Back in 2021 guitarist/songwriter Ziad Mohsen, drummer Mohamed Elhusseiny, and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Muhammad Al-Wasat met forming the trio that I believe will take the Egyptian scene by storm, Astra Abyssosque. Aiming to make their mark on Egyptian heavy music, they released their debut single “Clean Conscience” on the 27th of July 2022 and I believe it definitely proved that they can do this, let me tell you why
“Clean Conscience” opens with mysterious orchestrations that feel like a storm approaching before it hits you with a heavy groovy riff with insane drumming. I loved how they took their time with every riff allowing the listener to digest it and blend in with ‘em fully before getting into a powerful melodic verse. The vocal melody was in total harmony with the riffs and pushed the song’s dynamics forward and the vocal harmonies were a really cool touch. We slowly get into a slow interlude around the 1:50 mins mark that has a brilliant multi-vocal layering, groovy mellow bass, and a soothing guitar melody that smoothly takes us into a super melodic chill guitar solo. “Clean Conscience” keeps on getting more interesting as it progresses into an Opethian dark section with growling vocals, dark orchestrations, and heavy thick guitars. They wrap all this with a soft transaction into the powerful bridge and chorus before brilliantly going into a grand outro that made me unconsciously play it over and over again.
“Clean Conscience” is a well-written and well-arranged debut by Astra Abyssosque that they clearly have taken their time in perfecting. It shows a lot of their musicianship through music writing and the good command of their instruments plus their attention to detail. You’ve got yourself a new fan, I will totally recommend this to everyone. Looking forward to more, cheers!
