The musical aspect of “The Astral Gloom” is distinguished by the supernatural atmosphere of subtle keyboards that creates an occult theme in the album’s opening “Intro – The Evocation”. Draped in the mystical dark riffing and wraithlike vocals, the slow pacing of the drums in the song “The Spirit of Mendes” has a similar cliché to Denial Of God. The rhythm guitar and melody are drawn from the style of mid-tempo black metal, with songs like “The Fathomless Dark”. The grisly spoken words along with the strumming of the guitars bring a sense of wonderment as you fall into the hypnotic fascination of the clean guitar arrangement.

A grim supernatural effect takes hold of the music and the overt sense of the first wave of black metal, but the atmosphere is surreal. The riffs the pounding drums and the sinister growls of Ustumallagam are the icing on the cake as he provides the most compelling vocal effects in demonstrating a ghoulish nature. “Under A Lunar Spell” has some fast tempo changes the riffs are very basic, but the catchiness of the melodic guitar chords mostly stand out. “The Astral Gloom” offers a cold, chilling atmosphere sense where the quintet exemplifies an occasional penchant for aggression and spiritual feel.

Though it appears that Ustumallagam is provoking the horror doomy tone of Denial of God but under a new moniker. The music incorporates some chilling guitar melodies and eerie keyboard passages, the drumming patterns are mainly played in a mid-tempo and there are some upbeat moments that offer some tempo changes. Whilst “Walpurgis Night” ventures into the sonic mysteriousness that takes classic elements from vintage horror films, this three-minute intermezzo accentuates the creepy effect of the keyboards and gives you a feeling that you are wandering through a dark corridor. The creepy setting undertones swell with a loud crescendo and serve as an opening for the album’s title track, “The Astral Gloom”.

The upbeat riffs become heavier with each pound of the beating drums, while these multifaceted riffs are the band’s greatest strength, the guitars focus on the aesthetics of the early wave of black metal. The sonic recipe is very similar to Gehenna’s debut “First Spell” but one cannot dismiss the old-school notion of the Italian black metal band Mortuary Drape. Though it feels like The Rite has put a clear emphasis on the use of the church organ as an element to enhance the songs, the band shows some variations with the guitars building up a groove section in the opening of the track “Nosophoros”. There are influences from heavy metal particularly showcased in this track, the fast sections are extremely grand, with slow sections having a swell of keyboard undertones.

Since the instruments are clear, the production of the album is very warm, even the bass guitar patterns and the swelling synth match the grim vocals. “Naked When You Come” is where the band hits the apex of their performance by sounding melodic and catchy, the song has a beautiful lead guitar melody. Despite sounding dark, and ghostly, the songs contain some catchy keyboards.

The dark appeal of “The Astral Gloom” has a cold ghostly feeling overall. And the gentle strum of the bass guitar in the closing track “The Valley of Megiddo” lays powerful emphasis on the heavy guitar chugging and creates a wall of sound. But the vocals are just perfect and bring a sense of creepiness. Thrashing riffs and drums move through an up-tempo, where a burst of the guitar solo provides some momentum in the final moments of the song.

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