Band:	Spirit Possession
Album:	Spirit Possession
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	July 24, 2020
A review by:	RaduP

01. Deity Of Knives And Pointed Apparitions
02. Spirit Possession
03. Twin Tongued Pathways
04. Amongst Inverted Castles And Holy Laughter
05. Eleven Mouths
06. Swallowing Throne
07. Diamond Depth Illumination

Black metal that focuses on atmosphere is cool and dandy, but sometimes you just need some goddamn R I F F S

You may remember from my review of the latest Ulthar album (for all three of you that actually read the review instead of just looking at the score) that I advised y'all to be on the lookout from the upcoming Spirit Possession. Well, now it's here, so to make sure you actually do listen to it, I'll actually review it as well. If you liked the horrific shrieks on Ulthar's record, you'd be glad to know that Spirit Possession is a duo comprised of Ulthar's vocalist/bassist S. once again taking the helm of those two as well as the guitars this time around, joined by A. on drums and synths.

There are a lot of things that the two albums have in common: the vocals, the emphasis on riffs, and the extreme metal blend of black and death metal, though this time around the black metal side is leading instead of the death metal one. Actually the black metal does sound quite close to either some thrashy first wave black metal or even some chaotic war metal. What is amazing about it is how much intensity can be conjured by just a duo, but something tells me that S. wasn't playing guitars and bass at the same time, and yet the music still has a very organic feeling. It's raw, filthy, thrashy, distorted and dissonant, and honestly a little bit out-there. I wouldn't call it avant-garde, but it still manages to be quite impressive in the sounds it conjures.

Though there certainly is a structure to it all, the riffs feel like a chaotic whirlwind, as something that gets somewhat closer to being free-form than most black metal of this type. The band constantly switches from headbang-worthy riffs to more chaotic moments at ease, integrating the two of them in a way that makes it feel neither rigid not formless, and never losing the song's momentum. This balance allows for a sense of dizzying atmosphere as well, perpetuated by the raw production, the dissonance, as well as the sporadic synth moments that do even go into really noisy territories, like in "Twin Tongued Pathways". Ending at just under 35 minutes, I can say that I wouldn't have minded an 8th track just to keep things even, because when the album ends, I'm always left wanting just a bit more.

I can now forgive Spirit Possession for the preposterous cover art of their demo.