ALBUM REVIEW: Spectrum Xenomorph – Labyrinth Of Stars

Here’s a freezing cold take for you: Ridley Scott’s Alien is a masterpiece. No arguments? Good. But what makes it a masterpiece? At the risk of stepping way out of our remit here, we would contend that it’s the way the film uses silence and shadows to induce a sense of dread in its viewers, allowing their imaginations to conjure horrors far more terrifying than any earthly villain or monster. The vastness of space offers infinite possibilities, and as we return to more of our own lane, it really is no wonder that death metal has found much fruit in exploring these possibilities in recent years. With the likes of TOMB MOLD and BLOOD INCANTATION leading the charge, LABYRINTH OF STARS make their case to join the genre’s interplanetary fleet with their debut full-length Spectrum Xenomorph.

Written, as the band tell it, in the suffocating summer of 2019, Spectrum Xenomorph pushes past the confines of its creation to weave tales of space travellers, celestial beings, and of course, violent xenomorphic entities. Simultaneously however, the record maintains a powerfully oppressive edge. This isn’t some joyride through the stars accompanied by wise-cracking space smugglers and bickering droids; it’s a trip on the doomed Nostromo, and no-one is coming to save you. There’s a real sense of claustrophobia here, with thick, crushing guitar riffs pressing down on listeners alongside relentless blasts and barrages of mechanically punishing drums.

Frustratingly though, and unlike Scott’s 1979 masterpiece, LABYRINTH OF STARS make something of a mistake here in that they seem to reveal too many of their best tricks too early on. At least four tracks (Star Pervertor, Aethereal Solitude, Vacuum and Dissolving Into The Eternal Nothingness) all start very similarly, with quietly ominous synth or clean guitar work erupting into dissonant pummelling death metal embellished with various atmospheric textures on top. It’s not disastrous by any means – Vacuum in particular still manages to throw up some compelling violence in its torturous second half – it’s just that by and large the sharpness of LABYRINTH OF STARS’ attack has worn off long before they call it quits.

Closer Transmission Delta – Exile doesn’t help matters either. With a runtime of 12 minutes and 40 seconds accounting for well over a third of the record, this marks the album’s most baffling choice of all. Centring almost entirely on padded synths and ponderous bassy swells, the band again miss a trick here as what starts as a source of impressive dread soon gives way to boredom and ultimately exasperation as listeners realise there is no pay-off on the way – unless you count a brief muffled radio transmission that is. There will always be space for ambient works like this in heavy music, and perhaps had this piece been half the length and/or placed elsewhere in the record it would’ve worked far better, but unfortunately it ends up feeling tacked on to an album whose impact had already worn thin.

All told, while Spectrum Xenomorph isn’t a bad idea in and of itself, it does run out of steam pretty quickly. Aside from a 50-second garbled interlude, the first seven tracks are largely indistinguishable in their punishing intensity, while the closer loses its ability to unsettle by far outstaying its welcome. As a result, and if you’ll allow us to reach for the low-hanging fruit here, we end up with something that feels far closer to Alien³ or Resurrection than it does to the peerless original.

Rating: 5/10

Spectrum Xenomorph is set for release on September 30th via Translation Loss Records.

Follow LABYRINTH OF STARS on Bandcamp.