CHARLES CITY, IA - Astral Space was started with a vision of the cosmos. Brothers Shane Miller (vocals) and Jesse Miller (drums) came up with the band's concept in 2006. Bassist Randy McFarland joined in the following years, and after various guitarist changes, the band landed their final lineup in 2015 when guitarist AJ Bryan and DJ Chase Dubiel joined the almost decade-old band. Despite their long existence, the band only had two studio releases at the time, both from 2014.
"It's nice to be different," said Dubiel. "We strive to do our own thing."
With the induction of Dubiel and Bryan, the band took on a new sound. Dubiel took on the role as DJ and was in charge of sampling, synthesizers, keyboards and turntables, a role that Jesse Miller had before him. However, when Miller was the DJ, live performances were more primitive, since Miller had to play the pre-recorded tracks on his iPad since they didn't have an on-stage DJ.
"The original guys - the Millers, Jesse and Shane - they started it... and had this obsession for space, and they made a band out of it," said Dubiel. "Now we've just made it a theme to where it's our different take on metal. It's our own touch."
The band has a heavy electronic emphasis, but their sound is deeply rooted in deathcore. Dubiel takes influence from bands like Chelsea Grin, Emmure, Signs of the Swarm and electronic deathcore acts like Attack Attack! and Exotype. To add to the overall "cosmic" feeling, the band members wear body paint and bring blacklights to their live shows. This ensures that when they play live, their set is lit up in the most unique way.
Astral Space performing live in 2017 with body paint.
With their current lineup, Astral Space put out three more studio releases, including "Blacklist," which was officially released on Mar. 7, 2020 when the band played a CD release show with Jim Jones, Plea of the Sword, Disgunt and Toppling Despots.
Just having released a new album before the COVID-19 pandemic became serious in Iowa, the band entered isolation with a clean slate, and they began writing a new album immediately, sending their own recordings to the rest of the band. While the band is coping with the restricting times, they are still not able to practice together.
"I honestly don't even think there was a decision made about [band practice]," said Dubiel. "Everything just went down, and we just assumed we wouldn't see each other for a little bit."
Once the pandemic ends, the band plans to embark on a mini-tour to promote the new album. More information is not currently available or official. For now, their albums can be streamed on Spotify and Bandcamp.