Doom-turned-trad metallers Spirit Adrift are back with their first LP in three years and it’s filled with riffs. Riffs everywhere.
Release date: August 18, 2023 | Century Media | Facebook | Buy/Stream
Watching bands grow and change over the course of their career can be a fun thing to observe. If the sounds stray too far from the ones that coaxed fans through the threshold to begin with, artists can either embrace the new direction or retreat to avoid fan churn. In the somewhat short life of Spirit Adrift they have managed to evolve and grow from a more doom focused sound to a more traditional metal sound with inklings of the low-and-slow riffing that has been there from the start. This has been one of those transitions that has happened quite organically and one that I think that most of us agree has worked in favor of the band. This trajectory is not an uncommon one – see Smoulder and Khemmis – and this is one that has helped to fuel this small trad metal revival that we are (thankfully) going through at the moment. Starting with Divided By Darkness, Spirit Adrift started moving away from the dirges of their previous albums and toward a punkier pace with more and more emphasis on the riff. Ghost at the Gallows is the first LP from the band since 2020’s Enlightened in Eternity and while there have been a couple of EPs since then, this is the first real concentrated effort by the band in about three years and the time that has passed since has shown that this band isn’t afraid to adapt, change, and grow.
The traditional metal scene is one that is alive and growing with more and more bands reverting to the sounds of those early waves of metal. Spirit Adrift have never mimicked legacy bands but have taken those sensibilities and interpreted them through their Texas, doom-based sound and the resulting sounds are incredibly unique. Pair this approach with Nate’s signature voice and riffing style and they have carved out a space that only they inhabit. Ghost at the Gallows continues to weave this thread throughout its eight songs but does so with some new designs and wrinkles. Frankly, if one were to ask me what we hope to hear from bands with an established following, a version of the previous sentence would be my response. One new idea that has crept in vocal dynamics and that can be felt on the ballad that punctuates the center of the album, “These Two Hands.” The first two thirds of the song is an acoustic song that sees Nate’s voice quiver, push, and pull the melody across the instrumentation. By the final third, this track turns into a classic Spirit Adrift doom track: new meets old. This is a refreshing way to take a newer idea and inject it into your new record without it feeling like an identity crisis.
Spirit Adrift are, in my experience, one of those bands that do what they do so well that it’s easy to miss, much like great visual effects in a movie. Whether or not this is something that they are conscious of remains to be seen but it does seem like they have taken a few risks on this record to shake things up and add some edges where perhaps a nice rounded corner would be found before. “I Shall Return” opens with a change-up riff that feels like a tribute to Randy Rhodes’ classic opening to “Crazy Train.” The track spans several different ideas but all feel organically connected thanks in no small part to the incredible guitar work that is layered with chunky lower end riffs, clean chord strums, and the flaming solos that bridge parts together. The drumming courtesy of Mike Arellano also does a great job of making these tracks what they are with “Siren of the South” being one such track that leaves space for the drums to be the main character.
Structurally, there are some things to love about Ghost at the Gallows. The album is bookended by two of the absolute best tracks on the record, “Give Her to the River” lights the fuse at the beginning and the title track ends things with the inevitable bang. Each of these songs have some massive shifts throughout their respective runtimes, which is around seven minutes for each. Those vocal dynamics that were mentioned earlier come back and haunt the end of this album and close it out on a note that feels apt but decidedly new for Spirit Adrift. The emotional vibe of this record feels at its peak at the ending, aided by the vocals, production, and spot-on guitar work. While the first and final songs undoubtedly outshine the rest that is not to say that the middle is literally filler as there are some killer tracks in there and ones that are a bit more on the Spirit Adrift brand. I would however love to see them continue to chase these ideas of longer songs with multiple parts, varying vocal inflection, and the space for tension.
Structurally, there are some things to love about Ghost at the Gallows. The album is bookended by two of the absolute best tracks on the record, “Give Her to the River” lights the fuse at the beginning and the title track ends things with the inevitable bang. Each of these songs have some massive shifts throughout their respective runtimes, which is around seven minutes for each. Those vocal dynamics that were mentioned earlier come back and haunt the end of this album and close it out on a note that feels apt but decidedly new for Spirit Adrift. The emotional vibe of this record feels at its peak at the ending, aided by the vocals, production, and spot-on guitar work. While the first and final songs undoubtedly outshine the rest that is not to say that the middle is literally filler as there are some killer tracks in there and ones that are a bit more on the Spirit Adrift brand. I would however love to see them continue to chase these ideas of longer songs with multiple parts, varying vocal inflection, and the space for tension.
Ghost at the Gallows clocks in at around 46 minutes and while not every minute is spent unearthing something new, there is a sense of layers being pulled back and new ideas bubbling up to the surface. This is a band that has made a career of evolving and this album is perfectly in step with their ethos until now and that modus operandi is and always will be ‘riffs are king.’ There are some amazing ones on this record but there are also fantastic performances across all of the instruments but the most growth is in how the vocals interact with the music and how these songs are written to showcase it all. This band is growing right before our eyes. Buying and listening to this record is a no-brainer as Spirit Adrift has been one of the most dependable workhorses of metal since their inception but perhaps now more than ever there is an excitement around what they are doing and how they are never content with just pumping out a new set of songs. You simply can’t help but have fun and bang your head and air-guitar around your living room when these songs play and what else do we really need?
