{"id":361885,"date":"2025-12-22T14:57:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T14:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/361885\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T14:57:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T14:57:10","slug":"starscourge-conqueror-of-the-stars-betwixt-sundered-seraphim-the-lands-between-bleed-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/361885\/","title":{"rendered":"Starscourge – Conqueror of the Stars – Betwixt Sundered Seraphim, the Lands Between Bleed Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Fromsoftware\u2019s behemoth action-RPG Elden Ring is an enigma. How a game so obtuse, difficult, and uniquely itself in its visuals and storytelling became the blockbuster that it is baffles me, and it\u2019s one of those precious pieces of art that simply makes me happy to live in the same world as it. It\u2019s also metal as anything can be. Bands like Fell Omen<\/a> have tapped into the game\u2019s mythology for inspiration before and, now, the international blackened death duo Starscourge enter the fray with their debut Conqueror of the Stars \u2013 Betwixt Sundered Seraphim, the Lands Between Bleed. Promising serious riffage and an emphasis on storytelling, instrumentalist Zul Bharoocha (Sweden) and vocalist Mithun MK (Singapore) have already overcome one great obstacle by getting this thing made at all. But what did Starscourge achieve with Conqueror of the Stars\u2026? I doubt you could even imagine it\u2026<\/p>\n

Conqueror of the Stars\u2026\u2019s full title is comically verbose, but it foreshadows the sheer opulent regality exuded by Starscourge. The band masterfully captures Elden Ring\u2019s demi-deific power struggle through massive riff-craft supported by extravagant (synth) orchestration and choir. \u201cRanni\u2019s Requiem \u2013 A Night of Black Knives\u201d imposes regal grandiosity through overwhelming choirs and guitar leads, while the weight with which \u201cThe Battle of Aeonia\u201d heaves itself feels genuinely symphonic. \u201cAthwart Hereditary Taint, Thence Doth the Valkyrie Ride\u201d wields a wonderful balance of airy dueling guitars and piano and blistering, throat-shredding black metal, standing in contrast to the maniacal, overtly evil decadence of \u201cTogether, My Serpentine Valentine\u201d immediately following. Even the Slayer cover \u201cSpirit in Black\u201d sounds opulent, imbuing MK\u2019s Araya impersonation with the arrogant pomp suited to a Golden Order lord of Elden Ring. If you like your metal as haughty as it is heavy, Starscourge is your band and Conqueror of the Stars\u2026 is your album.<\/p>\n

\ufeffAthwart Hereditary Taint, Thence Doth The Valkyrie Ride by Starscourge<\/a><\/p>\n

Conqueror of the Stars\u2026 may reek of vainglory and overwriting, but don\u2019t be fooled: Starscourge are exhilarating. Bharoocha\u2019s riffs tap into the fullest majesty of black metal (\u201cThe Shattering\u201d) and melodeath\u2019s sharpest hooks (\u201cI Am the Starscourge\u201d), even indulging in NWOBHM-isms on \u201cThe Battle of Aeonia.\u201d MK\u2019s growls resemble a mix of Aeternam\u2019s Achraf Loudiy and Lamb of God\u2019s Randy Blythe, while his cleans recall both Borknagar\u2019s ICS Vortex and, when he breaks out the falsettos, King Diamond. Conqueror of the Stars\u2026 rages from start to finish, whether by propulsive chops on \u201cWhereunto Frenzy Beckoneth\u201d or furious tremolos on \u201cDestiny\u2019s Dastardly Dynasty,\u201d and Bharoocha\u2019s leads and solos approach Moonlight Sorcery levels of show-off-ness in their technicality (\u201cBlessings Upon the Golden Throne\u201d). Starscourge also prove expert editors, as everything but \u201cThe Battle of Aeonia\u201d sits tight at three to four minutes of no fat, all muscle goodness. Starscourge could\u2019ve afforded to put on some weight, as both \u201cBlessings Upon the Golden Order\u201d and \u201cI Am the Starscourge\u201d end somewhat anticlimactically. Like Elden Ring, Conqueror of the Stars\u2026 brings the goods in great quantity without resorting to padding.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s no avoiding Starscourge\u2019s Achilles heel: insistence upon voice acting. Opener \u201cBetwixt Sundered Seraphim\u2026\u201d sees Starscourge read off one of Elden Ring\u2019s trailer scripts in an unconvincing Shakespearean inflection over boring synths, failing to either achieve the dramatic pulse of the original read or excite the listener. This is the least offensive spoken word moment on the album, however, because it at least doesn\u2019t distract from a good instrumental. Too often, a bruising riff (\u201cDestiny\u2019s Dastardly Dynasty\u201d), half a solo (\u201cThe Shattering\u201d), or a slow build-up (\u201cThe Battle of Aeonia\u201d) is buried under cringey monologue that doesn\u2019t immerse the listener into the story any better than a compelling instrumental could\u2019ve. Given voice acting\u2019s prominent role in Conqueror of the Stars\u2026, it\u2019s clear that Starscourge think of it as an integral factor of their style. I don\u2019t. It\u2019s boring, a bit silly, and stands in conflict with the rest of the music. Conqueror of the Stars\u2026 is already an engrossing, deeply dramatic record without it, so why insist upon it?<\/p>\n

But even with Starscourge\u2019s voice acting woes, not to mention less-than-thrilling mixing and mastering, Conqueror of the Stars \u2013 Betwixt Sundered Seraphim, the Lands Between Bleed is a monumentally entertaining record. Both grandiose and lean, the few but notable hiccups this album has just barely held my hand from shattering the Score Safety Box one last time this year. Whether you abide by the frenzy of black metal or live in death, or just really like Elden Ring, Conqueror of the Stars\u2026 is an easy recommendation. Bear witness!<\/p>\n

Rating: Very Good\u2026
DR: 6\u2026 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3\u2026
Label: Self-Release\u2026
Websites: facebook.com\/official.starscourge<\/a> | starscourgeofficial.bandcamp.com<\/a> \u2026
Releases Worldwide: December 19th, 2025\u2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fromsoftware\u2019s behemoth action-RPG Elden Ring is an enigma. How a game so obtuse, difficult, and uniquely itself in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361886,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[975,25316,155671,65844,155672,49,48,155673,142476,75,45018,28511,155674,59871,154160,341,208,209,52833,120190,155675],"class_list":["post-361885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-975","tag-3-5","tag-aeternam","tag-blackened-death-metal","tag-borknagar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-conqueror-of-the-stars-betwixt-sundered-seraphim-the-lands-between-bleed","tag-dec25","tag-entertainment","tag-fell-omen","tag-international-metal","tag-king-diamond","tag-lamb-of-god","tag-moonlight-sorcery","tag-music","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-self-released","tag-slayer","tag-starscourge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361885\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}