Spirit Adrift
Chained To Oblivion
(Prosthetic Records)
I’ve been waiting for what feels like an eternity for this first full-length release from Arizona’s Spirit Adrift. After hearing the man’s former work in Take Over and Destroy (TOAD) as well as the long defunct local act Queen Beast (yeah, I remember that EP – and it’s worth a repressing) I’m nearly convinced that Nate Garrett can do no wrong. He’s responsible for pretty much everything here as he handles the guitar, bass, vocals, drums and piano, putting on a performance that sounds like a one-man Pallbearer and simultaneously blowing my mind wind open like a popped balloon at the same time. Chained To Oblivion is not a very long record, but at the same time, it’s a much longer performance than you might think – and it’s fitting. Yes, it’s wholly fitting.
Garrett played in TOAD and Queen Beast, so you can already expect the same great playing to be found here. As a matter of fact, such a performance is nearly unreal – he’s really gone out of his way to provide some absolutely captivating and heart-stopping melodies on this one. In addition to these awesome waves of melodic splendor, he also sings his literal ass off, giving us a performance that is extremely difficult for me to put into words. It’s just the kind of thing that you play and just stand back in awe, because you just can’t believe how awesome the material you’re experiencing is. There’s not even one song that I would trade here for a different cut and they all feel cohesive within the mix. Unlike TOAD, you won’t find any extreme metal influences like death or black metal here, nor will you find any real experimentation beyond what can be achieved at a non-symphonic level. There are no electronics or anything of that sort here, as this is truly a doom album. Spirit Adrift seems to want to further carry that already booming Arkansas doom scene (even though there’s been a lot of BDM over here as of late, which is hit or miss) with it’s countless acts like Pallbearer, Rwake (and to some extent even my band, Torii) into new territory. Garrett may have moved, but that spirit seems to have stuck with him and translated perfectly into what I’d consider an absolutely breathtaking piece of melodic doom.
But let’s not get it twisted here. When you think doom, you envision a sound that feels rather gloomy, dark and possibly even evil. You don’t expect to hear melodic vocals dueling with equally melodic leads, making Chained To Oblivion one of the best doom records I’ve simply ever heard. (Obviously, this heavily melodic style of doom won’t be for everyone, which I shall address in a bit.) In ways, I can almost compare this performance to that of SubRosa, who are an absolute favorite of mine as well. Doom took a while to grow on me in general. Aside from Sabbath, I hadn’t really heard many of the genre progenitors and didn’t really seem to grasp it until after a couple of years of being exposed to umpteen million different kinds of doom albums. There were a few records that seemed to go with the more groovy approach and others that seemed to make things a wee bit more dreadful. Yet with acts like SubRosa, Pallbearer and now Spirit Adrift coming along, I definitely feel more attuned and connected to this kind of material than I have in any other genre of music, period. There’s something almost a bit ritualistic and sacred about the feeling that one might get from a record that hits so hard and memorable as this one, where you just really want to sit down in a closed space and soak it in. You might even play it more than once, as you probably won’t fully absorb it all the first time. You literally feel the urge to play it again and then possibly maybe even a few more times. This is the kind of musical atmosphere that I just feel is truly uncanny. I could write ten paragraphs all saying roundabout the same thing and never do it justice. On top of that, the disc maintains a great production value, with the melodies sharp in the mix and the vocals gently rising to the top. There are even a couple of guitar solos, as “Form and Force” showcases with it’s return to the roots style that certainly gives a nod to the men who created this style several decades ago. That’s called “paying your dues” and I’m truly glad to hear it.
Now I know, as I’ve been reading the Pallbearer reviews over at Metal Archives myself; that there are people who are going to completely disagree with my review of this one and I feel they are right to do so. Some say that acts like Spirit Adrift and Pallbearer might be destroying the genre with this more melodic approach, but when I look at all that I’ve heard in the past from bands like Sabbath to Saint Vitus to Candlemass, Cathedral or even Electric Wizard and then I look at these more modern acts, I soon begin to notice many of the same things. The record still contains what makes any doom record great, which is that notable doom thump, one droning bass riff repeated since time immemorial – the devil’s tritone itself – as well as a pained and rather morose vocal approach. These are the base elements of doom since Ozzy first took the microphone with Iommi, Ward and Butler back in the seventies. So what exactly is the problem? In fact, I’m almost reminded of Funeral, who practically forged the funeral doom genre to begin with and surely that can’t be a problem. But I digress, as people will always find something to whine about.
In listening to Spirit Adrift’s Chained To Oblivion, I’ve not only heard a mind blowing performance, but literally everything that makes me give a damn about doom. It’s never boring and always a spectacle, which makes me feel a bit bad that I’ve gotten to hear it so soon and you’ll have to wait a bit. Sure, that’s my job – but hopefully by the time this review posts, you’ll be able to pick up a copy right after giving this observation a look-see. In spite of all this, Garrett single-handedly created a monster of a record which says something about the power of a single individual and their art. The awesomeness of this record can’t simply be denied and without a doubt, Chained To Oblivion will more than likely be my doom album of the year. I just don’t know how anything can top this. So please, give it a listen and enrich your life with it’s vibrancy. (The Grim Lord)
Purchase Chained To Oblivion here: Vinyl | CD | Bandcamp
