Album Rating: 4.0
I personally love this album and think it’s not only the most underrated Pestilence release but also their most unique. Mameli and CO. were purposely going for an absolute 180 from the standard Death Metal at the time that they felt was becoming stagnant and derivative. The band’s new direction was very much influenced by the philosophy and style of his Florida friends and fellow “pseudo-Death Metallers” Cynic. Sean Reinert and Paul Masvidal really influenced Patrick Mameli and he was very intrigued with their incredible Jazz free form philosophical style of music and thus proceeded to really challenge himself as an artist on their follow up to the seminal Death Metal landmark “Testimony Of the Ancients” even at the risk of alienating his fan base. Personally I love the guitar tone on this album and it happens to be one of my all-time faves and to me it resembles the eerie cover art and sounds like a guitar tone that one would imagine conjured up from the farthest reaches of space and to me it’s reason enough to rate this album very highly just on originality factor alone. Not to mention the wacky chord progressions and notes that Mameli and Uterwijk play all over this album that couldn’t go more perfectly with that guitar tone. The bass guitar is very well done and is really very impressive, plus it gets to shine through since the roundness of the bass does not get buried thanks to that thin airy almost shapeless guitar tone. The only thing that I can consider a flaw on this album is that although Foddis does a great job once again with the lyrics I can’t help but feel that his somewhat stiff drumming style just doesn’t fit quite right with the new sound the band masterfully crafted in the guitar and bass department. I feel like had they had a drummer more loose and Jazzy like Sean Reinert’s performance on Death’s “Human” that it would have really made this album perfect all around but hey, nothing’s perfect and that’s simply not a big enough reason to discredit all the other amazing things represented on this album. I feel like I’m forgetting somethin, oh yeah the songwriting deserves a nod as well. No matter how abstract this album gets, the band still excels in crafting catchy and memorable songs throughout. Anybody who knocks this album must really be close minded and unable to see the brilliance here, or they think it’s cool to follow the rest of the flock by dismissing this album. If you like progressive, Jazzy, Philosophical and forward thinking bands like Cynic, Atheist or even Tool then I highly recommend this classic album that will never be duplicated or matched.
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Oops, this isn't Voivod, and this isn't Killing Technology. But in many way it reminds me of those wacky Canadians' best album. Strange, jazzy riffs, loud, quasi techical drums and harsh, shouted vocals all scream Voivod. Well, that and the strong sci-fi vibe this album has.
Spheres is not a comfortable listening experience. I picked this one up before any other Pestilence album, and was utterly confused for a good while. As a Morbid Angel worshipping 15 year old, I think the exact words out of my mouth were "what the fuck is this shit?" It was alien music back then, and 15 years later it still is.
Patrick Mameli's vocals sound like a transmission from a distant spacecraft! For all the money they spent on guitar effects (hey! They DID NOT use keyboards on here!), they probably could have kicked a little more cash to the producer and gotten a better sound out of it. Once again, though, the totally weird sound (especially the guitars) makes you feel like you're on some sort of flying saucer with little green men. B-grade sci-fi movies must have been a definite influence at this point.
It's quite possible that upon initial listen, you won't remember a thing from this album. That's odd, because there are no really strange structures, just weird music. The slower moments stand out the most, especially "Personal Energy," which is actually beautiful. The guitar synth solo in there is breathtaking! The "heavy" stuff is solid, as well, albeit not quite as memorable. While there is enough of the fret grinding Possessed influenced riffing of Testimony of the Ancients, a greater focus on melody and the aforementioned bizarre production makes this seem much more like a psychedelic mix of thrash and jazz fusion.
One thing that I really love about this album is the bass. Jeroen is all over the place with his slithery fretless bass action, and it's pushed to the front of the mix. At some times, it feels like he's playing an entirely different song. It is in these sections that the jazz influence becomes totally obvious.
There is nothing like Spheres out there, and I don't think there ever should be. You can tell this is Pestilence, but I often have to pinch myself, or ask if I've accidentally eaten some strange fungus during the experience. Spheres requires a very open mind, previous exposure to and enjoyment of music outside of orthodox metal. If you've got that applies to you, hop on board and take a trip into deep (inner) space!
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Album Rating: 4.0
any fans of proggy/techy dm, especially of atheist and cynic, NEED to check this out
if you like that shit, this should be your favourite pestilence record
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