Spectral Lore "III"

Beauty is complicated.  It has intricacies that aren't (and shouldn't be) as obvious at first glance as they appear to be over time and experience.  Beauty can also be scary. Knowing that there are darker depths behind what on the surface appears to be attractive, elegant or graceful is all part of the allure in reality.

To underline this point Spectral Lore choose in the midst of the ambient respite of track 2 "The Veiled Garden" to unleash the most unholy of agonising BM shrieks I have heard in a long while.  It's impact is harrowing, in a split second a wave of blackest, furious emotion washes over you and erases all memory of the calm that precedes it.  This is the beauty of "III", this is its complicated and intricate nature laid bare.  There is no middle ground on this record, there is no single direction or style being exhibited, it's an album of powerful music full of raw energy and structured like some architectural behemoth that has been designed to stand for centuries.

You could be forgiven for listening to opening track "Omphalos" and wondering what the hell I am talking about as it crashes straight in with it's furious pace and aggressive demeanor, by far the most atypical Black Metal track on show, but from here on after the experience should be obvious that it is not going to be straightforward or ordinary.

Take the acoustic bliss of "Drifting Through Moss & Ancient Stone" or the aural notes of "Cosmic Significance" and you realise that this journey of ambience, folk, finger picked acoustic majesty and BM diversity is an actual complete album. It's not an artist showing off or trying to cram as much into 90 mins as physically possible.  It is a total exploration of what a (well-executed) fusion of styles and influences can produce if done with thought and passion.  There is a lot to take in but the absolute enjoyment of the time spent sat with this masterpiece is undeniable.5/5

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