Spectral Forest is a melodic black / death metal band from near Viterbo, Italy; as far as I know this band has been active since 1999 with a break between 2003 and 2010, and had released three demos before the break. The Roots of Disobedience is their first full-length that includes some old material plus three new tracks.
As soon as you push the play button, you are assailed by an incredible burst of notes and riffs. The Roots of Disobedience deliveries a black / melodic death metal with prog influences and a wide-ranging soundscape. First of all I must say that the level of musicianship is very high in this band, and this is definitely a virtue. On the other hand all this amount of riffs combined with virtuosity is a bit chaotic and lacks incisiveness; after listening to this album, there is no riff or melody that has remained imprinted in my memory. The sounds are very good, but I feel that something is wrong with the mix; I have the sensation that the instruments are not well balanced and one of the two guitars is definitely too high, you have it just in your face. The title track and “Black Land Storms” have some effectiveness, the latter having even moments of pure brutality. “Horrible New World” best illustrates the prog aptitude of the band.
The Roots of Disobedience is definitely a good release, although not exciting; recommended for those who like very technical metal.
Notes:
The Roots of Disobedience was self-released on March 21 2015. The digital album can be purchased at the price of 7 euros through the Bandcamp player below.
Tracklist:
1. Impure essence from darkness
2. The witch behind the moon 06:02
3. Black storms land
4. Ecclesiastical Shameful
5. The spectral forest
6. New horrible world
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com
As soon as you push the play button, you are assailed by an incredible burst of notes and riffs. The Roots of Disobedience deliveries a black / melodic death metal with prog influences and a wide-ranging soundscape. First of all I must say that the level of musicianship is very high in this band, and this is definitely a virtue. On the other hand all this amount of riffs combined with virtuosity is a bit chaotic and lacks incisiveness; after listening to this album, there is no riff or melody that has remained imprinted in my memory. The sounds are very good, but I feel that something is wrong with the mix; I have the sensation that the instruments are not well balanced and one of the two guitars is definitely too high, you have it just in your face. The title track and “Black Land Storms” have some effectiveness, the latter having even moments of pure brutality. “Horrible New World” best illustrates the prog aptitude of the band.
The Roots of Disobedience is definitely a good release, although not exciting; recommended for those who like very technical metal.
Notes:
The Roots of Disobedience was self-released on March 21 2015. The digital album can be purchased at the price of 7 euros through the Bandcamp player below.
Tracklist:
1. Impure essence from darkness
2. The witch behind the moon 06:02
3. Black storms land
4. Ecclesiastical Shameful
5. The spectral forest
6. New horrible world
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com