Band:	The Spirit
Album:	Cosmic Terror
Style:	Melodic black metal, Melodic death metal
Release date:	February 07, 2020
A review by:	nikarg

01. Serpent As Time Reveals
02. Strive For Salvation
03. Repugnant Human Scum
04. The Path Of Solitude
05. Pillars Of Doom
06. The Wide Emptiness
07. Cosmic Terror

The first time you come across The Spirit's music you will be willing to bet all your belongings that they come from Scandinavia. Don't do it; you will lose the bet.

The Spirit is a trio from Germany that has now unleashed upon us their second album three years after their debut, Sounds From The Vortex. Cosmic Terror does not do things much differently compared to its predecessor so expect to listen to some very well performed melodic black metal with a death metal tinge.

The band's music is highly depended on the guitars in the sense that it is the riffs and the melodies taking the front seat with the drums and the vocals doing their part in a very professional way, but without particularly standing out. The songwriting is very good and the band delivers in spades as far as both the up-tempo and blastbeating Mayhem-esque parts, and the more groovy Satyricon-esque passages are concerned. The guitars particularly shine on the instrumental moments of the tracks, like for example in the middle of "Repugnant Human Scam", "The Wide Emptiness" or on the best cut of the album, "The Path Of Solitude". On the latter, as well as on a few of the other songs, some progressive approach can be traced, and this can more clearly be heard on the self-titled closer, which is an instrumental track.

For anyone who has listened to just one song by The Spirit, I am just going to state the obvious here; this is a band that is immensely influenced by the Swedish melodic black/death metal legend, Dissection. You can hear it in the melodic black metal riffing, the blackened raspy style of the vocals, and the general atmosphere the music creates. Both albums by these Germans can easily be mistaken for unreleased Dissection material with modern production and this is the main strength and weakness of Cosmic Terror. Its songs are based on Jon Nödtveidt's prototype (and who doesn't love that?) but naturally they can never achieve the greatness of the original, even though The Spirit craft really good songs.

Had it scored higher on the authenticity scale, Cosmic Terror could have been an album to be discussed and referenced for years to come. As it is, this is a pretty damn good release for the style's fans and it's difficult to dislike despite the imitation issue. At the end of the day, don't we all miss Dissection? Well, here you go.

"So my journey ends as I reach the altar of ages
And run the knife of determination
Release liquid life, no need for a sermon
There is no fear when you are certain"