released July 28, 2023
Vocals, instruments, recording, and mixing by Josh Hines.
Mastered by Neil Schneider.
AOTY list
- Black Metal Daily
#2 Album of the Year
- Black Metal Album Art
#6 Album of the Year
- JT Extreme
jtextreme.com
#15 Album of the Year
- Lost in the Catacombs/Your Last Rites
Top 25 Albums of 2023
- Moshpit Nation
#2 metal release from Kentucky in 2023
- Forever Steel
#1 metal song of July
- Stereogum
Best of the month
- The Metal Tempest
“The solo project of Kentucky black metal connoisseur Josh Hines, Starer's Wind, Breeze, or Breath is a symphonic atmospheric black metal record that teeters on the edge of the natural and dream worlds. Hines does a phenomenal job of creating a holistic listening experience. Each song coincides with the moments leading up to falling into and returning from a slumber-drifting, crossing, shaping, witnessing, vanishing, emerging, and returning. Filled with primitive '90s black metal vocals, haunting melodies, and perfected pacing, Wind, Breeze, or Breath is truly a spectacle in modern black metal songwriting. It's a record that deserves and demands your attention.”
- Your Last Rites
“What sets “Drifting” and Starer apart isn’t just how well these pieces are crafted and performed and constructed, it’s the intensity with which Hines pounds them out. You tense up a bit just listening to it, and the mix shoves the unrestrained power right in your face. This is atmospheric black metal that punches, awes, and consumes everything in its path.”
- Stereogum
"Starer is still the most unique and best kept secret in modern USBM and this is his best album yet."
- Black Metal Daily
“album that shows the strength of Starer's sound, of his talent as a musician and mixer, and of a maturation of the style.”
- DPRP
“A melodic black metal adventure.”
- Transcending the Mundane Magazine
“this project is a work of genius, particularly the fabulous blend of atmospheric guitar progressions with symphonic arrangement and vocals that make you feel like you’re on a journey to the stars.” 4/5
- Metal Rules
“Hardly the first to say it, but goddamn this Starer album is very good.”
- Sleeping Village Reviews
“Starer's music, on the other hand, took me among the stars, in imagination, finally, I'm no longer quite sure, I'm no longer sure of anything at the moment. I sometimes have the impression that my life seems to be on pause, as out of time, as out of step with the rest of the world.”
- The Black Box
"The underground is seeing a new and prolific name emerge, that of Josh Hines, who between several projects and this Starer is accumulating several works, leaving very interesting clues to follow. Wind, Breeze, or Breath is Starer's third album in three years, and it makes it clear that their approach to atmospheric black metal is quite rocky. Something cascading and with small symphonic details, but very overwhelming and very lively in its riffs. Of course, there is strength in moments like 'Crossing', as well as arguments for his name to no longer pass under our radars."
-Hypersonic "The Metal Tipper #52"
“Atmospheric black metal that transcends the realm of this forsaken planet and ventures into the vast unknown. Luscious symphonies pulsate throughout, lamenting a majestic and grandiose atmosphere. Hypnotic, grinding, spirited.”
- The Heavy Communion
“Fiery and expansive”
- Beaver Mosh
“This sounds utterly fucking epic, and even if you’re not a fan of the genre, if you appreciate good musicianship and enormous, brutal, mournful soundscapes, you should really give this some consideration.
Once again, I’m aghast at how something so harrowingly vicious can be so beautifully emotional, although I do think some of the symphonic flair doing the workload in the background really goes a long way to provide that uplift. Just spectacularly good.”
- Sister Mary’s Metal Reviews
“Another scorcher from the phenomenal one-man black metal outfit STARER, with mind-flaying riffs and eerie tremolo-picked melodies.”
- Bandcamp New & Notable
“With riffs as vast as the firmament and Josh Hines’ commanding vocals, the Kentucky project reaches beyond symphonic black metal and touches the cosmic.”
- Bandcamp Metal
“Starer can basically do know wrong. Each album is part of a cohesive sound, yet each also has its own unique elements. Hines has, once again, created a masterpiece.”
- Moshpit Nation
“Wind, Breeze, or Breath is the apex of what Starer has given us so far. This is underground symphonic black metal of the highest order, and if there was any justice in the world this album would see Starer gain far wider recognition and renown, as this really is great stuff. This is definitely one to spend some quality time with.
Essential listening.”
- Wonderbox Metal
"Wind, Breeze, or Breath opens with the biggest bang of any Starer release since the first EP, buffeting listeners with a fiery black metal salvo, but fear not—Josh Hines’ symphonic black metal project has lost none of its triumphant flourishes on its latest LP. Each track is a rich sonic tapestry of impressive detail and emotional complexity, with lush organs and strings meeting soaring tremolo guitar riffs in glorious harmony as the rhythm section hammers out blasting uptempo surges and syncopated marches with equal deftness."
- Invisible Oranges
“You don't deceive the definition of atmospheric black metal. The atmosphere perpetrated by Hines is in fact outlined differently than many projects that fall under this definition. The production is hot, the songwriting broad and brilliant, almost giving a cinematic aura to Starer's compositions. But above all, the project keeps its black metal form intact, with inspired riffs and a desolate and evocative reading key of the genre.”
- Aristocrazia Webzine (Italy)
“Starer has always tapped into a different atmospheric vein than many in the genre. Distinct from a lot of the oblique folk influence of many other American based atmospheric black metal projects, its focus on comparatively lush production and bright, broad composition has made the project stand out since the debut.”
- Toilet ov Hell
“An album to seek out if you enjoy a dynamic varierty of well made and well produced extreme metal that touch base with the progressive metal universe on occasion.”
- Progressor
“Wind, Breeze Or Breath by the one man collective Starer from Kentucky, USA, has turned out to be quite an enjoyable symphonic black metal album.”
- Zware Metalen (Netherlands)
“Another aspect that we can highlight in the sound of this album and that makes it different is the fusion that is presented to us between that symphonic black and the integration of an atmospheric black that flows perfectly embedded in the depths of the sound of the album, finding a perfect balance between both parties.”
- Black Metal Spirit
"Intense, evocative & evolutive. These are the words that -in my opinion- represent the essence of the new Starer songs, a step up towards a more personal sound, without renouncing its own influences & stylistical background."
- A Different Perspective
“Josh Hines is an impressive songwriter and composer who I think understands how to put together compelling sounding album. At the end of the day, Starer continues to get even better with each new release, and I can tell you that there is genuine passion and determination fueling each new recording from this act.”
- Rock and Metal Temple
“Excellently paced and dynamic yet undeniably heavy, it is an album that leaves a long lingering impression that is also awe-inspiring.” 9/10
- The Coroners Report (New Zealand)
“Josh has done pretty well on this, the compositions have a commanding presence and the balance of the string vs synth is adjusted for maximum epicness.”
- The AvantVoid
“Nothing short of a masterpiece.”
- Metal 1on1 (UK)
“Release of the week”
- The Progspace
“If you are a fan of atmospheric and symphonic post black metal, you should check out this recording.” 8/10
- Occult Black Metal Zine