Air (Astronoid album)

Air is the debut album by post-metal band Astronoid, released in 2016 by Blood Music.

Air
Studio album by
Astronoid
ReleasedJune 6, 2016 (2016-06-06)
GenrePost-metal,[1] post-rock,[1] shoegaze,[2] progressive metal,[2] progressive rock
Length50:01
LabelBlood Music
Astronoid chronology
Air
(2016)		 Astronoid
(2019)

Background

After releasing an EP Stargazer in 2013, vocalist Brett Boland and bassist Daniel Schwartz recruited guitarists Casey Aylward and Mike DeMelia and drummer Matt St. Jean to create a full band lineup.[3][4] After forming the full band, the group was signed to Blood Music.[5]

The band was inspired by Devin Townsend, Ihsahn, and Emperor during this time.[6]

The band released the songs "Air" and "Up and Atom" to promote the album before its release.[7][8]

Style

The band's label described their sound as "Dream Thrash".[9] Noisey described the album as "a buoyant mix of metal, thrash, punk, prog-rock and shoegaze.".[10]

Allmusic described the album's sound, stating "The terms "dream thrash" and "blackgaze" could be thrown around—and it really is an exhilarating mish-mash of everything from black metal to shoegaze to thrash and even to pop-punk."[2] The A.V. Club described it as "a soaring sound, which marries heavenly clean vocals to a warm but still blistering blur of guitar that's like black metal on a sugar rush".[11]

Critical reception and sales
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
New Noise magazine[12]
The Independent Voice[13]
Progressive Music Planet[14]
Metal Trenches[15]
It Djents[16]
Metal Temple[17]
The Prog Mind9.5/10[18]
Alt Dialogue9.75/10[19]
The Grim Tower[20]

Air received nearly universal critical acclaim upon release. Writing for AllMusic, Neil Z. Yeung gave the album 4 and a ​1⁄2 out of 5 stars, stating "overwhelmingly powerful and cathartic, Air is an album to get lost in, a single-listen journey over emotional peaks and through sonic valleys. There is so much happening at once that descriptions make it sound like a confused exercise."[2]

Metal Sucks described the album as "an instant classic".[21] Angry Metal Guy gave the album a positive review, stating "Air is the kind of destined-to-be-classic that conjures a world of timeless innocence and youthful wonder. This is the soundtrack to walking on the beach alone on the first day of summer... This is the sound of being old enough to know how incredible the world can be, but young enough not to have been tainted by its negativity."[22] It Djents called the album one of the best debuts in recent memory and one of the best records of 2016.[16] San Diego City Beat called the album one of the best of 2016 in any genre.[23]

In its first week, the album sold 250 physical copies.[24] 24 hours after release, it was ranked #2 on the Bandcamp metal charts.[25] Shortly afterwards, it climbed to #1 on the metal charts and #10 on the site overall.[26]

Accolades

Stereogum placed the album 31st on their half-way through the year rankings of the best albums of any genres through June 2016.[27] Consequence of Sound named the album 10th on its ranking of Top 10 Metal albums of 2016.[28] Air was placed on the "Best of 2016" as well as "Favorite Metal Album" year end lists by Allmusic.[29][30] Metal Insider named it one of the top 5 metal albums of the year so far in a June column,[31] they later ranked it third on their Top Metal Albums of 2016 list.[32] Metal Storm named it the best debut album of 2016.[33]

Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Stereogum 50 Best Albums of 2016 So Far (June 2016)
31
[27]
Consequence of Sound Top 10 Metal Albums of 2016
10
[28]
Metal Insider Top Metal Albums of 2016
3
[32]
Metal Storm Best Debut Albums of 2016
1
[33]
Stereogum 40 Best Metal Albums of 2016
7
[34]
LA Weekly The Best Metal Albums of 2016
2
[35]
Loudwire Graham Hartmann's Top 5 Rock + Metal albums of 2016
1
[36]
Free Williamsburg 11 Best Metal Albums of 2016
3
[37]
Invisible Oranges Top Albums of 2016
3
[38]
No Clean Singing Top 10 Albums of 2016
1
[39]
Toilet Ov Hell Joaquin Stick's Top 10 Albums of 2016
8
[40]
Ghost Cult Mag 50 Best Albums of 2016
29
[41]
Metalholic Top 50 Hard Rock & Metal albums
39
[42]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Brett Boland and Daniel Schwartz.

