Richard HolmesSpirit Possession – Cathedral Speech (Sepulchral Voice Records/Profound Lore Records)
Pressing play on Cathedral Speech is akin to entering a labyrinthine crypt. An underworld where the walls ripple and shift, where nothing is quite what it seems… and where something otherworldly lies in wait.
It’s a dense, intense and endlessly fascinating piece of dark art.
And it’s more evidence that this Portland duo are one of the most inventive acts in extreme music.
S. Peacock is a truly unique player, his twisting fretwork awash with trills, plunging bends and jagged, savage riffery. Blend that with A. Spungin’s kaleidoscopic percussion, and you have something very special on your hands. How this duo create such complex music is a mystery. But as anyone who’s see them live will attest, the magic works just as well on stage as on record.
Unbridled spirit
On 2020’s self-titled debut, Spirit Possession opened minds, and pulled them into a maelstrom of warped black/death metal. Its successor, …Of The Sign, established the pair as a must-see at every extreme metalfest going. We lovingly dubbed it “unhinged”.
Yet on Cathedral Speech, the duo have woven even more intricacy and complexity into their work, to stunning effect. The self-titled opener sets the tone. Jolting, stop/start rhythms jostle with snarling, bestial fury, as Peacock’s strings turn white hot. Spungin’s flowing, organic kitwork is the perfect foundation, and helps the track segue from chapter to chapter. It’s breathless.
Hanged Angels as Patternwalls begins as a deranged statement of sonic annihilation, bordering on the chaos of bands like Diocletian and Teitanblood. But over nearly nine minutes, it mutates into a mini-epic of charnel soundscapes and eerie passageways. There’s always a choppy, proto-BM riff to pull you out of the abyss. And there’s always a grasping claw to pull you back down.
The Sharpening is a similar fever dream, a place where moments of clarity suddenly morph into pure madness.
And tying the record together are delicate, mediaeval melodies which appear like ghostly echoes, pushing against the borders of reality. They emerge most visibly on Backward Commandments. Their presence is felt throughout.
Yes, it may take you weeks to fully absorb every aspect of Cathedral Speech. Perhaps you never will.
But the journey will be wild…
