Presenting their most vehement argument that the futile spectre of human existence cannot fade fast enough from time the galaxy-brained flash and furor of Saarbrücken, Germany-based melodic black/death metal duo THE SPIRIT greets this fourth full-length album at full thruster capacity, eventually ebbing their cosmic tide down to an impulse guided abysmal state. A songbook both dramatic and anthemic at its best, ‘Songs Against Humanity‘ carries the old traditions of Scandinavian melodic black/death metal as its core machination yet once again finds a different temperamental angle, voicing which elaborates upon ancient adamantine bones with restraint. Though the energy of their work drains into more reverent ride on its second half better-honed production values and varietal songcraft help to extend interest throughout this fine modern yet classics-skilled record.

The Spirit formed as a duo circa 2015 in craft of a modern vision of melodic black metal inspired by both Swedish and German scenery. As a trio they’d begun setting a popular standard for Dawn and Dissection-esque sounds with a self-released debut LP circa 2017 and eventually a deal with AOP Records followed which has now resulted in three albums. The futile egotism of humanity in the grand scheme of the universe is a main theme via their surreal sci-fi aesthetic, ideas which I’d mused upon when reviewing their 2020 sophomore LP (‘Cosmic Terror‘) and its prog-death infused follow-up (‘Of Clarity and Galactic Structures‘, 2022). In the space of those two records I wasn’t sure that I was a die-hard fan of the band just yet, commenting on my time with the third album: “At some point, […] I’d found myself oddly annoyed with the lack of notable separation between tracks and the cadence of the vocals, ready to be pulled from the airlock they’d created. Of course in retrospect I’d appreciated just how immersed I’d been for so many runs through the album, it wasn’t a state of ecstasy so much as it’d been an enjoyable spectacle to behold.” where I’d felt I loved the concept and evolution of their sub-genre specific admixture and its changeling nodes but still found their palette was advancing well before their songcraft in terms of impact.

Thus far The Spirit have offered essentially zero meta commentary or additional context as to what theme applies to ‘Songs Against Humanity‘ beyond it being a new album, offering notes which amount to “new album, more touring on the way” and this is -not- a criticism on my part. This type of messaging by default amounts to a mental funnel toward the album’s lyrics and imagery which frankly only requires so much interpretation. Thankfully, and we’ll have to squeeze a few brain cells to figure this one out, the actual title of the record and its suggested nihil is clear as day; Beyond this point we can also note that the same production team, performers and cover artist (Eliran Kantor) have been enlisted for this album ensuring its style and polished-up sound is similar to that of ‘Of Clarity and Galactic Structures‘ but not exactly the same. Any fan of melodic black/death metal via the early 90’s style will appreciate the stripped down, warmed and clearly presented nature of this recording despite its general lack of cold and cacophonic classic black metal character.

“Against Humanity” b/w “Room 101” introduce ‘Songs Against Humanity‘ as a rolling celestial tide, scaling through its Nödtveidt + Zwetsloot level riffs and runs clearly seeking to invoke the Dissection-isms any fan would want and expect from The Spirit at this point. By front loading the album with over twelve minutes of the good stuff this provides a satisfying greeting to the most engaged ears of their fandom seeking that same ancient mystic melodic black feeling. The bass guitar tone still helps add curvature to these movements, plodding and plotting the course while the hollow rasp of the vocals takes extended breaks during the nearly ~8 minute opener (“Against Humanity”.) In fact the more time I’d spent with ‘Songs Against Humanity‘ the sooner I’d begin to pinpoint the interplay and fusion between the rhythm guitar and bass guitar as the most advanced additions to their work overall on this album. By contrast “Room 101” takes more stock in common melodic black/death revisionist aptitudes where the pop-metal/melodeath song structure gets a slight turn askew as the anthemic charge of the song acts as the main inspiration/drive behind its movements.

While I would insist this is a direct follow up to the previous album in some considerable sense part of this comes from The Spirit‘s need to uphold their general signature but that doesn’t mean we get plain or simple variations on a theme in this case. In terms of space occupied by the guitar tones this new album’s actual distortion and guitar sound is similar to the one used in the past but tempered and socketed more deeply into the fold while the drums are eased of their prior thinness and this gives the album a humming roundness which is closer to classic (eh, late 90’s at least) melodic black metal than the previous album, likewise the progressive death metal elements from the prior LP are far more subtle and spacious when used briefly, such as the break around ~2:34 minutes into “Cosmic Rain and Human Dust”, and this particular moment of integration is brilliantly subtle, repetitive and precedes a worming melodic lead that doesn’t over dramatize the moment. What’d felt like a melodic black metal band covering late 90’s Death songs for a minute on the previous album now feels like a smartly absorbed addition (not a focus) to their oeuvre which barely makes a dent in the overall shape of the album.

On the flipside there are some “arena metal” moments which are passed around here, such as the thrashing triplet gallops that overtake the main verses of “Spectres of Terror”, which feel like a devolution of the intricacies The Spirit have developed over the course of the last ~decade. The greater effective change to observe otherwise here is a more relaxed level of composition and a more refined atmospheric reach which generally benefits from less frantic authorship. By the time we are striding through the rasped mid-paced journey of “Death is My Salvation” later on I have to admit the vocals still feel particularly limited in range but this doesn’t sour the experience of its classicism and wrangle of heaviness versus melodic interest.

Where I begin to fall off the record is in repeated analysis of Side B where the sleepier, slower side of The Spirits‘ temperament delivers three similarly paced songs as they ultimately resolve to fade out as the dark metal/early Katatonia-esque dirge of closer “Orbiting Sol IV” walks them off stage before any real climax happens. This makes Side A woefully front-loaded with impact and excitement before a slow-fading sensation kicks in and the vigor of the full listen is bled out. This’d quickly sapped my interest in terms of replay value despite being stoked to sit with another record from these folks; This time around the artists work feels like half of a larger thought or a quickly dissolving will which loses its fire after about ~four or five songs but thankfully still manages to generate interest throughout. Without the overworked and unsteady hand of the previous LP providing an ambitious push to their voice I’d ultimately found myself sticking to the first half of this album, kinda dreading the half-developed thought of the closing piece as an endpoint. It all works on repeat listens but also grates for some small reasons which are less important gripes on my part. That said this record makes an excellent first impression and that’ll be enough to pull the average melodic black metal fandom in for many listens. A moderately high recommendation.

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