During the last ten years French based Les Acteurs De L’Ombre Productions has become one of the most interesting and notable labels when it comes to Black Metal. Most of the past and present roster came also from France, but I do not know if this the case with ASET, since the artists want to remain anonymous. Rumor has it that musicians from, among others, ORANSSI PAZUZU and SETH are gathered here. If I got things right the concept aims to mix Egyptian occult rites with modern and aggressive Black Metal. Ancient times with its occult and bizarre rituals have always been part of Heavy Metal. At the latest, IRON MAIDEN brought Egypt into the consciousness of the scene in 1984 with their album “Powerslave”. Almost forty years later it is ASET’s turn. Whereby one should say that as with IRON MAIDEN (and countless other bands) it is all about the image, there are no ancient Egyptian instruments or language to be heard. Musically ASET move within the realms of dissonant, mid-tempo paced Black Metal. And the band manages to do that quite well during the seven songs. Especially noteworthy is the dynamic songwriting, particularly driven by the drums and the aggressive, but also versatile vocals. Unfortunately the guitar section can not quite keep up here, the riffs still sound a bit too average for me. Even after listening to “Astral Rape” dozens of times, no song really sticks in your head or stands out. But that can still happen, after all it is just the debut and Les Acteurs De L’Ombre Productions has proven several times a fine sense for discovering and supporting new, promising bands. More information can be found here www.facebook.com/aset.magic and here www.facebook.com/ladloproductions