Labyrinthus Stellarum - Rift in Reality

Angry Metal Guy 80

Last year, two shockingly young lads from the war-torn Odesa, Ukraine, released an absolute gobsmacker of an album that wound up monopolizing my non-review rotation for weeks. Vortex of the Worlds was only the second album from Labyrinthus Stellarum, but the cosmic black metal within had power, depth, and hooks for days. Obviously, I wanted more, and the Andronati brothers expedited delivery, leaving less than 13 months between releases. You can strike when the iron is hot, but slow and steady wins the race. Which idiom is idiotic regarding Rift in Reality?

Laugh at the naysayers and scoff at the unbelievers, citizens, because Rift in Reality is everything one could want from a sequel to Vortex. Labyrinthus Stellarum is great at many different things: thick and evocative deep space atmosphere, enticing melodic lines on guitar as well as keys, dexterous energetic assaults, methodically constructed grandeur, and more. But whereas Vortex put some of everything in every track, the songs on Rift in Reality are more focused, more singular. The variety across the 37-minute album is astounding. Opener “Voyagers” is fast and furious, even bright, sketching a Star Trek-style expedition to boldly go where no one has gone before in its energetic riffs and supporting synthwork. It’s a colossal contrast with the gorgeous centerpiece “Lost in the Void,” where the understated keys and heavy mood paint the vivid picture of an astronaut gone adrift, life support slowly ticking down to the red as the music takes us through their stages of grief.

Rift in Reality by Labyrinthus Stellarum

This kind of imagery invoked is purely down to the music, as the vocals are, by and large, unintelligible. Not that it detracts from elder brother Alexander’s emphatic, biting snarl, which manages to induce an emotional response with only minute variations. His cleans might prove more polarizing, as the heavy layering and vocode effects are often unpopular in the metal sphere, but these production choices fit the themes too well to be a detraction or distraction for me. Even where they are used more heavily, such as the abject heartsick of “Take Us Home,” they effectively serve to conjure a long-range transmission through interplanetary space. It all further boosts the diversity and recognizability of each individual track, and Labyrinthus Stellarum has even begun incorporating new sounds and songwriting elements; just check the brief but effective breakdown in “Rift in Reality” or the spacetime warping bends of “Ravenous Planet”‘s main riff.

Put it all together and Rift in Reality is an excellent, highly effective, and thoroughly addictive trip across the darkest corners of the universe. The only thing that detracts from the tracklist is closer “Nirlakh,” a fully electronic instrumental that would be great in a Metroid soundtrack but sounds curiously out of place here. Aside from that, the production has its good and bad sides. As with Vortex, I’ve come to enjoy the choice for mood over pure fidelity here. There’s a slightly hollow, muffled sound across the album, which supports the notion of being in a cramped spaceship with an unimaginable void all around you. But this should be possible with a little more breathing room on the master. In its current state, the programmed drums sound flatter than I believe they ought to. The mix does help retain enough depth to the music overall, but I do think Labyrinthus Stellarum can still improve on this point.

It will have to suffice for a list of improvements, because there’s scant little else to complain about regarding Rift in Reality. Despite a fast turnaround and the ongoing war, the Andronati brothers have not only retained the quality of its predecessor, but are clearly pushing themselves to evolve and diversify. Every track here feels like an episode in a sci-fi anthology series, jumping between infectious earworms and affecting atmosphere with practiced ease. It’s fun without sacrificing depth, it’s addictive like crack, and you can put it on repeat for a week without growing tired of it. One great album can put you on the map, but two in a row gets you a spot amongst the stars, and with Rift in Reality, Labyrinthus Stellarum have earned a constellation of their own.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Northern Silence Productions
Websites: labyrinthusstellarum.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/LabyrinthusStellarum
Releases Worldwide: May 2nd, 2025

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