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As with Emperor's latest opus, expectations ran pretty damn high
for this one. Could they continue what they began on
Enthrone, or were they just a flash in the pan? Have their egos
taken over, have side projects and an amost revolving door policy
towards band members taken away from the magic? Well, I can't
answer all of these questions, but let's just say that no new ground
has been broken here, but man, have they made what they already had really
spectacular. While sounding almost like the second part to their
previous album, Spiritual is a little crisper, and it seems to be a lot
faster. The only real experimentation I can hear is in the vocals, which
of course feature I.C.S. Vortex of Borknagar/Arcturus fame. I also
hear a distant nod towards Vortex's old work in the keyboard work (and I
guess that he also played bass for them during their tour), which is
interesting, making me wonder if he brings musical ideas as well as his
amazing voice to these recordings. Shagrath's decision to drop guitar
duties to concentrate on vocals doesn't seem to have too much of an effect
here to me, but new guitar recruit Astennu (Covenant) is a fretboard maniac,
helping Silenoz rip out some black metal riffs of death, if you get my
meaning. A worthy follow up to a great album, full of emotion,
darkness and black castles. Now, if they only keep a steady line-up
to progress further... Note: It seems as though the media isn't
picking this up as heavily as other releases (fickle), which
surprises me, as I actually want to hear this album from time to time,
opposite of how I feel about some of the other big "hits" that
have passed through my player this time around.
8 out of 10
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