Like those programmers who insist on rebuilding every line of code in Python, New York’s black metal woodland-walkers Astral Alchemy envision a universe unraveled down to its last atom. That process is captured in their debut record, Weaving Chilling Magical Dreamworlds. With five tracks and just shy of forty minutes of music, that’s a lot of ground to cover in little time. From the duo of guitarist/bassist/vocalist He Who Walks under the Bloodmoon and drummer/guitarist He Who Wields Twin Scepters of Malice, Astral Alchemy invites you to “Let the power of the stars guide you and the atmospheric universe coalesce the accounts of dreamworlds becoming reality.” But black metal bands are always talking big on how mystical and esoteric they are. Does Astral Alchemy have the magic, or is the only thing cold about Weaving Chilling Magical Dreamworlds how it leaves me in the end?
Astral Alchemy aren’t reinventing the wheel, but they sure get it spinning on Weaving Chilling Magical Dreamworlds. Evoking the grandeur of Emperor and the riffing belligerence of Dissection, Astral Alchemy wields second-wave sorcery through darkly atmospheric soundscapes. Particularly in early cuts like “Tria Prima Offering to the Great Serpent” and “Bathing in the Sap of the Moonflower,” Dreamworlds plays it straight in entwining blast beat-downs with synthesized choirs and symphonics, shifting between creeping, distorted arpeggios and furious tremolos. Where Astral Alchemy stand out is in execution: Dreamworlds is a living, angry beast. Astral Alchemy’s guitar tone is thick, burly, and good for turning their dense, high-octane riffs into weapons of cosmic warfare. Drumming on Dreamworlds is scathing and thunderous, but just as menacing in its slower moments like the Mayhemic crawls of “Tria Prima…” or the crushing back half of “Stars of Ruin.” Topped off with intricately layered synths and husky, ravenous rasps, Weaving Chilling Magical Dreamworlds becomes a particularly engrossing listen.
Like earthly alchemy, Astral Alchemy take simple ingredients and transmute them in subliminal ways while Weaving Chilling Magical Dreamworlds. With midpoint “Stars of Ruin,” Dreamworlds takes an unexpected turn: it slams. Halfway through, Astral Alchemy turned my head with its melodic, borderline metalcore chug riff before stopping and breaking my neck with a groovy, ignorant death riff and ear-splitting Breeeeeeee. It’s nuts. Forwarding Astral Alchemy’s march towards weirdness, “Collapse of the Cosmos” bookends its tremolo madness with Hexrotting electronic glitches and atmospherics1 while the epic, SotY-contending “Eyes through the Speculum” punches bright, downright uplifting progressions into Dreamworld’s frigid mold and somehow makes it work. Songs on Dreamworlds just don’t sit still; “Eyes…” bounces between airy acoustics to thick post-metal riffing to ethereal synths while comparatively normal tracks like “Bathing in the Sap of the Moonflower” still find ways to inject variation in rhythm and dissonance in melody. Simply, Weaving Chilling Magical Dreamworlds sees Astral Alchemy operate within the established tropes of black metal without being beholden to them.
Authenticity isn’t something black metal is known for, but that’s exactly the impression I get from Astral Alchemy. Weaving Chilling Magical Dreamworld’s lyricism is rooted in genuine alchemical philosophy (“Tria Prima Offering to the Great Serpent”), espousing the significance of transformation through destruction and synthesis. Everything about Astral Alchemy’s approach to songwriting—from the seamless melding of passages to the constant iterations on motifs to the dynamism of tone and energy—stands in accordance with these values. Astral Alchemy aren’t concerned with sounding “kvlt;” Dreamworlds’ mix and production sounds too crisp for that, despite its modest DR score. Instead, Astral Alchemy is very much guided by the pursuit of an esoteric soundscape of boundless creative and destructive energy. Weaving Chilling Magical Dreamworlds isn’t perfect in this regard—the first two tracks lose some steam by the end and “Collapse of the Cosmos” is somewhat standard-issue outside of its electronics—but you also don’t get much better than it either.
Weaving Chilling Magical Dreamworlds isn’t a great title—it doesn’t want to roll off the tongue at all—but it is apt. Abrasive, melodic, twisted, and just plain big, this first showing from Astral Alchemy honestly has me wondering if this duo is industry veterans in disguise. The confidence with which they carry themselves on Dreamworlds would be impressive for fresh musicians; it translates to impressive music in my headphones regardless. When much of black metal feels like a race to the bottom of the barrel, Astral Alchemy’s fresh take on the blackened arts is truly exciting. Weave on, Astral Alchemy!
Rating: Great!
DR: 6| Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Naturmacht Productions
Websites: astralalchemybm.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/AstralAlchemyMusic
Releases Worldwide: June 25th, 2026
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