Arizona’s Kardashev (named after a Russian astrophysicist who developed a theory for measuring a civilization’s level of technological advancement) is one on the most engaging and entralling new acts Ive heard in the last few years and Alunea is absolutely fucking stunning.

Now the press releases for the band’s third album (first for me) uses the term ‘Deathgaze’ to sum up the band’s progressive, ambitious take on post black/death metal. That’s somewhat fair, but basically if you enjoy genre spanning bands like, Black Crown Initiate, Ne Obliviscaris, Junius, Between the Buried and Me, Rivers of Nihil, and maybe even Fallujah’s dreamy moments, but crossed with more ‘post’ black metal moods like  Deafheaven, Ghost Bath or Harakari for the Sky, you are in the right wheelhouse.

But if I’m being honest, Kardashev and certainly Alunea are hard to categorize. It’s a dreamy, progressive, warm, emotive, but extreme journey that covers a range of musical styles brilliantly.

At the front and center of Kardashev is vocalist Mark Garrett, who has a stunning array of screams, gruff bellows, and smooth, epic, clean croons, as well as developing his own language for the band’s lyrics and themes. His clean vocals are up there with William Southworth of Lunar Mercia. But certainly every member of the band is at the top of their game.

For those familiar with the band’s back catalog, Alunea picks up directly where the band’s 2017 The Almanac EP finished. It’s 8 songs in 42 minutes (the band is surprisingly succinct with their songs – no 15-minute meanderings here) of absolute perfection that has no skips, no fast forwards, as every single note hits perfectly from start to finish.

Every song has a little of everything artfully baked in, but get everything here from vicious but atmospheric modern black /death metal like opener “A Precipice. A Door”, to almost the tech death of “Reunion”,  proggy, melodic bliss (“Speak Silence”) and shimmering, atmospheric ‘post’ metal like standout “Seed of the Night” to massive, lurching almost early Opeth-ian death metal (start of “Edge of Forever”, “We Could Fold The Stars”), and everything in between.

All gilded with Barrett’s stunning soft croons (I mean, listen to the start of “Seed of the Night” or “We Fold the Stars”) and massive growls, that keep things well in the realms of progressive death metal and ultimately comes together perfectly with all the other elements to make a surefire album of the year contender.