殞煞 (Vengeful Spectre) – Vengeful Spectre

Vengeful Spectre is a black metal band based in Guangdong, China and their debut album is stunning in its raw power. Taking elements of Chinese folk and mixing them together with traditional melodic black metal, they create a narrative of a swordsman trapped in a desolate war who is keen to exact revenge on those who betrayed him. The symphonic elements, in particular, stand out because of the cleaner mix than what traditional black metal bands would typically use. As a result, the instrumentation sounds extremely polished and emphasizes the melodic riffs and solos throughout the album.

The cover art and incorporation of Chinese folk instrumentation evokes the strong imagery and atmosphere set up by the instrumentation. The flutes, shamisens, tribal chants, rain sounds, and relentless screams of battle all work in tandem to solidify the concept of a wandering swordsman who seeks revenge. Running at a tight 36 minutes, none of the songs overstays their welcome and Vengeful Spectre are precise in how they keep the momentum up throughout the album. The crisp production might be off-putting for black metal fans at first but by the time the shamisen solos come in, it’s clear why they chose to take the mixing in this direction. As if finding beauty in a war-torn wasteland, these brief moments of respite only serve to heighten the tension of the atmosphere.

While it’s an impressive debut from Vengeful Spectre, the album does have a few weak points in its vocals and riffing. While the frontman employs the classic shrieking style of vocals, it always plays it safe by never straying further into different territories. There are some moments of growling spread across the album that could’ve been highlighted more often or at least used to give a contrast to the different themes of the album. The riffing also feels a little uninspired at times when the repetitive sections could’ve easily been replaced with more elements of Chinese folk. Ultimately though, Vengeful Spectre makes for a strong first impression from the band and it will be exciting to see how they continue to progress their sound.

Must Listens: The Expendables, Desperate War, Rainy Night Carnage

80/100

About the Author

Jeff

I turned my incoherent ramblings on music, anime, and video games into an entire blog.

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