ALBUM REVIEW: Spectral Haze - "Turning Electric"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 20/10/2017

Label: Totem Cat Records

If you are a lover of the classic sound, you will surely listen to this one often. "Turning Electric" is certain to please.

"Turning Electric" DD//LP track listing

1. Dawn of the Falcon

2. Turning Electric

3. Cathexis/Mask Of Transformation

4. Ajaghandi

5. They Live

6. Master Scorcerer

The Review:

Oslo, Norway's doom metal meisters Spectral Haze have built a ton of cred for a relatively new band. A demo and well-received debut recording, "I.E.V.: Transmutated Nebula Remains," cemented the quartet's reputation as standard bearers for psychedelic/stoner metal in the vein of 1970s' legends. You may have read some early comparisons to Hawkwind and similar groups as well. Indeed the debut won over many fans for its mystical lyrics and sound that was at once classic and yet contemporary.

For you seeking that old-school-in-a-new-school-way sound, the return of Spectral Haze is welcome news. The question out there, though, is how well the group can deliver.

"Dawn of the Falcon" kicks it all off, and fans will not be at all disappointed. What made Spectral Haze special from its beginning was its attention to detail. That love for the music is on full display here. The rhythm section launches you into the stratosphere, fittingly considering the space theme that is threaded all through "Turning Electric." Multi-layered guitars and a touch of keys and effects twirl about your mind. And, still lyrically, the group remains vivid and exceptional.

Critics have reflected positively before about how much Spectral Haze fits in with the acts that seemingly inspired what it does. For a few listeners, that approach may feel too derivative or safe. If that is you, "Turning Electric" does not venture far from this roadmap. What the listener gets, though, is a grand recording that nevertheless does the genre proud.

The title track and into "Cathexis/Mask Of Transformation" are quite impressive showcases for the bass and drums, which tend to both be underappreciated in most of the genre. With just a dash of pedals and post-production flourishes, Spectral Haze lays down a backbeat that really allows the vocal to present the vastness of a story. In creating the mood of a starscape and one's journey through space, the band allows its most arresting elements such as the songwriting to truly shine.

Spectral Haze earned praise in the past for its overall composition and song selection. "Turning Electric" continues this tradition. The deep bluesy interpretation in a prodigious "Ajaghandi" flows right into the jam-inflected "They Live," with its engrossing storytelling. Again, it is attention to those details that drew accolades for Spectral Haze. Plenty of songs by other artists can feel bloated. Here, there is a stimulating quality to the solos, the lyrical peaks and valleys and crescendos. The listener gets a clear feeling the trip is headed somewhere good, and the group makes good on such promise.

As the album wraps with "Master Scorcerer," the briefest cut on the recording, it is difficult not to wish for more output. However, if you are a lover of the classic sound, you will surely listen to this one often. "Turning Electric" is certain to please.

"Turning Electric" will be available to preorder/buy here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

Spectral Haze - I.E.V.: Transmutated Nebula Remains (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 10/11/2014

Label: Soulseller Records

‘I.E.V.: Transmutated Nebula Remains’ CD/LP track listing:

01 I.E.V. I - Circumambulating Mount Meru (04:10)

02 Mercurian Mantra (07:44)

03 Black Gandharvas (11:03)

04 I.E.V. II - Observing the Centre of Infinity (02:51)

05 Descent Through the Intravoidal (06:02)

06 Triads and Trishulas (13:51)

Spectral Haze is:

Spacewülff | Interstellar Howls/Geetarrrgh
Sönik Slöth | Supercosmic overdrive pedalinfused guitarvoid
Döômdögg | Dronemachinated AUM
Cëlestïal Cöbra | Conjurer of souls through ritual drums

Bio:

Spectral Haze was first conjured from the Void three years ago, through four sonick sorcerers residing in Oslo, Norway; Cëlestial Cöbra (Battery), Döömdogg (Bass guitar), Spacewülff (Vocals, guitars) and Sönik Slöth (Guitars). Through these last few years, Spectral Haze has undulated and grown into channeling through a fifth vessel, namely Electric Starling (Theremin, VOID). The upcoming album "I.E.V.: Transmutated Nebula Remains" follows their eponymous debut EP released in 2012 CE, and brings even more psyched out doom rock rituals.

Review:

Spectral Haze- “Psyched Out Doom Rock Rituals.” That’s about all that’s written in this Oslo, Norway 4 Pieces Bio and it’s a pretty accurate statement aside from the “doom” part. I don’t really see all that much of a doom vibe from these guys, sure there are sabbathian flourishes here and there, but what you really get is huge fuzzy riffs, sparse yet pyched out-effects heavy vocals and full tilt space rock ala Hawkwind with a good bit of swagger thrown in for good measure.

The album starts out with a nice spacey intro right into a thundering rhythm that undulates and swirls into warp speed with the first track acting as an intro until you are thrust into the second track of the record. I really like this track as a record intro and specifically the approach it takes as a steady build into track two.  ‘Mercurian Mantra’ is just as thundering and groovy as the last track, it is also the first introduction to the bands vocals which come across as reverb heavy and manic. Great keyboard and effects are used on this song, upping the space rock ante and lead heavily to the darker parts of the track. Definitely a very trippy feeling of dissonance.

The first two songs play on each other with similar feels for a sort of combined effect. Enter “Black Gandharvas” with a darker and more straight ahead swagger to it. This song brings into play the sabbathian flourishes I mentioned early. A good head bobbing ass kicker of a track. At about seven and a half minutes into the song, it shape shifts into an acid rock harmonized guitar part before snapping back into the signature gallop to finish the track out in a fever dream state.

Track four is another instrumental track on the record and it reminds me of the first track the flip on a vinyl- and acts as an intro to the end of the record if you will. Another rad space rock sounding short, leading into the fifth track of the album, ‘Descent Through the Intravoidal’ which starts off with a very surf rock sounding part mixed with this bands space rock sound, it works superbly. This is the standout track on the album not only because it is different than the rest of the record but because it takes the sum of all the bands parts, throws them into warp speed and makes me love being in for the ride. Towards the end it pumps the brakes a bit and melds seamlessly with the last track and effective outro of the record.

The final track is a 13 minute jam of slowed down space rock bleakness, groove heavy plodding into a weird 70’s grind house sounding exit that works like a reverse version of the intro to the record. A very good and well played closer by the band.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed ‘I.E.V.: Transmutated Nebula Remains’, and find it hard to make many critiques. The record flows perfectly and takes the listener on a complete voyage with tons of different psychedelic aspects that make it stand out. This is a nice take on the stoner rock/metal genre and I really like the approach these guys are taking to it. I’ve heard a lot of comparisons to the mighty Monster Magnet when people talk about Spectral haze, and that’s a hell of a compliment, but I’m not seeing it so much (I’m a self proclaimed Monster Magnet superfan) as I am seeing big influences from Hawkwind’s catalogue. That’s also a pretty big compliment and something you don’t see too much of these day, and neither is this record! I look forward to more from these guys in the future and I would really like to see how these songs translate in a live setting.

Words by: David Heaton

You can pick up a copy here

For more information:

https://www.facebook.com/SpectralHaze
www.soulsellerrecords.com