Thursday, May 30, 2019

Spiritual Decay - Closer to the Grave (2006)

    During it's short existence, Spiritual Decay evoked the old school style of death metal of the early '90s.
   "Closer to the Grave" was almost nearly perfect, but the band also showed some genuine ambitions that didn't let to sort the album to the ordinary '90s nostalgia records. The common switchings between middle speed and fast hammering made their music quite intense, and the deep growling female vocals were also effective, as they sound aggressive and insane the same time. But the atmospheric effects (both musical and vocal) functioned as a strong braking force and took a lot from the effectiveness of their harsh sound. Like throwing a shovel of dirt on fire. The atmospheric and floating parts probably used to give some spiritual impression, but as their appearances getting more frequent, the album sounds more tired with time, and it's able to serve as a lullaby for the listener. That's a very strong contrast compared to how intense the album starts. No matter the heavy sound and lyrics of war and violence, it's like death metal after a peace pipe that was filled with some strong hallucinogenic material. This main view reminds to Fear of God somehow, inner struggles under the influence of self-destruction are easier to expect, than brutality in real life. But except these the themes are well composed and album could be interesting for old school death metal fans.

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