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{{BLP sources|date=April 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Astennu
| image           = Astennu001.jpg
| birth_name      = James Stinson
| origin          = Sydney
| instrument      = Guitar, bass, vocals, keyboard, [[drum programming]]
| genre           = [[Black metal]] <br /> [[Death metal]]
| occupation      = Musician<br />songwriter<br />[[sound engineer]]
| years_active    = 1993–present
| label           =
| associated_acts = [[Dimmu Borgir]], [[Carpe Tenebrum]], [[The Kovenant]], [[Lord Kaos]], Infernal Method, Stronger Than Hate
| website         =
| current_members =
| past_members    =
}}
'''Astennu''' is the professional name of Australian [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] musician '''Jamie Stinson'''. His name is derived from a creature in [[Egyptian mythology]].
==Biography==
Astennu first came to notice as the guitarist and songwriter for the Australian [[black metal]] band [[Lord Kaos]]. The band recorded both the demo ''Path to My Funeral Light'' and a full-length album ''Thorns of Impurity'' in 1995. Before the album's release Astennu went to [[Norway]] and found interest in the album from [[Head Not Found Records]] however the other members of the band decided to remain in Australia and ''Thorns of Impurity'' was released by Sydney label [[Warhead Records]] in 1996. Astennu stayed in Norway and reworked some music he had written for Lord Kaos into songs for a solo project called [[Carpe Tenebrum]].<ref>Fischer-Giffin, Brian ''The Australian Metal Guide'' 2004 {{ISBN|3-931624-23-4}}</ref>
The first Carpe Tenebrum album ''[[Majestic Nothingness]]'' featured Astennu on all instruments with vocals from [[Stian Arnesen|Nagash]] of [[Dimmu Borgir]] and [[The Kovenant]]. It was released in 1997. Later the same year, Astennu joined Dimmu Borgir on guitar, freeing [[Shagrath]] to concentrate on vocals. Astennu's first recording with the band was the 1998 EP ''[[Godless Savage Garden]]''. He was also a member of Nagash's other band, [[The Kovenant]], at that time and was featured on the band's 1998 album ''[[Nexus Polaris]]''. He also contributed some guitar solos to the ''Aggressor'' album and the ''Triumph of the Blasphemer'' EP by [[Nocturnal Breed]], a band that also featured Dimmu Borgir's other guitarist [[Silenoz]].
A second Carpe Tenebrum album, ''[[Mirrored Hate Painting]]'', again featuring Nagash, was released in 1999. Astennu's second album with Dimmu Borgir, ''[[Spiritual Black Dimensions]]'' was released the same year, on 2 March. During the tour in support of the album, Astennu was fired from Dimmu Borgir and returned to Australia in late 1999.
Once back in Australia, Astennu worked as a live sound engineer for a number of bands on the Sydney heavy metal scene and also acted as mixer, engineer and producer on a number of albums and releases. In 2002 he recorded and released a third Carpe Tenebrum album, ''[[Dreaded Chaotic Reign]]'', this time performing vocals himself. ''Dreaded Chaotic Reign'' was a [[death metal]] album whereas previous Carpe Tenebrum recordings had been black metal. In May 2003, Astennu returned to the live circuit with Sydney band Infernal Method, for whom he had been engineering for several months.
==Discography==
'''with [[Lord Kaos]]'''
*''Thorns of Impurity'' ([[Warhead Records]], 1996)
'''with [[Dimmu Borgir]]'''
*''[[Godless Savage Garden]]'' ([[Nuclear Blast]], 1998)
*''[[Spiritual Black Dimensions]]'' (Nuclear Blast, 1999)
'''with [[The Kovenant|Covenant]]'''
*''[[Nexus Polaris]]'' (Nuclear Blast, 1998)
'''with [[Nocturnal Breed]] (as guest)'''
*''Aggressor'' ([[Hammerheart Records]], 1997)
*''Triumph of the Blasphemer'' ([[Hammerheart Records]], 1998)
'''with Carpe Tenebrum'''
*''[[Majestic Nothingness]]'' ([[Head Not Found]], 1997)
*''[[Mirrored Hate Painting]]'' ([[Hammerheart Records]], 1999)
*''[[Dreaded Chaotic Reign]]'' (Hammerheart Records, 2002)
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Dimmu Borgir}}
{{The Kovenant}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astennu}}
[[Category:Dimmu Borgir members]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Australian heavy metal singers]]
[[Category:Black metal musicians]]
[[Category:Australian heavy metal guitarists]]
[[Category:Musicians from Sydney]]
[[Category:The Kovenant members]]