternity, subtle bass grooves, hypnotic, icy guitars and synth."
- Metal Trenches
"It is so hard to come by a unique sound today. It seems everything has been done or tried before. STARER does so very well at meshing a several types of music and yet making them sound like they belong together. According to Josh, he has just begun. I look forward to hearing about this bands journey, and next album." 8/10
- Metal Temple
Best of January 2021
"18° Below the Horizon by Starer keeps getting better and better the more I listen to it. It’s really easy to become absorbed by the band’s atmospheric take on black metal. Combining second wave symphonic elements with a post-blackened delivery, this is a very strong release indeed."
- Wonderbox Metal
Honorable Mention Top Albums of January 2021
- Grizzly Butts
"After opening with an intro of such intense, nerve-jangling proportions it will have you on the edge of your seat waiting for the drop, this album just keeps expanding in a simultaneous multitude of post-black directions. Over the course of six grand tracks this album conveys a moody sense of ominous foreboding, through dense walls of post rock atmospherics, cranking up the tension and scale with elements of symphonic black metal, and releasing it in explosive climaxes of seismic riffs. A mesmerizing debut album."
- Order ov the Black Arts
"To achieve something breath-taking is not impossible but is a long way from a walk in the park. There are no parks here and there are no people. There is just you and the landscape – where all you can do is stare and feel infinitesimally tiny. Yes, this record is not alone in setting out to achieve this – but we must progress and the sounds that we invest our time in must be a journey and, I would suggest, this record is a very important part of it." 9/10
- Clobber Records - Chained Disintegration
"This is the sort of album that slips under most radars, which is a huge shame as there’s a lot here to enjoy if this type of music appeals to you. The artist behind Starer has produced a highly satisfying and accomplished work on 18° Below the Horizon, and I urge you to check it out. Very highly recommended."
- Wonderbox Metal
“Across the six artfully composed passages of this debut, strains of symphonic black metal meet expansive post-rock in an atmospheric storm the likes of which have rarely been seen, if ever.”
- Black Metal Daily
"The creation of darkness through the medium of music is a discipline that has been subscribed to by many and has been of nihilistic accuracy on many occasions. However, to create the foreboding and threatening despair of a lurking darkness unknown is considerably more difficult. “18 Degrees Below The Horizon”, has been scribed to become a cinematic apparition of that which is unseen in a world of beings who continue scratching at the walls of life – completely unaware of the consequences." 8/10
- Cvlt Legion
“Personally I found this production to be an intriguing experience, and the bleak and subtly fluctuating landscapes to be rather hypnotizing.” 80/100
- House of Prog
“Starer’s debut album is a majestic journey across a vast uncharted landscape filled with the breathtaking sounds of symphonic atmospheric black metal. "18º Below the Horizon,” is an extremely cinematic sounding release that is constructed in such a compelling fashion that keeps you fully engaged right from the first track.”
- Rock and Metal Temple
"Now we come to Starer and this solo project’s mesmerizing song “First Morning Light“. There’s a feeling of moodiness and wondering in the vibrantly ringing guitars and the deep humming bass, a feeling of torment in the scarring voice and the hurtling drums. The music grows increasingly desperate in its mood, but also yields to panoramic yet harrowing vistas of grandeur as well as signs of emotional collapse."
- No Clean Singing
"I’d found the full listen warms on repeat, lands inoffensively and eventually becomes a pretty solid grab for its uniquely ominous dystopian mood. A moderately high recommendation."
- Grizzly Butts 7/10
"‘18° Below the Horizon’ is a fantastic and well-executed release from start to finish; At the same time, been a one-person project, ‘Josh’ has delivered a solid, strongly composed release, topped off with extraordinary craftsmanship and musicianship (including fantastic guitar and vocal work) and created something diverse in the music and sound."
- Metal 1 on 1
"Total recommendation. This is a very gleaming atmosphere. It is just honestly depressed and mindblowing. This release features combative levels of suspense." 81/100
- Madman Reviews
" Starer plays a musical style that takes the symphonic and post forms of black metal and mixes them together to create a sound of his own. The production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover philosophical themes. Starer are a very great sounding symphonic post black metal solo project and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE ''First Morning Light'' and "Uncovering ". 8/10
- Occult Black Metal Zine
supported by 105 fans who also own “18° Below the Horizon”
US Black Metal. This is a great album! If you heard their previous work, Castaka, then you will know that their music is of a very high standard. Well... This is even better! Highly recommended! bmurator
supported by 95 fans who also own “18° Below the Horizon”
US Black Metal. Some fantastic ideas here for this debut! Having said that, unfortunately the vocals do not come out loud & clear which is a shame. But the music is great & multilayered & requires a few listens to fully absorb. Oh and the riffs are out of this world! Love the cover too :) Recommended! bmurator
Joseph Hawker subverts the musical and sociopolitical status quo with a black metal triptych that's as incendiary as it is impressionistic. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 5, 2022
