A black cloud hangs heavy over Long Island, New York-based heavy rock/stoner metal band Restless Spirit in the twilight of loss as this third full-length album fights its way through an ever-greying mood in mourning. If feeling ones way through grief is the chosen ideal then the result should naturally be an outward flood of inner turmoil, we embrace the dark so that it might be flung-out and identified, acknowledged. ‘Afterimage‘ is presented as said gloom-stricken reveal and actualization, a gory crack into it which contains some of the trio’s heaviest and most tunefully sculpted (as in, accessible) work to date.

Restless Spirit is the third-level ambition of guitarist/vocalist Paul Aloisio who’d put together a sludge metal group (Witchtripper) in the mid-2010’s after putting some time into a metallic hardcore band (Detriment), that initial crew would eventually hit the reset button on their gear around 2018 forming this more serious gig around the talents that’d emerged in their formative years. Their first album (‘Lord of the New Depression‘, 2019) was a hit with me when I’d reviewed it, finding an acceptable point of captivity between popular late 90’s alt-metal, doom, and some stoner/sludge inflected ideals. This has more-or-less been their general modus since with each release intending to avoid any major redundancies, suggesting that staying liquid in some sense should still allow for their signature to shine through. That’d proven well and true enough on the far more accomplished sophomore LP (‘Blood of the Old Gods‘, 2021) from the group, the exact sort of soulful heavy rock album I’m prone to buy in the middle of writing a review. That record was a stoney thunder rock gig recorded in a corrugated steel garage, a grinder with longer form songs, echoing vocals and a freely swinging feeling to its groove outside of the main points of tension built on longer pieces — this time around we’re fully engaged with direct and vocally driven pieces. It’ll be more to the taste of folks who’d preferred their debut LP. I am generally more interested in the second album but I figured I’d err on the side of diligence and let ’em cook.

Opener “Marrow” did ultimately make sense as a first single though the first impression was one of hazy production space, crackling guitar distortion lingering in the air, and a front-set vocal directive carrying the wave. A more straight forward approach doesn’t necessarily hurt a band like Restless Spirit, though, that gloomy first look stuffed with alt-rock hooks and an overall buzzing, colder take on their stoner sludged rock-swinging feeling, was immediate in tone and fittingly dramatic as a starter; The High on Fire-esque kick and growl of “Shadow Command” acts as a self-destructive mirror in alternating verse with cleaner sung, soulful relent and this charging ‘Blessed Black Wings‘-era trundle kinda rears up in its midst and roars a bit, too, literally per Mike Hill (Tombs). By the time (another well-picked single) “All Furies” hits we get some clarification that this band’s sharp alt-metal side where they’re kinda ‘radio capable’ even in this fuzzier, grizzled context. As we continue to burn through the rest of the album’s 5-6 minute thinkers this sole quicker-bustin’ three minute piece seems to indicate one potential path toward simpler, punchier hits in the future. We knew they’d had it in ’em per ‘Lord of the New Depression‘ but it seemed the prog-sludged kinetic edge of ‘Blood of the Old Gods‘ might not have swallowed up their tuneful side.

Maybe that’d be the real point of judgement at the halfway mark, Restless Spirit are out to hit their hook and stab at a certain feeling but the pleasure of listening most often comes when the band takes their time and builds up to those highs. The push and pull of it all feels advanced for the stoner/doom infused heavy rock space which tends to aim for trait or simple gimmick for an edge. ‘Afterimage‘ as a whole presents an acceptable conundrum between outright accessible songwriting, largely driven by the melodic directive of vocalist Aloisio who often has this late 90’s/early 2000’s alt-metal dramatism to his voice (see also: earlier Spirit Adrift) and finding tension in between these moments which hits in relation to the prior work of this band.

I’d appreciated how “Brutalized” acted as a crunchier, fuzzed-over intro to Side B, though it might’ve fit the catchier, speedier clip of the first half of ‘Afterimage‘ in introduction of “Marrow” as it contrasts oddly with the drip into the wailing gloom of standout “The Fatalist” and its later-era Corrosion of Conformity-sized axe to grind with maestro Wino ( himself providing extra guitars on the piece. This world in between southern heavy rock, traditional doom metal, is a strength of the band when things get swinging and fits their gear as there has always been a tinge of The Obsessed in Restless Spirit‘s work when they reach for a weird hit of soul. The running order in general continue to bug me in the depths of the second half as the three pieces which conclude the album are all exceptional for their own reasons, great standalone pieces but their flow from thought to thought, feeling to feeling wasn’t as aligned in their cause as the first half in terms of the mountain that is “The Fatalist”, the psych-balladry of “Hells Grasp” and the way “From the Dust Returned” has a sort of late 90’s stoner Sabbath-worship edge to it. That isn’t to say they aren’t the best pieces of the lot, though. As directly tunneled through as the energy of Side A had been these pieces linger, indulge the doomed headspace which these folks often excel within and generally present their most impactful work for my own taste. They’ve still got this interesting darker edge to their sound and the way it manifests throughout the full listen keeps things beyond interesting and impressive in its varietal showing despite the vocals carrying their familiar sway through each piece.

Album number three is a serious one, a contender from Restless Spirit as they aim for catharsis just short of self-immolation and come out the other side having achieved a record which makes a direct enough connection with the listener rather than dancing around them. Different for the sake of different wouldn’t have worked for a band like this and instead it seems we’ve gotten different for the sake of better connectivity, they’re making eye contact now and it isn’t too weird eh. ‘Afterimage‘ isn’t necessarily a collection of radio rock pieces as a result but a surfacing of the potential one could easily see emerging on their first two records. Plus these folks can pull it off live, having recently burned a hole through Seattle late last month impressing all. Check them out if you see them coming through. A high recommendation.

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