Style: Power Metal, Progressive Metal (clean, female vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Nevermore, Unleash the Archers, Trivium
Review by: Sam
Country: United Kingdom
Release date: 14 July, 2023
Out of all the years I’ve run this blog, 2019 is my favorite year in terms of underground prog metal. I didn’t realize it when the year was current, but as time went on, many releases from that year have stood the test of time. In particular, it was an amazing year for progressive power metal, which is my favorite genre, and I still frequent Mortanius, Tanagra, and Starborn till this day. One of the less good, but still quality prog power releases that year was by The Spectre Beneath. They were a bit of an anomaly. Instrumentally – and particularly, guitar-wise – it was legitimately mind blowing at times. However vocally, it was odd. Her timing was all over the place with pop-esque vocal cracks and groans in the weirdest of places, and – in the words of Matt – the lyrics were phrased more like a script than a song. We both agreed that it could have been one of the year’s best albums had it not been for the vocals, but they ended up being so weird that it merely ended up as being simply ok.
It should come as no surprise that the guitarwork is still of a very high caliber four years later. Their style resembling that ambiguous 00s “modern metal” tag which mixes power metal, heavy metal, thrash metal, and sometimes even melodic death metal, and package it with lots of compression and crunch. But wherever this band sits on the spectrum, it sounds good. Their riffs are certified neck breakers, and they know how to write good classic heavy metal harmonies. And of course, they can shred like nobody’s business. The best songs of the album are when they lean into this aspect most, which are track 1, 3, and 6.
Problems arise however when the band are not causing neck injury. There are three power ballads on the album, and they’re all jarring to varying degrees. At this point, the cause is obvious. Vocally, this band remains a headscratcher. Singer “Stevie” (previously under the alias of “L. Lockser”)1 operates like a very passionate pop singer. Surprisingly, it works well with the aggressive tracks as the passion she puts in her voice somehow matches the instrumental aggression. But when the slower tracks happen, she sounds out of place, one part of the song trying to sound pop, the other trying to sound metal. It’s an improvement from their last outing as her timing improved, but it’s still hard to reconcile with, though maybe it’s just a taste thing at this point.
I don’t have anything more to say about the band at this point. They riff as hard as they always do, the vocals are slightly improved but still as weird as ever, and it’s still pretty compressed production-wise. Essentially, it’s more of the same. You either like it or you don’t. If either neck breaker riffs with lots of melody or groaning pop vocals sound appealing to you, check it out, it’s only 36 minutes. Otherwise, stay clear.
Recommended tracks: Forsaken… We All Fall, Refuse of the Past, The Ashen Child: Falling Off the…
You may also like: Manticora, Gargoyle’s last two albums (Geshiki, Taburakashi)
Final verdict: 6/10
1 it was brought under my attention that “Stevie” and “L. Lockser” are different people. The points I raised apply to both singers, however.
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Independent
The Spectre Beneath is:
– Stevie / L. Lockser (vocals)
– Pete Worrall (guitars, bass, piano)
– Consta Taylor (drumming)
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