Spektr – The Near Death Experience
Featuring members from the previously reviewed band Haemoth, France’s Spektr are more of a programmed, industrialized sounding black metal effort, but still reminiscent of their other bands overall sound. Harsh and grating blackness emits from the caustic core of this frantic sounding entity. Thankfully not as washed out with static as found on the Haemoth album, “The Near Death Experience” still possesses a very 2 dimensional production that gives this material and excessively cold atmosphere. Add elements of experimental, yet rhythmic noise and moments of dark ambience to the hammering drum machine and twisted strikes of painfully dissonant riffs that become even more augmented by strange rhythmic/time signatures as on “Astral Descent”, and you have a adventurous union of ideas that will keep you trained on the torture even if you can’t quite fully comprehend what you’re hearing the first 2 times through this disc. It sounds like Spektr have broken up the rhythm section and alternate between programmed beats and an actual drummer. Since this is a studio project only, the members behind this strange entity can take any approach and use any tool in their arsenal to arrive at the abstract black metal they are creating. Such an element of freedom seems like a fresh concept, for this band does maintain the key staples of the genre, but have in a lot of ways thrown caution to the wind to try and expand those often confining boundaries. Acidic vocals retched out in desperation sit uncomfortably with the dissonant nature of the riffs and this is intentional. Such a creative conglomeration of noise, despair and uncompromising blackness breeds a very malevolent combination that is as unique as it is unsettling. Spektr certainly aren’t the best band that I’ve ever heard… In fact their material can be a bit too over the top and alien to get into due to the level of harshness, but I will dig this CD out of the pile on occasion when I’m in the mood for something inspired and bloated by the disease found in mankind. Fans of Blut Aus Nord and the like… Take note. -Marty
CANDLELIGHT RECORDS
Worm Gear 