History & Biography Apart from Psychoslaughter (friends call him Psyche) who was described as a session member, the main members were described as a 'sinister female trio' upon formation. After the Dancing In The Dark Lakes Of Evil demo, the band changed to a more suitable monicker and signed to the fledgling Black Lotus down in Greece. The band seemingly utilized a drum machine on the sophomore effort and increased the presence of the keyboards.
Sirens featured Dimmu Borgir's Shagrath and Rotting Christ's Sakis. Magick Records issued the album in America. In 2005, Tristessa won a court dispute that began nearly two years previously by her old band-mate Kinthia, regarding the official ownership of the band's name and logo. The court case was started after the band went through a drastic line-up change before the Sirens album was written and recorded.
The band’s fifth album was entitled Demonized in 2006 and featured an appearance by Angela Gossow of Arch Enemy (on the song Black At Heart). Sabbat and Skyclad singer Martin Walkyier's contribution to the song God Among Men was promised, but not fulfilled due to personal problems by the man.
A new album called Blackdemonium was being worked on and was expected in 2015. Singer Tristessa (a.k.a. Maria Kolokouri) died in August 2014 after succumbing to leukemia. Tristessa's widower, singer Nicolas Maiis, announced "an unreleased, aggressive Astarte album with thrash and death elements recorded by Tristessa and Maiis, named Blackdemonium, will see the light of day in 2025."
In the meantime, a whole pile of new and unrelated musicians retrieved the 'Lloth' monicker and began performing in 2013. Tristessa's illness and subsequent death did not deter the gang and, as interchangeable names came and went, the band named Lloth released music. To confuse folks even more, Astate itself released Dancing In The Dark Lakes Of Evil - The Lloth Years, a 1997 demo of material, in 2021. Moreover, Sleaszy Rider announced that Blackdemonium, a final album by Astarte, was ready for release in 2025.
Reviews ASTARTE - DOOMED DARK YEARS - BLACK LOTUS
This is a K&F band. While they use the accursed keyboards only occasionally, the female vocals are of a different kind - a very different kind. You see, Astarte is a female trio which specializes in extreme black metal and while singer Kinthia might be a female, her voice would have you double checking the fact. Morbid death grunts supplant the expected opera vocals, as the rest of the band sets out to prove that they are not bad at reproducing Nordic style black metal. In fact, the music sounds mature and if the band's country of origin or the presence of synthesizers here and there didn't scare you, then this album might be more of a hit than a miss. - Ali "The Metallian"
ASTARTE - QUOD SUPERIUS, SICUT INFERIUS - BLACK LOTUS
Astarte is a Greek female trio - and an unheralded fourth male - and
Quod Superius, Sicut Inferius ('as above, so below') is their third album.
Recorded at Praxis Studio and produced by no less than one called The
Magus, the well-designed album features appearances by Spiros of Septic Flesh
and Iraklis of Swan Christy. Unlike Kittie, Kitty, Kitten or whatever the
Canadian prostitute look-alikes are called, these girls are actually
not eyesores. Which is just as well given the musical effort. Certainly a more musical album than the band's past output, Quod Superius... is also the harbinger of a weaker Astarte. As is inevitable, the accentuation of
normal vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitars and softer melodies has translated
into the band's edge being lost and does not bode well for its future. Furthermore, the snares are a jumbled mess and the rattling drum machine provides the backdrop for a shameful and grossly typical
commercialization of the band's hitherto harsher black metal. Listen for the blatant rip-off of Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal on the track Sickness. Of course, given the lack of appeal in the band's sub-par yet harder previous sound, this was an impossible situation all along. The girls were damned if they did and damned if they did not. For when a follow-up album is expected to be untalented, the listener is hardly compensated via the release of an album that, albeit less primitive, is instead wimpy and banal. Even Houdini
couldn't pull a rabbit out of this hat!
ASTARTE - SIRENS - MAGICK
Astarte's newest album comes with a sticker on its cover calling attention to the fact that the band is comprised of "Greek black metal queens." If that is true, then the queens keep changing for the band's line-up bears no resemblance to what it was just a couple of years ago. Ignoring how there cannot be too many other female-dominated metal bands in Greece, the music of Sirens bears quite a resemblance to later Rotting Christ. It might be a coincidence that Rotting Christ's Sakis, along with Shagrath of Dimmu Borgir, guest on this album, but the music has the same kind of middle-of-the-road attitude and plods to a familiar 'nana nana nana' tune. The vocals are mostly gruff, but keyboards are everywhere and the music lacks enough riffs or verses to actually be something to write home about. A selling point might be the band's 3 female +1 male ensemble, although in this day and age of album overload that is debatable. The album comes with a video for the song Black Mighty Gods (Possessed reference perhaps?) included. - Ali "The Metallian"
Interviews
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