SPECTRAL MANIFEST
"The Nether" EP
Self Released(Digital)/Ossuary Industries(Limited Edition Cassette)
2019(Digital)/2020(Limited Edition Cassette)
Tracklisting:
1. Intro
2. The Nether
3. Through Endless Void
4. Supposed to Rot (Entombed Cover)
5. And the Laughter Has Died (Unleashed Cover)
Old school death metal with some black metal elements, Spectral Manifest is a trio hailing from Houston, Texas. The current line up for Spectral is Depravis Nocturna (vocals and guitar), Cryptos Grimm (drums) and Feltersnatch (bass). "The Nether" is the band's second official release, the first one being their self titled debut in 2014. "The Nether" is also the first recording with their newest bassist Feltersnatch. The EP was originally released digitally only on January 11, 2019 and now again on limited edition cassette by fellow Texan Brian Ferrell's Ossuary Industries. When I say limited, I mean limited. 100 copies to be precise (50 in purple clear tint and 50 in blue clear tint). Hopefully this review gets out in time for you tape collectors out there to get yours.
"The Nether" contains one original intro, simply titled "Intro", that was composed by Sworn(Of Forsaken Divinity/Ruinkros) and SM vocalist/guitarist Depravis Nocturna which has almost a cosmic ambience to it especially when looking at the cover. Very cool. It also consists of two originals written by the band ("The Nether" and "Through Endless Void") and two covers. The first is "Supposed to Rot" by Entombed (Left Hand Path) and "And the Laughter Has Died" by Unleashed (Where No Life Dwells).
Spectral Manifest is one of those bands where it's a little harder to pinpoint a genre because they include a few different ones. Most prominent would be definitely oldschool death metal. Midpaced methodical tempo with catchy guitar work and classic death metal growls. Then they'll decide to pick up the pace a bit and start to have a black metal feel to it along with vocals that sometimes remind me of Venom then right back to oldschool death with may a bit of thrash tempo as well. I think they would've definitely fit in well with the Entombed and Unleashed style of the day and them picking those two bands to cover is the perfect conclusion to this EP.
It's good to see these guys back to making new music and definitely look forward to hearing more down the line. Go check them out at their bandcamp site and if you're a tape collector especially for limited editions and like what you hear head on over to Ossuary Industries site and grab either a blue one or a purple one...or one of each unless there's a limit to only one per customer obviously. If you're not a tape collector, unfortunately there aren't phycial cd's to buy but you can buy the digital EP at Spectral's bandcamp site.
Spectral Manifest Facebook Page
Spectral Manifest Bandcamp Page
Ossuary Industries Facebook Page