Review by Saxy S for Persefone - Spiritual Migration (2013)

Consider me a heretic, but I think that Persefone only got better after the release of Spiritual Migration. Don't get me wrong, this is a fantastic album, but something about it just doesn't resonate the same way that Aathma does. Some of that might have to do with the heavier focus on technical wanking than melodic songwriting; chugging guitar riffs, never ending time signature changes, technically demanding guitar and percussion elements. But what amazes me above all of it is how well it all fits together! Given my history and my general distaste for technical death metal, there is no reason why I should like an album like this. But each tracks flows effortlessly from one into the next and before I realize it, I have listened through the entire album again! I really enjoy the thematic songwriting on tracks like "Mind as Universe" and "Spiritual Migration". I really like how the band takes a breather half way through the project to play a melo-death instrumental in "Consciousness". "Inner Fullness" and "The Majestic of Gaia" should appeal to any tech-death fans out there.

Persefone would only go on to get better with more melodic songwriting and greater concepts in 2017 with Aathma, but let's not forget the album that put Persefone on the map. Going back on this album near the end of the 2010s and hearing it again, I can attest that Spiritual Migration is one of the decades most influential heavy metal albums. Progressive and technical death metal owe a lot to this album.