Spectre "A Grim Menace From Beyond" CD

The Spanish metal scene is one of the fastest rising ones, with new interesting bands and projects popping up each week. When studying the members of black metal outfit Spectre you might find some interesting names, like e.g. Teitanblood, sharing members with each other. Spectre has been formed way back in the early noughties, but only managed to release one split before the band members have focused on their other creative outlets. In 2018 they came up with a full length out of the blue, titled “A Grim Menace from Beyond”. While this one might not be a work of reference and has not made any year-end lists it is a very solid and enjoyable piece of grim and 100 % traditional black metal.
This is ceremonial black metal standing on its own as a hypnotic, captivating ritual experience. Ritualistic guitar chords work as counter harmony to the muffled shrieking of the vocals, pushed way in the back of the tomb. Lead guitar sounds are echoing in the hollows between the fierce tremolo runs. Often the band keeps blending the main riffs into a whitewash of warbling sound, like an unstable connection between our realm and the cursed lands of unfathomable darkness and sorrow.
The songwriting show the experience of the musicians involved, with the music always packed with a fiery ferocity and real power the likes of which only quality black metal can deliver so well. It’s the execution factor that shows us really what a band is made of, no matter how experienced they are, and Spectre have delivered all the goods the make up a great black metal recording. The drumming switches between high speed battering and a steady groove, with the patterns well planned and executed.
Most songs are downright infectious to experience, as the venom works its way through your ears into your brain with astonishing speed, and it’s with each successive song that “A Grim Menace from Beyond” impresses the listener. Vocalist Lilith might leave a lasting impression on you with her howling and desperate delivery, proving that female singers with enough passion can stand on their own feet among the majority of male peers.
The production is great, giving the record a strong and transparent yet not too clean and sterile sound. The artwork is also fantastic, having given me a bit of gothic/horror vibes. Like mentioned in the beginning this might not be a genre defining work and not something a lot of people will speak in the future. However, it is a great addition to the collection and fans of pure black metal cannot go wrong by getting a copy.

SPECTRE's A Grim Menace from Beyond CD is an immersive experience of Black Metal from Spain. This full-length release features 8 tracks, from "Ancient Echoes of the Past" to "The End of the Borley Rectory." Each track is a journey through spectral soundscapes, transporting the listener to lands beyond reality.

Powerful alliance of great musicians from the Catalan underground scene. Icy black metal indebted to the ancient gods with members of Graveyard, Körgull The Exterminator, Teitanblood, Argar, Mortal Mutilation, Lux Divina, Between The Frost... Mist and damned souls among disturbing nightmarish images.

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