SPECTRAL VOICE Sparagmos LP

While we waiting for the new Blood Incantation (let's ignore "Luminescent Bridge" for a moment), the second full-length album by Spectral Voice was released. But have the expectations and appetite for the death/doom side of these guys from Denver been growing at an intense pace since the release of their 2017 debut? Oh, well, a lot! "Eroded Corridors Of Unbeing" was and still is a great album and the next one hype was aroused by the premiere songs on the splits with Anhedonist and Undergang, which are surprisingly missing on "Sparagmos". The second Spectral Voice longplay includes four completely new long songs, consisting of 45 minutes of material, which certainly do not disappoint considering seven years from releasing previous album, they follow quite logically from the themes from "Eroded..." and will appeal to everyone who like gloomy death/doom metal. As you can easily guess, "Sparagmos" doesn't get you down to the ground, although it maintains a satisfactory, very good level and will satisfy all those who were simply waiting for a new full-length from Spectral Voice. There is no wow effect, but it's no wonder. When you record a complete album in the "Eroded Corridors Of Unbeing" format, it's difficult to cross this level. And this is also the case with "Sparagmos". The second album of this quartet is a piece of excellent and high-quality death/doom, full of heaviness, gloom, a sense of nothingness and a haunted atmosphere; what's more, it's well-produced - with full naturalness and fidelity to the extreme music. The problem, however, is that these topics have already become a bit obsolete (mainly due to the significant increase in competition in this style of death metal), and "Sparagmos" itself is not as dynamic and characterful material as the debut. For example, there is a greater emphasis on doomy part, the band more often crushes with single, prolonged sounds and the tension builds at a much slower pace than on the previous album. It's a bit of a pity, because it's a bit annoying that the album doesn't have such wild phrases or developed atmospheres as on the "Eroded...". The advantage is that this time the musicians have let go of noise disturbances as much as before, although due to the rather very slow pace of the album, the diversity and the mentioned dynamics are lost somewhere. While I have no reservations about "Be Cadaver" and "Sinew Censer", because they are brilliant and perfectly tribute to Disembowelment (especially the bleak atmosphere and the way it unfolds), the other two songs could be a bit shorter and have some cuts. "Death's Knell Rings In Eternity" could easily do without the noisy vocal effects that drown out the clarity of the instruments, while "Red Feasts Condensed Into One" could start faster. From an overall perspective, it's clear that "Sparagmos" contains only minor disadvantages. Despite this, the second longplay by Spectral Voice will certainly be one of the most important and sought-after death/doom titles in 2024. Weird? I don't think so. "Sparagmos", regardless of the huge expectations after the debut and the subsequent passage of time, delivers a lot of quality, atmospheric death/doom metal full of sincere emotions. Perhaps a bit too montonous at times, but it's well-made and encourages further listening.