Sometimes it’s rather annoying that present days see tons of new releases, thanks to the internet and an overboarding amount of active labels. Thus it’s pretty easy for nearly anyone interested in extreme underground music to miss really interesting bands, even when they are around for longer times. A perfect example for these “problems” with the complexity of the contemporary scene is STELLAR MASTER ELITE from Trier in Germany. This band is around for almost a decade now and they have released three albums to date. Nevertheless I haven’t noticed their name yet, not to mention any of their albums, which is a real pity and a circumstance I should change very soon. The perfect reason to check out more from STELLAR MASTER ELITE is “Hologram Temple”, their fourth and therefore newest effort. From the first notes of the opener ‘Null’, I was fascinated by their gloomy approach to darkness, doom and blackness that accumulates to a kind of progressive Black / Doom Metal. In certain ways, STELLAR MASTER ELITE remind of bands like SATYRICON or SECRETS OF THE MOON, just to give you some cornerstones of their sound. But STELLAR MASTER ELITE are absolutely unique in their effective decent use of keyboard and synthesizer effects, either to underline atmospheres (‘Freewheel Decrypted’ or ‘Apocalypsis’) or even as a fundamental element (‘Ad Infinitum’). The very strange ‘The Secret Of Neverending Chaos’ even has some parts that reminded me of 1970s Prog Rock for a few seconds. And in addition, there are songs that are more a kind of dark and gloomy soundscapes, like ‘Agitation – Consent – War’ or the final ‘Tetragon’, a really threatening and utterly dark composition of 15 minutes in length that reminds of a movie score with Black Metal eruptions. On the other hand, there are straighter and rawer parts or even whole songs like ‘Black Hole Dementia’ that even reminded me of middle-aged DARKTHRONE, just to end up with a rather spheric outro piece. So, if you don’t mind very well used keyboards and dig extreme Metal STELLAR MASTER ELITE is a band definitely worth checking out! Do so at www.facebook.com/smemusic, stellarmasterelite.bandcamp.com or visit their label: www.ucdeath.com