Wandering The Metal Cosmos With Spectral Resonanze

New album out now from the Mexican symphonic, melodic death metal band, Spectral Resonanze called, The Spectralverse, available here!

Ever look up at the night sky and wonder about this journey called, "life"? Exploring it's inner workings and seeing what's underneath all the nooks and crannies, always seeking answers. The music of Spectral Resonanze attempts to encapsulate these feelings through their layers of orchestral compositions that leave you staring up at the heavens wanting to fulfill some sort of wanderlust for the soul.

Eximus is our initial foray into this new album's journey. Caught somewhere in time is how I can describe this song and the albums overall feeling. It feels as though I have cracked open a time capsule from the early 2000's when listening to this album. I can describe it almost as if this music would slide right into a discography collection along the likes of Kalmah or Children Of Bodom, albeit with harsher vocals bringing that heavier edge to the music, accompanied by females vocals sharing the vocal duties. Creative riffing accompanied by tight percussion and deeply thought out orchestration, Eximus is a fantastic opener that sets the stage for Spectral Resonanze's latest offering.

A war torn image is brought forth with the next track, Strife. An interesting track that has a very distinct groove to it that really showcases the songs structure, it has almost an 80's heavy metal feel to it. Female vocals help paint the images here within this track that help to bring a deeper layer to the music. I have to say that the section after the second female vocals is a superb representation of metal force on this track, all complete with a rocking solo that carries us into the ending movement of a fantastic track.

Now I am not quite sure what these songs are about, but I feel that this might be a concept album, don't quote me on this, but that's the overall vibe I get. Each song seems to follow some sort of war or battle that is taking place as it continues through some sort of story or struggle and conflict. Horizon keeps the atmosphere flowing with an emotional ride. A more female fronted track, Horizon feels as though, if this album is a concept, it might be gluing the pieces together somehow musically. Mid tempo drums and riffs pull this song forward with a awesome guitar solo. The Vocals of Claudia Pearl on this particular track are very impressive.

Cetus is a "monster" of a song here, fans of Greek or Roman mythology would appreciate that right there. This song seems to step things up a bit with a heavier delivery and a faster tempo than the previous tracks. A particularly heavy break down which flows to a dramatic percussive break in this song keeps things interesting, before slowing things down with a shredding guitar solo for dynamic. This song may be my favorite off this album simply because of the unique changes throughout.

More visions of war are brought forth with the opening of Proxima, and a rather amazing build up in the beginning before diving deep into some heavy riff work. Several catchy riffs are thrown at you in this particular track, making this one by far the most catchy, yet hard hitting offering from The Spectralverse. This one is definitely a banger here folks! There is however a interesting break down in the back end of the song that features an almost depressing moment before slamming the gas pedal back to the floor board, causing you to buckle up until the end of the song.

Legion is a track that I feel would describe Spectral Resonanze as a song that defines the band overall. Their music seems to all build around the orchestration and combines it all into a solid piece of music that moves together through the galaxies, leaving the listener rocking out in a trance. Bringing back the dual vocal attack from the harsh death metal growls and the beautiful female vocals, Legion definitely feels like the complete package. And I cannot stress it enough, the guitar solos on this album are fantastic and the ones here are no exception within Legion.

Now the next track might be my stand out track on The Spectralverse. Mixing parts reminiscent of the likes of Tool, some Rivers Of Nihil and putting the Spectral Resonanze stamp on it, Belenus is by far the track on this album that I feel people will flock to. Insanely heavy yet very accessible and catchy, this song is simply a riff-fest that delivers on all levels and checks all the metal boxes. A dark and foreboding mid section and a frantic ending to this track are all fantastic dynamics to close this heavy hitting song, good job here folks! A fucking +!!

Zenith slows things down a smidge but doesn't in no way take away from the feel of this album. This song is a nice showcase for the bass work and drums, they compliment each other nicely on this track, especially with a killer mid song break featuring them playing alongside each other. This track has a almost "theatrical" feel to it that makes you think your listening to a Sci-Fi movie soundtrack and Spectral Resonanze is the star player. This song is a very nice touch on this album and I feel it almost needed a song like this, it truly takes you on a journey.

The final song on this collection of musicscapes is Animus. An epic build up truly does make this song feel like the perfect album closer. With no shortage of heavy riffs, blasting drums, and atmospheric moments, Animus brings it all home here, complete with a unique tempo change up halfway through the song that builds up to a powerful guitar solo section. What more can I say about this track? It really does tie this entire album together nicely and I feel that if you listen to these songs either on their own or even out of order, you might not get the full scope that this album is trying to portray.

Spectral Resonanze has released quite a impressive collection of compositions here with The Spectralverse. This is definitely a step in the right direction from its predecessor, a more mature feeling approach to their music and a solid approach at that. The ONLY thing I can say that they could improve on is the quality of the mix. listening with headphones I feel is the best approach for this music to really hear everything. With a bit more spit and polish to the mix, this album would be a beast of a release, but as it stands, the mix is what's holding it back from the greatness that you can tell this band is aiming for. I give this album a 7.5 out of 10 simply because of that, if the mix was stronger and more clear, it would be a much higher score. Musically, the songs are off the charts, they're absolutely brilliant! It's simply that the mix is holding them back, but don't let that deter you from heading over and checking them out and supporting them with this awesome release, the songs themselves are truly fantastic and worthy of your time. You can follow them on their social media pages to stay up to date on everything they're up to here. And you can support them by purchasing their music right here.

Review done by Joshuah Jones, the bassist of The Obsidian Resurrection.

- Per Musicam Unitum Stamus, In Music We Stand United -