As a result of taking part in NaNoWriMo this year, I’ve been a bit slack with writing reviews… but, since the end of November is just around the corner I thought it was time to knuckle down and get to work.
Thankfully, listening to and reviewing this album by Manchester’s Spires is not work at all. In fact, it’s the opposite… it’s the kind of thing that you slack off work to do.
From the very start of opening track “Equilibrium”, you know that you’re in for a real treat. Throughout the album you are bombarded with addictive melodies, impressive song structures and superb musicianship. “Spiral of Ascension” is the kind of album that you can throw on at the end of a hard day and allow it to send you into another dimension.
There are tastes of bands like Opeth and Cynic lurking within the songs, but Spires is a very different animal. They’re all that and more. The songs are exactly that – songs. I don’t think of them as tracks, they are individual masterpieces – each with their own identity and each able hold their own. This doesn’t feel like an album thrown together for the sake of putting out an album. It’s clear that a massive amount of thought has gone into it. Not only are the songs so jaw-droppingly good that I want to climb onto the rooftop and shout about them, but they flow terrifically well together. Each one is in its optimum place on the album.
Tracks like “Broken Hourglass” are given room to breathe and have the time to progress seemlessly to their natural conclusion. Spires are certainly not afraid to create ‘epic’ tracks, as a few of them clock in at over 10 minutes. However, despite their lengths, the songs here don’t feel like they go on for ages. It certainly is a case of ‘time flies when you’re having fun’.
In conclusion, to say I’m impressed is an understatement. Consider my mind blown.
Rating: 95%
spiresband.co.uk
facebook.com/spiresofficial
reverbnation.com/spiresuk
myspace.com/spiresmetal
Want to sponsor a podcast? Click here for details.
