ALBUM REVIEW: Sounds From The Vortex – The Spirit
Harnessing a brand of melodic black metal, with a death metal tinge, Germany’s THE SPIRIT are ready to make the European metal scene stand up and take note. Their debut album, Sounds From The Vortex, was originally self-released in late 2017 – however, as is often the case in the digital age, it struggled to cut through the legions of bands and make its way to the big names in the metal press. However, the record managed to make its way to the right ears eventually, as Nuclear Blast Records have picked up THE SPIRIT, and are preparing to reissue the debut to a wider audience. For many, this will be their first experience of Sounds From The Vortex.
From even a casual listen of Sounds From The Vortex, one big comparison is immediately clear. THE SPIRIT are very heavily influenced by late Swedish melodic black/death metal greats DISSECTION. This influence is abundantly clear from the melodic black metal riffing, the vocal style, the atmosphere and the lyrics – THE SPIRIT very much feel like DISSECTION 2.0. However, their strength is that, while their sound is very similar to DISSECTION, at no point does Sounds From The Vortex feel like its merely regurgitating The Somberlain or Storm Of The Light’s Bane – rather, it feels like a refreshing step forward for melodic black metal.
There are no skippable moments to be found on Sounds From The Vortex. With seven tracks, and a run-time of just under 40 minutes, THE SPIRIT have kept the record tight, every note on the album carries a sense of necessity. Opening with the instrumental title track serving as a short intro to the album, THE SPIRIT build a haunting, ethereal atmosphere before diving headfirst into the first full song, Cosmic Fear. The shortest track on Sounds From The Vortex, except for the intro, Cosmic Fear somehow manages to build on the otherworldly atmosphere the intro established while simultaneously delivering a ferocious blend of melodic black-death and a more traditional black metal savagery.
With the atmosphere established, and a taste of the kind of aural violence THE SPIRIT are capable of well and truly on display, Sounds From The Vortex moves into its defining section – the three track burst that makes up the record’s mid-section. The record’s longest track, The Clouds Of Damnation, kicks off the three-track section that showcases the strongest moments of the album. Despite clocking in at over seven minutes, the track seems to fly in: the blast beat driven riffs provide the song with a sense of urgency, while the ever-present melody drowns the track in darkness. Around the half way point the guitarists take their moment to shine with blistering, melodic lead work before the final minutes showcase a blast of pure ferocity.
Cross The Bridge To Eternity opens with a deceptively peaceful intro, before driving into some of the catchiest riff work Sounds From The Vortex has on offer. Despite the throaty, blackened rasp of the vocals, every word is crystal clear giving a hint of polish to the otherwise icy sound. Cross The Bridge To Eternity shows THE SPIRIT‘s comfort both in up-tempo, classic black metal aggression, and in more melodic, hook driven verses. Illuminate The Night Sky brings the outstanding middle section of Sounds From The Vortex with arguably the best song on the record. Massive hooks mixed with stellar riff work, untamed aggression and dark, melodic leads show exactly how melodic black metal should sound.
The penultimate song on Sounds From The Vortex, The Great Mortality is a visceral blast of pure aggression, and one of the most traditional black metal sounding songs on the album. Here, THE SPIRIT show their comfort in both up-tempo, blast-beat driven traditional black metal, and a more mid-paced, SATYRICON-esque groove. Bringing Sounds From The Vortex to a close, Fields of the Unknown is as atmospheric as it is melodic, though occasional bursts of aggression help drive the track to its sombre ending.
Almost every second of Sounds From The Vortex is truly enjoyable. The atmosphere created from the initial moments of the title track intro is haunting, and stalks through the entirety of the record. The cold production mixed with the melodic, blackened riffs and leads give the album an icy, ethereal sound. A lot of comparisons to DISSECTION can, and have, been made, but do not mistake THE SPIRIT as a ban merely aping the unique style of a lost legend – though a casual listener could be forgiven for mistaking Sounds From The Vortex as an unreleased DISSECTION record, THE SPIRIT very much have their own identity. Despite genre heavyweights like IMMORTAL and DIMMU BORGIR unleashing new material this year, Sounds From The Vortex may just be the most exciting black metal album of 2018.
Rating: 9/10
Sounds From The Vortex is set for release on August 10th via Nuclear Blast Records.
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