The country of norwegen seems to have something in the drinking water. Looking at how many great bands it spawned.
Spiral Architect is no exception here, as they venture across the absolute frontiers of music.
Released in 1999, their only album so far (as of May 2020) is still subject of debate.
The lyrics deal with objectivism, heavily inspired by Ayn Rand and the music itself is furiating complex and a true display of virtuosity.
Make no mistake, this album definitely is not meant for easy listening. It requires the listener to pay attention to really enjoy it. I have spent quite the time doing exactly that and to this day I discover new things in the music and the lyrics, when giving it another play.
The rapid changes of time signatures, the heavy use of odd metres and polyrhythmic patterns are unlike anything one finds. If there are any bands that could provide an idea of what they sound like, only a few come to mind. It could be described as the craziest Dream Theater parts, some Watchtower, Mekong Delta and a lot of jazz mixed together and you might get a glimpse on what this band does.
Many critics pointed out, the extremely dense and complicated structures don’t leave any room for ambiente and point out, a lack of groove and feel.
A valid point, but this album doesn’t try at any point to appeal to a wider audience and treating this piece of music in the way of (progressive) metal or rock is definitely not appropriate as it is almost closer to fusion and jazz in many ways.
This also shows in the mixing, as the bass guitar playing a lead role in it. Rightfully so, the incredible jazzy bass arrangements never fail to impress. The mid’s of the fretless bass in this context are a key element of the whole soundscape and do very well in the great scheme of things.
The general loudness of the album on the other hand, is hurting a bit tough, as it looses dynamics in a otherwise great mixing.
As every instrument has a clear tone, the album’s sound can be described clinic and sterile.
This could have been improved in order to make the sound more organic and I think this has a lot to do with the loud mixing and the rather small dynamic range.
Most of the songs have a mid tempo feeling to it, although it is extremely hard to label, since the rhythms and the tempo are changing constantly.
On one hand the album manages to have a very consistent feeling to it, on the other hand it is lacking versatility to some degree, as every song is full of odd metres and tons of notes cramped into very little space so to speak.
Here I have to stress the importance of spending a lot of time and attention, otherwise one gets lost in the sheer monstrosity of the songs.
That the tracks aren’t overly long, certainly helps in this regard.
Many reviewers pointed to “Insect” standing out with its orient style guitar parts and a disturbing soundscape, packed with dark lyrics on humans anarchic behaviour.
This, I think has to do with the fact, that “Insect” is one of the less complicated tracks on the album and doesn’t need as much time to grow, as some of the other songs, of which some start with a wall of notes and impressions raining down on the listener.
Lyrically it is definitely food for thought. As mentioned it deals with objectivism, philosophy and the bounds of human perception. A lot of inspiration was drawn from writer Ayn Rand, as for example “Fountainhead” shows. Ironically one could easily argue, that the album shares the same faith as her books as being a bit too much.
While there is a fair range of subjects, lyrically you won’t find much rhyming but a lot of well chosen words nicely fit for the music.
Fun fact: British philosopher Sir Roger Scruton actually mentioned them as a somewhat good example of more demanding music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lZRU6fqTSM&feature=youtu.be&t=144
The artwork of the album is held in a blue tone showing a figure in a seemingly enlightened pose surrounded by some sort of noise. Maybe this is taking it a bit too far, but the colour scheme and the general motive flow well with the records content.
So what is the bottomline:
A very good album for people interested in over the top progressive/fusion metal who are willing to spend time and attention to it.
This is definitely a grower and something I really like to come back every now and then.
20 years after the release, it still stands there as a very unique and impressive record.
Let me know what you think about this record and don't forget to check them out!
Where to buy*:
https://amzn.to/2WnJmi9
Spiral Architect are:
Øyvind Hægeland -Vocals and Keyboard
Steinar Gundersen -Rhythm, lead and acoustic guitars
Kaj Gornitzka -Rhythm guitars
Lars K. Norberg -Bass guitar and programming
Asgeir Mickelson -Drums
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