A new statement from The Spirit.
After two years of composition, MT (guitar/vocals, ex-Dethroned, ex-Melechesh live) and MS (drums, ex-Agathodaimon, ex-Crimson Moon) unveil the arrival of Songs Against Humanity, their fourth album, still on AOP Records.
They are joined live by Stanley Robertson (guitar, The Circle, ex-Asenblut) and Linus Klausenitzer (bass, Alkaloid, Obsidious, ex-Obscura).
The album gets off to a flying start with Against Humanity, an initial composition of aggressive melodies projected at full speed under rocky vindictive vociferations. The storm calms down but retains its complexity, giving rise to a sharp solo and some heady harmonics, but the fury returns soon enough to throw us into the dissonance of Room 101. Initially quite calm, the track speeds up to stick to its pessimistic message, but doesn’t shy away from offering a few more soothing elements between two eruptions of rage, before moving into mysterious tones with Cosmic Rain and Human Dust. The atmosphere remains virulent, while fuelling the track’s elaborate leads and majestic atmosphere, albeit with a jerky passage towards the middle, before Spectres of Terror in turn sweeps us along in its torrent of darkness. The flow is relatively well-paced, allowing the powerful, catchy rhythms to contrast with the calmer, floating moments found on the long Death is my Salvation, where the band takes the time to propose majestic tonalities. The rhythmic feel is lighter, but the duo know perfectly how to manage their Prog-influenced guitars to captivate us whatever the pace, then recreating a cold melancholy with Nothingness Forever, coupled with rawer parts. Orbiting Sol IV takes up the final spot, taking us into a haunting dance led by slow, ethereal melodies that keep us in the band’s universe, while gradually lifting us out of the latent violence.
Songs Against Humanity allows The Spirit to continue on their complex path between Black and Death Metal with various influences. Their heritage is perfectly exploited, but the duo easily add their personal touch to become a veritable hurricane.
90/100
