Dione - 2025 - Astrolatry

(37:25; Dione)

Track list:
1. Astrolatry 7:28
2. Black Discord 3:16
3. Prometheus, Thou Absorbing the Starlight 4:36
4. Project Zero 4:03
5. Hesperia Planum 3:28
6. Lament of the Forgotten 5:46
7. Solar Apex (The Visceral Ode to Beta Herculis) 2:58
8. Contemplating Space and the Pearllike Miasma 5:50

Line-up:
Krystian Lukaszewicz - vocals, guitars, bass, piano
with:
Robin Stone - drums


Polish project Dione is the creative vehicle of composer and artist Krystian Lukaszewicz, and in essence this is a one man band as far as permanent members go at least. This venture kicked off back in 2023 with the EP "Cosmosphere", and now in 2025 the debut album "Astrolatry" has been self-released by the artist.

It is a little bit of a lo-fi sounding venture into the extreme metal realm we have here, with the main man handling all technical aspects of the album itself in addition to the vocals and the greater majority of the instrument roles. Very much a self made creation in other words, or what we in the old days would describe as a mostly DIY album.

It is a slightly more melancholic and melodic take on the extreme metal tradition we get here, with many of the more memorable songs making good use of textured sounding harmony and melody overlays of the kind that gives me associations to the post-rock traditions. Melodic overlays are a defining feature in general here, with songs that make good use of fluctuating and circulating patterns in general. We do get sections that focus more on riffs and rhythms in between too, adding variation to the landscapes explored, and much the same is the case for various kinds of more atmospheric interludes that appear in the longer compositions in particular. The same variation is applied to pace and intensity, with some passages sporting a higher degree of pace and momentum, others slowing both of these aspects down, as well as passages where we get busier drums and slower paced guitars, a combination that always strikes me as interesting as a listener.

While some of the songs here do tend to become a bit too uniform or a bit too chaotic for my taste in music, we do get several solid affairs that hone in on atmospheric laden moods and a bit of melancholy, and also a tasteful venture into a quirkier kind of landscape that on a few different levels gave me associations to the type of material good, old Coroner explored towards the end of their initial run as a band.

As far as the vocals go they are of the gruff and distorted kind of delivery, and have been placed quite a bit down in the mix and thus avoids being a more prominent or abrasive fixture. Present as a part of the totality rather than as a dominant aspect of it if you like.

If you tend to enjoy the honest sounding, lo-fi and DIY approach and execution of extreme metal one man bands in general, and find ventures of this kind that explore a more melodic, firm and melancholic mood and atmosphere to be of specific interest, then this Polish one-man band may well be one worth having a go at.

Olav M. Björnsen, April 2025

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/dionefb