Spectral Voice : "Sparagmos"

 Spectral Voice's sophomore album is possessed by a dark anguished atmosphere that draws you in.  At one point in time bands like Necros Christos were referred to as occult death metal, which was a briefly used sub-genre of bands that generally sounded like Incantation. This band would fall along similar lines as they wallow in the darkness and pace things with a more doom mood to it. This works better for me than when they work up into a more blast-beaten frenzy which almost feels more black metal than doom. It might seem like we are throwing a lot of genres around here, but each one holds an emotional significance with its style. The more blood-red aggression is washed over with a coat of darkness, though some riffs still ring through the fog. 

I always think it's weird when the drummer is the vocalist, but it works well enough here, as he musters an impressive roar. The dynamic ebb and flow of their songwriting has continued to mature, even more the kind of extreme crushing chords they are bringing. They typically do not linger in the ambiance for too long, and have a knack for finding the best riffs to build things back up into a head-banging triumph, this is heard particularly on "Red Feasts Condensed into One". "Sinew Censer' is more of a contrast as it drones off angular guitar riffs that create eerie dissonance. It is more about the sound than the song here. When it does build into the more death metal climax it's not the album's catchiest riff. 

The last song is visceral enough, but after it kicks in there is a listless chaos that hovers without form as it drags you through the sonic hellscape. This is another example of where they feel more like black metal than death metal to me. That is until the growl erupts from the tremolo-picked cacophony. Four and a half minutes in and things have not progressed into a more musical middle ground. Sure the vocals are plenty of nasty, but what is there to bring me back in for another listen once I have replayed it a second time just to figure out what I heard the first time. I will give this album an 8.5, as it sometimes gets lost in the atmosphere, but overall that can also be its strength when it hits the right creepy spots. 

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