Hey there tech fiends, it's that time of the week again. Before we dive into today's focus, here's the usual reminder that if you're looking for more sick music, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
Clavicus Vile has a very amorphous sound with a whole lot of ideas and influences at play, part of which probably comes from the material this album is composed of being written and created over the course of many years. Starting with their initial 2012 two-song demo that hooked me on the group. Which was followed by 2015’s The Incipiency, a four-song effort that updated the two songs from 2012 with two new songs. The Nightspirit's Call contains three of the four songs prior released and pairs that with seven new compositions that are equally varied and sound completely different than one another. No two songs on The Nightspirit’s Call unfold similarly or feel quite the same. A lack of uniformity can sometimes feel haphazard and sloppy, but when it’s done with care and skilled writing, it often leads to many of my favorite tech-death releases because it means the album feels more like an explorative experience, a true journey that often goes in directions you’d never fathom.
To give you an idea of the sonic palette the band builds with here, think Cryptopsy meets technical brutal death in the Suffocation and Deeds Of Flesh vein with a Brain Drill and First Fragment hyper shred influence popping up at times. The audible bass playing is fucking excellent and adds a lot to songs that already are impressive from the guitarwork angle that this style is centered around. While I wouldn’t call any of the album black metal wholly, there is a defined blackened undercurrent found in many of the album's riffs. Primitive face-smashing death metal riffs are also a part of the equation from time to time.
The Nightspirit’s Call is a very ambitious and incredibly dense release with a lot to offer, and it’s always top-notch and interesting to hear the myriad of ways they combine and pair opposing styles together. Click play below and check out The Nightspirit's Call if you haven't heard it yet. If you dig what you’re hearing, you can purchase the release through Bandcamp. Be sure to follow the group over on the Clavicus Vile Facebook Page.