Air
No.TitleLength
1."Incandescent"5:11
2."Up and Atom"6:17
3."Resin"6:30
4."Violence"2:21
5."Homesick"4:47
6."Tin Foil Hats"5:09
7."Air"6:09
8."Obsolete"6:11
9."Trail of Sulfur"7:26
Total length:50:01

Personnel
Astronoid
  • Brett Boland - vocals
  • Daniel Schwartz - bass
  • Casey Aylward - guitar
  • Mike DeMellia - guitar
  • Matt St. Jean - drums
Production
  • Mixed by Brett Boland & Daniel Schwartz.
  • Mastered by Daniel Schwartz.
  • Cover art by Lully Schwartz.
gollark: As in, no testing unless you returned from China recently or something like that.
gollark: There was that mess where the one they had was faulty somehow, and I think regulations prevented their use on most people also.
gollark: If copies of it stick in your body forever, you'll have immunity forever! Nothing* can** go wrong!
gollark: There are vaccines against it but people don't get those nowadays as far as I know.
gollark: I mean, you could just use smallpox and cause lots of temporary chaos.

References
  1. stereogum
  2. "AIR - Astronoid | Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  3. "Astronoid - Biography & History - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  4. "Astronoid Interview: Brett Boland on the Band's Intoxicating 'Air'". 22 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  5. "Astronoid and the power of 'Air'". 23 February 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  6. Nelson, Michael (June 1, 2016). "Band To Watch: Astronoid". Stereogum. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  7. "Lighten Up with AstronoidMetal Insider". 20 April 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  8. "Astronoid unveil "Up and Atom"Metal Insider". 17 May 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  9. "A chat with Astronoid". 21 May 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  10. Relly, Emily (June 10, 2016). "Astronoid's 'Air' Is the Happiest Dream Thrash Record You'll Ever Hear". Noisey. Vice.com. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  11. Dowd, A.A. "A year-by-year music mix, video game art, and a heavenly metal album". Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  12. "Album Review: Astronoid - 'Air' - New Noise Magazine". 5 July 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  13. "Astronoid - Air". 25 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  14. "Astronoid – "Air"". 15 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  15. "Mew Goes Post-Rock". Metal Trenches. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  16. "REVIEW: Astronoid - "Air" - It Djents". www.itdjents.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  17. MetalDaveCampbell. "Astronoid - Air (Review by Dave "That Metal Guy" Campbell)". Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  18. "Astronoid – "Air"". 2 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  19. "Album Review: Air by Astronoid". 16 November 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  20. "Astronoid - Air (2016) - The Grim Tower". 12 June 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  21. "Holy Shit Alert: Astronoid's Air - MetalSucks". 15 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  22. "Astronoid - Air [Things You Might Have Missed 2016] - Angry Metal Guy". 21 December 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  23. Salmon, Ben (18 April 2017). "Astronoid's perfectionism leads to an unlikely metal sound". Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  24. "Metal By Numbers 6/23: The charts are anything but hollowMetal Insider". 23 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  25. "Blood Music". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  26. "Blood Music". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  27. "The 50 Best Albums Of 2016 So Far". 15 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  28. "The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2016". 30 November 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  29. "AllMusic Best of 2016 - AllMusic 2016 in Review". AllMusic.
  30. "Favorite Metal Albums - AllMusic 2016 in Review". AllMusic.
  31. "Metal Insider's Top 5: The best albums of 2016 (so far)Metal Insider". 24 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  32. "Metal Insider editor Bram Teitelman's Top 10 of 2016Metal Insider". 15 December 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  33. "Metal Storm Awards 2016 - Metal Storm". www.metalstorm.net. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  34. "The 40 Best Metal Albums Of 2016". 14 December 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  35. Roche, Jason (19 December 2016). "The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2016". Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  36. "Graham's Top 5 Rock + Metal Albums of 2016". Loudwire. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  37. "11 Best Metal Albums of 2016 – Free Williamsburg". freewilliamsburg.com. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  38. "Top Albums of 2016, by Greg Majewski". Invisible Oranges - The Metal Blog. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  39. "2016 — A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE PERSONAL TOP TEN – NO CLEAN SINGING". www.nocleansinging.com. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  40. "AOTY 2016, as chosen by 365 Days of Horror, Joaquin Stick, and Spear! – The Toilet Ov Hell". www.toiletovhell.com. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  41. "Ghost Cult Album Of The Year Countdown 2016 (30-11) - Ghost Cult Magazine". www.ghostcultmag.com. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  42. metalholic
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