Voyage VI – “Cosmic Gods – Episode II : Astroatlas”

The crazy enterprise that is Dol Ammad has assembled once again and six years after “Hyperspeed”, we present you with “Astroatlas”. The second and closing chapter of the “Cosmic Gods” space-metal saga.

Lots have happened through those years with biggest highlights being the release of the mesmerising Dol Theeta EP “Keep Deep” and the total madness that was the Dol Kruug album “Eat Me”.

Just like every Dol Ammad album which requires massive amounts of work both for the pre and the post-production, “Astroatlas” is also the result of countless workdays. I have been working on this album on and off between 2015 and 2018.

The last years I have been experiencing a constant state of unaccomplishment and complete loss of direction and purpose. Maybe it is my dire financial situation partnering together with my ever growing nihilism that have also led to a gradual isolation from people, friends and family.

In spite of the above I feel very proud of what we have achieved with this album again.

Music still seems to remain my only functioning compass in life.

“Astroatlas” feels a bit more diverse than “Hyperspeed”. Somehow more “exploratory” compared to the “pure power” that the first episode focused on. Episode II features themes of epic space fights for the hidden artifact known as the “Astroatlas”, an artifact containing knowledge of cosmic magnitude. There are songs about a mysterious temple predicting these future wars, planet crushing meteor showers, the existential awakening of machines, biobombs, cryo-travel and more.

I feel that “Hyperspeed” and “Astroatlas” complement each other perfectly. Like two brothers, the two episodes were meant to be together. They were composed and some parts were even recorded during the same period of time.

However, this is my first full album that will have a digital-only release. Ever since our Dol Ammad demo back in 2002 I have embraced physical formats for our music releases. We have offered high quality CDs and packaging for all our albums and reached our climax with the deluxe vinyl release of “Hyperspeed”.

Since I was very young I have grown with touching, reading and smelling my music discoveries. Having physical copies of my own music used to be a utopian dream and when I first got those “Star Tales” digipack CDs into my hands back in 2004 I was ecstatic with indescribable joy and pride!

Unfortunately physical formats are not a viable option for my releases anymore.

Every release up until “Hyperspeed” was in a sense capable of funding the following one, something that was made possible by the extraordinary support of a small but very passionate group of friends of my space music adventures.

Current financial struggles, paired with the undeniable global shift towards the digital streaming of music, render any plans for physical releases an unobtainable luxury at the moment.

At the same time, however, a number of benefits arise from this situation.

Most importantly digital releases allow me to produce and publish music faster than ever before. A digital-only schedule would mean a much faster recording – production – release cycle. And trust me, I have tons of ideas stored in my music locker begging to come out and play.

Thus I should stop whining and embrace the fact that this situation benefits all. More music, faster releases, cheaper final products for me and the audience.

The show must go on! I would like to thank you all for your loving support through the years. I hope you enjoy “Astroatlas”.

Hands on the console – All Systems Go!

Thanasis Lightbridge
Summer 2018

Buy the Album:
https://dolammad.bandcamp.com/

If you’d like to donate & help support my music:
https://www.paypal.me/lightbridge