Asterous are a dynamic duo from Vancouver in Canada and Animus is their latest offering, released on 28/10/2022.

Playing songs that blur the lines between good and evil, growth and destruction, emotion and apathy, this pair blend alternative rock and hard rock but with hints of pop, goth, indie and grunge too.

Consisting of The Destructor Don Beaudain “puppet master and expert string manipulator” and Rummy Kandola “queen of the keys and auditory articulator,” Asterous know how to make moody and atmospheric tunes.

With layered vocals and piano, great bass lines coming through the mix and technical drumming keeping everything tight, Animus is a super edgy twist on alternative music.

The guitar work is fantastic, and the solos have a hint of Pink Floyd (always a good thing in my book!) and the vocals are haunting yet expressive. The mix of female lead vocals with male backing work wells and the distortion used on both these and the guitars only augments the melancholy feel of the track.

There is a great pace to the song, starting softly and calmly with clean synth, before dirty, fuzzy guitars come in and the track builds in speed and intensity.

This is a song the duo should be extremely proud of, not just because, musically, it is an excellent track but also because it was recorded and mixed by themselves so that “their vision came across fully and exactly the way they wanted it to!”

I wait expectantly for the next offering from this Canadian twosome as I have no doubt it will be incredible.

This review is purely the property of The Metal Asylum