Debut ep for this interesting one man band called Phobonoid, behind which lies Trentino musician Lord Phobos. Orbit is a short concept describing the hypothetical end of civilization on Mars, and the music that accompanies it is, in fact, as close as one can get to a soundtrack of a science fiction film with apocalyptic connotations. Lord Phobos is the author of a good effort under the banner of black metal with industrial connotations, drawing on a variety of influences including that represented by the French avant-garde school with Blut Aus Nord as a leading name. Although the production relegates vocals to the background, I don’t know how intentionally, however, thwarting their impact and making the work, in fact, almost instrumental, Orbit enjoys notable cues that hint at interesting developments for Phobonoid‘s future; in particular the last two tracks, Magnet and Deimos, rise in their total six minutes for the drama and pathos they manage to communicate, showing a compositional outlet to be explored with even more conviction in future releases; for now, the judgment can only be positive, although to express itself more fully will be necessary to wait for Lord Phobos’ further moves.

2013 – Dusktone