BLOOD OF THE SPECTRE
According to the press sheet, Blood of the Spectre’s eponymous debut EP apparently “has enough power and precision to level an apartment block”. Whatever that means, surely that’s enough to make you think that it’s worth a go. And worth a go it is. It’s a fairly impressive effort and, considering it’s a debut, shows some potential for the future. They’ve obviously been doing well because they’ve made it “as far afield as Northern England” and you know how discerning us Northerners are.
The EP kicks off with an impressive instrumental track, imaginatively titled ‘Intro’, which shows off the band’s musicianship and gives a glimpse of the progressive tilt of the record as a whole. It’s not a record for the faint hearted, with Nick Brooks’ vocals ripping through any niceties that may be apparent in the music itself. The music itself is very nicely done and would probably stand on its own if they decided that Nick was holding them back (he’s not, don’t worry). It’s a piece of work that almost works like the classic prog albums; rather than making an exact distinction between each and every track there’s no fear of trying to blur the lines and almost make two tracks sound like one. That’s not to say that the whole EP is so similar that all the tracks sound the same, just that attention has been paid in the mixing process so that it can flow seamlessly without having to have a pause announcing the end of a track.
While the vocal tracks are pretty much 100% in your face metal, they have managed to squeeze a few nice little instrumental tracks in there to show that they have a softer side and don’t just have to shout at you all the time and give you the musical equivalent of a tea break, which is nice. Cashback!
The EP kicks off with an impressive instrumental track, imaginatively titled ‘Intro’, which shows off the band’s musicianship and gives a glimpse of the progressive tilt of the record as a whole. It’s not a record for the faint hearted, with Nick Brooks’ vocals ripping through any niceties that may be apparent in the music itself. The music itself is very nicely done and would probably stand on its own if they decided that Nick was holding them back (he’s not, don’t worry). It’s a piece of work that almost works like the classic prog albums; rather than making an exact distinction between each and every track there’s no fear of trying to blur the lines and almost make two tracks sound like one. That’s not to say that the whole EP is so similar that all the tracks sound the same, just that attention has been paid in the mixing process so that it can flow seamlessly without having to have a pause announcing the end of a track.
While the vocal tracks are pretty much 100% in your face metal, they have managed to squeeze a few nice little instrumental tracks in there to show that they have a softer side and don’t just have to shout at you all the time and give you the musical equivalent of a tea break, which is nice. Cashback!
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Self-released
EP
BLOOD OF THE SPECTRE
Review by Siân Williams
RUNNING TIME:
-
RELEASE DATE:
25th June 2012
TRACK LISTING
1) Intro
2) Darkened Majesty
3) Defeatist
4) Lexical Gap
5) Interlude
6) Dystopia
7) End Era
2) Darkened Majesty
3) Defeatist
4) Lexical Gap
5) Interlude
6) Dystopia
7) End Era
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
UK
"It’s not a record for the faint hearted, with Nick Brooks’ vocals ripping through any niceties that may be apparent in the music itself."
