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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Creating INTERSTELLAR on top of what we have already achieved as Apollo Stands was an experience that was made so much easier thanks to all the feedback and reviews from our previous release “MINDS”. We took everything that we were criticised for and did everything we could to make sure this E.P was the best it could possibly be. Writing the keys for this album was by far the easiest to start with and by the end of writing all of our backing it was hard to see where the rest of us would fit in without sounding like a wall of noise so rather than trying to compliment the band with our backing tracks as we have done before, it was more us complimenting them.
Includes unlimited streaming of Interstellar
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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Purchasable with gift card
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Neon pink logo on Neon green guitar pick. looks great under UV lights and as you can see in our photos they will light up your world.
Testimonials
Metal Noise - “Overall, a polished and shinning piece of Modern Metalcore, “Interstellar” should help lift Apollo Stands to new heights.”
Backseat Mafia - “Making each song stand out and the band have chosen well to showcase their varied songwriting talent.”
Metal Hammer- “Norwich progressive metal band is breath-taking.”
Powerplay Magazine - “The album (INTERSTELLAR) is classy and pro. Fans of progressive metalcore will dig this.”
Hard Rock Hell Magazine - “Apollo Stands have created a unique identity and style. Definitely a band to watch out for.”
Aim for the stars. Isn’t that well they told us when we were young, before life stomped on all of us with a big fat boot? Good news is that in-between endless bills and crippling debt, good music is still coming out, despite what others may say.
Apollo Stands has been surprisingly cagey when pushed to describe their latest LP, Interstellar. Press releases mention objective facts like when their last LP came out, or who they’ve shared the stage with, or who’s currently in the line-up. When actually describing their music or what to expect from Interstellar, they go refreshingly broad, referencing only genres that have influenced them rather than specific artists. Metal is touted, yes, but so is drum-and-bass, and so are film scores.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, album intro “Void” sounds very similar to a John Carpenter soundtrack, so we know they’re not messing around. You don’t really imagine a man with a knife chasing you when you listen to it, though. Rather, it’s used to build suspense, to build tension. Apollo Stands wants you to know that you’re in for something.
Alexei Swatman pulls double-duty with keyboards and guitar, and his sense of production is perhaps crucial to the album’s character. The synths glisten and bubble for most of the record, like you’re either about to launch into space or finally see a Feature Presentation on public television. There’s a turn towards the moody though on “Hive”, helped immensely by Matt Hayward on bass. Swatman is no slouch with guitar, however. He and fellow guitarist Olly Smith fall into twin leads surprisingly well, as they show on “Pickup” and album closer “The Arbiter”.
One thing that Apollo Stands definitely has to be commended for is variety, both in tone and tempo. We’ll take all the down-tuned riffs and blast beats you have in the tank, but making them all the same tempo or even the same key. It’d be wrong to call Interstellar short, despite only being seven songs long. Yet at no point do the songs feel bogged down or monotonous, either from song length or tempo. Apollo Stands knows how to duck and weave between moods, almost like set-pieces of a film. Dare we call it cinematic?
Ry Hase’s vocals certainly know how to ebb and weave like a film soundtrack. “Please Wait” has plenty of crooning, but then he reaches full wind tunnel level on the bridge of “Synthetic”. His performance on “Hive” goes full Voice of the Legion. It doesn’t all work, like the spoken word segments on lead single “Pick Up”, even if the rest of the song rocks hard enough to make up for it (somewhat).
In a refreshing change of pace, Interstellar stands on its own well enough that there’s very little to nitpick. A tight album by a tight band who’s put effort into honing their craft and building their audience. What more could you want? If we must, though, the guitar and drum production can sound a bit generic, even if the performances are fantastic. This is a bigger symptom of high gain rock as we know it now, though. Get a different amp and record the drums slightly differently, problem solved.
Interstellar is a tight, cinematic experience of a metal album that truly deserves to be called “cinematic”. Apollo Stands are willing to put in the work and take away the best from their influences, and we’re excited to see what they do next. They’re reaching for the stars and may yet be halfway there.
“Apollo Stands are an English band radiating punchy riffs and swelling synths from the East Anglian coast. The combination
of various metal genres with atmospheric electronic music shapes their dynamic sound and guides listeners through an assortment of listening delights. Through an extensive list of modern and old school influences...more
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