Welcome Spire from Australia. Formed in 2007, the band has already released two EP's and a split, but this is their first LP: Entropy. This is a combination of black, death, and doom that is sure to compliment a miserable day. And not a "I just failed a test" or :"my wife just left me" kind of day; more like a "I'm standing on the rubble of my city and all I can see for miles are walls of fire."
This is slow, deliberately paced atmosphere in the vein of Akhlys. Hooky, funeral doom leads slide around in a sea of murk. I can almost smell the moistness of the enveloping mist. Distant moans and howls let me know that I am not alone...and that terrifies me even more. I'm walk through the fog of Silent Hill once more, and I have no idea if the approaching shadow is friend or foe. "Labyrinthine" is perhaps my favorite example of this aesthetic. It's 7 minutes contains a brooding composition that never bores, partially due to the counterbalancing of the blastbeats against the glacial guitars.
Ambience is yet again used as a weapon this year on Entropy. In addition to filling out the dark corners of the proper songs, it stands at the forefront for interludes "(Remake)" and "(Unmake)." While the latter sports an ominous, industrial feel, the former is perhaps more disturbing in its quiet solitude. A droning layering of soft sounds, mild distortion, and the beckoning siren calls of distant, echoing guitars lead me further into the darkness. Like a moth drawn to flame, I am helpless to resist. And just when I feel safe once more, Spire unleashes hell by transitioning to heavier tracks like "Void."
Much like Throane,Schammasch, Titaan, and Terra Tenebrosa this year, Spire continue the campaign of black metal destruction with a certain level of innovation to the warfare. Rather than choosing to be the loudest, fastest, or most aggressive, Entropy recognizes that darkness means nothing without the light. Imagine being born into a chamber where a siren is played at full volume day in and day out. Having known nothing else, you would eventually come to recognize the sound as simply part of your environment. All shock and surprise would be peeled away. It's only when the siren suddenly stops that true dread would set in. Silence is perhaps the most terrifying weapon we face as human beings, and Spire is aware of this fact.
