When the esteemed editor of the site you are being kind enough to peruse asked me if I wanted to review Spiritual Void, I was flung back three decades to the groove metal inspired pounding single from Overkill’s 1993 crusher ‘I Hear Black’, a number that was surprisingly slow compared to their normal warp factor 7 thrash. However, if those Bay area speedsters thought they’d slowed down compared to their normal output, German trio Spiritual Void have not only slammed on the brakes, but also deployed a whole fleet’s worth of anchors to achieve the dragging pace of ‘Wayfare.’
‘Beyond The White Mountain’ starts the haul, drum beats with all the pace of a staggering one legged zombie matching long drawn out chords that appear with all the urgency my local bus company applies to its schedule; this is Doom that thoroughly deserves the upper case D. When the vocals finally emerge at the near three minute mark, a time at which the average mainstream pop single would have faded out, they are clean and mournful, interspersed with menacing growls to prick up the ears of the more extreme listener. ‘Die Alone’ follows on low and slow, guitar layering adding a Paradise Lost vibe to the mix, albeit even those Yorkshire miserablists would turn to Spiritual Void and say ”Cheer up lads, it might not happen!” Gloom drips from every riff, the track advancing with all the pace of bitumen poured on a cold day, before fading out in a scream of feedback to be reborn in the funereal darkness of ‘Old’, the starkly plucked strings of an acoustic guitar forming the opening minute of this epic number before the amps are turned up to volume 4 and the listener is slowly dragged into the depths of dispair, like a struggling dinosaur being pulled into the tar pits of La Brea, inexhorably drowning in slow motion.
Spiritual Void’s musical journey continues into ‘The Dungeon of Nerthus’, and whilst my scant knowledge of Norse and Germanic mythology informs me that Nerthus was a goddess of peace and prosperity, I can only assume the peace offered is the peace of the grave, there being nothing but bleakness to be found. Yes, there are some lighter tones to the vocals and music, but only in so far as charcoal grey is lighter than black. By comparison to what came before, ‘Wandering Doom’ is an almost unseemly sprint, not even managing to last six minutes, and having an opening beat to get heads moving and fists pumping, a much needed change in tempo to keep the listener from vanishing into a vortext of dispair. Yes, it is the fastest track on the album by far, but that’s like saying a tortoise can beat a snail in a hundred yard dash. If, however, you are the sort of person who revels in all things morose, worry not as the melancholy returns with a vengence in closer ‘Wandersmann’, the Doom odyssey of ‘Wayfare’ delivering the band into a realm of perpetual midnight.
If your tastes run towards the light and uplifting end of the musical spectrum, ‘Wayfare’ is not for you in any way. If, however, you think Goths are just way too upbeat and perky, and you want your Doom traditional, Spiritual Void have what you are looking for.
(7/10 Spenny)
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