SPECTRAL LORE
II
- Year: 2007
- Genre: Ambient/Black Metal
- Country: Greece
Current line-up
Ayloss - All Instruments (Divine Element)
Tracklist:
1. Introitus
2. The Thorns That Guide My Warpath
3. Towards The Great Crossroad
4. Leaving The Stars Far Behind
5. Recoiling Beneath The Waves
6. Through An Infinite Dreamscape
7. To Wither In Silence And Dismay
8. Where Nature Will Not Ever Yield To Man
Total playing time: 01:16:54
Anyone dabbling in the fine arts of black metal is
effectively trotting on thin ice these days. Thankfully, throughout
this particular album's duration the music seems to traverse its
territory with a confident familiarity and reaches the finishing mark –
mostly - unscathed. The first effort from this one-man project was an
eclectic, multi-layered piece of cold ambience and Xasthur-esque dirge.
Spectral Lore's sophomore release is indeed a progression from their
debut but not necessarily in stylistic or timbral terms, but rather in
structure and effectiveness.
Spectral Lore is an interesting beast. Where bands of the same
ilk such as Velvet Cacoon focus on the monochromatic peak shift of the
bare essentials, here Ayloss (the sole individual behind the outfit)
instead goes for the aesthetical contrast between entrancing ambience
and melodically accented black metal. In more abstract terms the album
sets up a subtle polarity, which effectively merges the musical
expressionism of Burzum-influenced black metal with the neoclassical
overtones of its evocative, ethereal soundscapes. The hyper-distorted
haze of Xasthur and Nachtmystium is put to good use here as a measured
and calculated expedient for projecting the intended mindscape to the
listener. Most importantly, Spectral Lore eschew the unfluctuating
melancholic themes of the aforementioned and instead tends to be
significantly more dynamic, something especially prominent in the
guitar work. As a whole it goes more for atmosphere rather than
rhythmical assertiveness - which really is not of the essence here -
and this is characteristically exhibited through its unimposing
percussion and its production that favours high-end frequencies.
Spectral Lore's black metal can be acerbic and raw but it can
also be considerably uplifting and epic. It won't necessarily pummel
the listener into its pitch-black atmospherics but instead it will lead
him/her through the "tunnel" and thereby into the soothing clasps of
mesmerising and emotive ambience. Intelligently structured passages
deviate the album further away from its minimalist inspirational hub
and place it confidently at a safe distance from its derivative
counterparts. As a result the music is not necessary hateful or
inherently negative in its composure but actually quite inviting and
appealing. It really doesn't take much after a few minutes to let your
mind wander almost unconsciously in and out of the album's enchanting
worlds. Audiences that are on the lookout for "catchy" melodies and
standout tracks should look elsewhere. This is an album that should be
taken in one straight dose from beginning to end. As such it lets you
in for a while to sojourn in its mystical and bleak landscapes and then
smoothly shows you the way out again. Track titles such as "Leaving The
Stars Far Behind" or "Through An Infinite Dreamscape" are actually
suggestive of this.
Be sure to check this out if you're into atmospheric black
metal that doesn't simply repeat its musical milieu. Oh, and by the
way, the album is released on CD-R and limited to 50 copies.
written by Grimma / http://www.tartareandesire.com/
Discography
I Full-length, 2006
II Full-length, 2007
| 
