Those who have followed this webzine from day one know that my taste in black metal is rather specific to say the least. The genre’s first wave will always hold closest to my heart, and not because it’s the “cool” thing to like. There’s just something about bands like Hellhammer and early Sodom and Root that get me off in ways that Mayhem, Gorgoroth, and others never could. That isn’t to say the second wave didn’t have its moments, but its tropes certainly pigeonholed the genre as a whole. And it was this pigeonholing that in turn gave way to the equally pretentious hipster black metal hijacking of the 21st century. Being from Chicago, I should know all about this.
What sets black metal’s first wave apart from its subsequent waves is that these bands were setting out to create “black metal”. They set out to create metal that was extreme and dark and raw and evil. They wanted to stand out from the pack. “You think Iron Maiden is metal? Check this out…” It was an exciting time of unpredictable innovation by musicians who were young and hungry. Hellhammer could hardly tune their instruments properly when recording Apocalyptic Raids (1984), and yet a piece like “Triumph of Death” is more compelling today than 99% of the copy/paste traditional metal being released ad nauseam.
The point I’m getting at is that Spirit Possession captures this uncompromising spirit better than just about any old school black metal revivalists today, save for maybe Hellripper and Malokarpatan. Their sophomore album, Of the Sign…, is a mesmerizing monolith of wild, classic black metal that doesn’t fall victim to overdone clichés or blind worship. Yes, the riffing and arrangements throughout can rightfully be compared to Under the Sign of the Black Mark era Bathory or To Mega Therion era Celtic Frost, but a cheap facsimile this is not. Spirit Possession take the finest elements of yore and reimagine them, creating something new, twisted, and downright harrowing.
Some of the songs on here, such as “Second Possession” and “Practitioners of Power”, boast fast, ripping riffs in the speed metal vein, but not in a blackened speed manner. Think more “speedened black”, if that were such a thing. The dense arrangements and hellish musicianship remain at the forefront, while the headbanging riffs offer a dose of cult 80s nostalgia. On the contrary are lengthy, unsettling cuts like “Inhale the Hovering Keys” and the closing “Enter the Golden Sign”. With their wicked amalgamation of chaotic riffs, horrific atmosphere, and reckless abandon, these pieces test the sanity and eardrums of the listener, but in a tempting way that keeps us hanging on (insert Vanilla Fudge reference here).
The incorporation of traditional metal nuances (specifically in the guitarwork) and unsettling synth passages (“The Hex”, “The Altar”) only further broaden the scope of this over the top, old school black metal affair. The craziest part? All this noise is being created by only two guys. Granted, one of these two guys is Steve Peacock of Ulthar infamy, so I shouldn’t be surprised at the quality of work here, but I digress. Spirit Possession are, without question, the most thrilling band in American black metal today. Feel free to prove me wrong, but you’ll be hard pressed to find another first wave adjacent release as compelling and original as Of the Sign… this year.
8 out of 10
Label: Profound Lore Records
Genre: Black Metal
For fans of: Celtic Frost, Bathory, Negative Plane