Spectral Lore - Ετερόφωτος (2021)^{Release ID: 27156}

I really loved last year's collaboration between Spectral Lore and Mare Cognitum. Happily both bands have gone on to issue terrific albums in their own right this year. Spectral Lore, though, have gone for a bit of a change in atmosphere and the expansive, cosmic nature of their work on Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine has given way to a much more aggressive set of tracks that don't skimp on the blasting and pummel away on your eardrums with a palpable viciousness which feels more closely related to Castles Conquered and Reclaimed, the album he also released last year as Mystras. This is still essentially an atmospheric black metal release and despite the blasting, frantic tremolo picking and ragged shrieking of more orthodox black metal it has some nice exotic-sounding melodies underneath that may or may not derive from the folk music of Nihilus' native Greece. The album closer, Terean, is a nineteen minute curveball, being an ambient track that acts as a kind of comedown from the intensity of the previous hour's black metal assault, allowing the listener some time to breathe and re-adjust as he or she transitions back from Nihilus' world of densely layered and dark, atmospheric savagery back into the familiar normality of the real world

At 76 minutes it's a bit of a beast, but I never found myself getting bored and remained engaged with the music and the atmosphere it created for it's entire runtime.

I was surprised by this new Spectral Lore album at first. When I listened to their collaboration with Mare Cognitum last year with Wanderers, Spectral Lore were clearly going for a more spatial and comforting style of atmospheric black metal that was complementary to Mare Cognitum’s contributions that were heavier and faster. Imagine how I felt right out of the gate with all of these heavier blast beat percussion parts and strong tremolo picking guitars.

And this is a sound that would persist throughout the rest of the album. I will admit it does feel a little safe around the start of “Apocalypse”, but it does compliment well with some solid production. The songwriting is top notch; the way in which Spectral Lore is able to craft songs that are elongated and yet still retain a strong level of interconnectivity throughout is commendable. The opener “Ατραπός” starts off with the aformentioned heavier sounds of blast beats and tremolo picking guitars, then after a short break, the tremolo picking returns with slower percussion, followed by more soaring guitar leads. This all works together to create something that works well and warrants its twelve-and-a-half minute runtime. I also like the subtle key change that takes place on “The Sorcerer Above The Clouds”.

Sonically, Spectral Lore borrows clean guitar tones straight out of the more post-metal elements of recent Tool records, the more distorted elements hit with authority, but are also restrained enough as to not hinder the excellent low end and the independence of the bass lines. Much like a Mare Cognitum album, the vocals do feel like an afterthought in the mix, as they seem to be left towards the back behind the guitar leads. When this album is at its worst is when the steady percussion starts to fall off the tracks with the rhythm and lead guitars; at points this record will start to go off kilter and the tempos won’t match up. This is most notable throughout “The Golden Armor” when even the vocals cannot find beat one.

The atmospheric closer “Terean” is a nice touch following the high intensity of six tracks that precede it. It allows for the listener to reflect on the great atmospheric black metal they just experienced and perhaps work up the strength to go another round.