SPIRITUAL ECLIPSE
"Amaranth"
independent

By:Tate Bengtson

Mixing midpaced death metal with an almost mystical black metal influence, and a few doom passages, Spiritual Eclipse manages to embrace a large part of the extreme metal spectrum on this four-song demo. Unfortunately, the production is weak and saps a lot of the energy from the band's execution, which compounds the difficulties encountered in the drifting song structures and in the delivery, which tends to be a bit mechanical during the midpaced or slower parts. Despite some problems, Spiritual Eclipse seems to be striving to create something different from the run-of-the-mill death metal, and that is largely conveyed through the band's successful attempts to breathe a dark, anxious atmosphere into its music. It does get a bit too melodramatic in the third track, but the promising second tune, "Manifesto," brings together Spiritual Eclipse's inclination for stylistic diversity, haunting atmospheres, and involved song structures very successfully. With a better production and more focused compositions, this band should prove capable of offering a mighty slab of brutal metal.

Email: onedin1@yahoo.com

Web: http://www.spiritualeclipse.com

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