What a strange phenomenon.
When I first picked up this album sometime in the summer of 1993, my initial
listen left me stupefied. PESTILENCE was a band I revered for their
creativity and, early on, their raw energy and aggressive musical demeanor.
1991's Testimony Of The Ancients left me nervously wringing
my hands however, and I hoped for PESTILENCE to return to form on this
release. Not only did the band not do so, they sounded almost completely
different than anytime beforehand. As I recall it, I hated the album
so much I shelved it and there it sat, unplayed for years. Then came
review time and I found that my evolved musical tastes and openness had
payed off. Spheres isn't so bad afterall. In
fact, in a lot of respects its pretty darn good.
Spheres is
demonstrative of how ahead of their time PESTILENCE had become. This
is Death Metal that thinks outside the box if you will. Reminding
me a bit of CYNIC in places and employing spacey synthesizers and hollowed
out rhythm guitars, PESTILENCE take experimentation to the next level.
Overall, the results are successful and although this certainly takes some
time getting use to, there is an aura of wonder that surrounds some of
the tracks on this album. This is something I would expect to hear
in 2005 or so, not 1993. The vocals are still PESTILENCE but the
band have taken a new approach to songwriting, employing far more Jazz
and Fusion influences while blending in the more classey elements of Death
Metal. Bizarre is a word that comes to mind when I'm forced
to give a one word description of the content on this recording.
The album conveys an eerie realm of mystery and futuristic flare that few
bands have successfully accomplished and in that mode I think Spheres
is a pioneering effort. Despite the flack that this album got in
the beginning, me being one of it's most vocal critics, many have now realized
upon repeated listens that PESTILENCE was on to something. Last word
on the band was that they parted ways shortly after this release and several
members found there way into Jazz and Fusion projects. This album
certainly serves as a prelude to that end.
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