Band:	Spawn Of Possession
Album:	Noctambulant
Style:	Brutal death metal, Technical death metal
Release date:	May 31, 2006
Guest review by:	Visioneerie

01. Inception
02. Lash By Lash
03. Solemn They Await
04. Render My Prey
05. Eve Of Contempt
06. Sour Flow
07. By A Thousand Deaths Fulfilled
08. Dead & Grotesque
09. In My Own Greed
10. Scorched

It's without a doubt that Unique Leader Records hold a solid roster of rising Death Metal acts, they might have lost Decrepit Birth and Odious Mortem but they still have their hands full. Spawn Of Possession are among this roster and they happen to be one of the stand outs. What this band plays is Brutal Technical Death Metal with their own edge and this second LP, "Noctambulant", is an extremely technical piece of work however it's less brutal than their debut. Though what this band proves most of all, is that they're a pack of great musicians.

The musical content on this record is over the top, it's a sure thing that some of these guys know quite a bit about musical theory. Noctambulant holds impressive songwriting throughout it's entire ten songs and the guitarists Jonas B. and Jonas K. are for one thing, very efficient with their axes. The songs on this album, while being fairly brutal, have a lot of classical music influences and there's even a bit of jazz/fusion that can be heard here and there. What the guitars have to offer are complex yet melodic licks, great solos and memorable hooks that won't fail to stay in your head for who knows how long. The drums keep up without too much difficulty although they can be a little repetitive at times and I can tell you it isn't one of the strong points of the record. Various tempo changes are present throughout the whole album and the vocals remind me a little of Sauron's (ex-vocalist of Decapitated).

However, I don't believe this album is for everyone. Our band members here, cram up so much into one song that the end result might be a little overwhelming for some listeners. On the other hand, everything thing falls into place in their songs thanks to their musical knowledge, there is no useless "wankery".

On an end note, Noctambulant isn't an easy listen, some people might lose interest due to its complexity. Luckily there are other people like myself who enjoy challenging but rewarding music like this. So if you are into Technical Death Metal then this is a must have, the guitar work shines the whole way through this one. Spawn Of Possession shows a lot of promise and emerge as one of the top bands of this sub-genre.