Not sure if anyone gives a fuck,

But it seems Spawn of Possession are still alive and kicking; and thank lord they are.

I found 'Cabinet' to have more of a classic death metal feel, and Noctambulant to be one of the more mature Technical Death Metal works around. Both albums are great, but I believe the latter release is really what set them apart from other bands.

On Noctambulant, they managed to incorporate classical and jazz elements without coming off as pretentious pricks, and undoubtedly remain true to their Technical Death Metal roots at the same time. I think it showed they are able to evolve without completely losing what makes them unique, or special - If you see them in that light anyway.

Here's the teaser:

http://www.spawnofpossession.se/sop23fade.mp3

I'm gonna try and remain neutral until they release a full length song, but I can already tell that they aren't deviating from their previous eras.

A lot of Technical Death Metal bands have similar downfalls in that it definitely isn't easily listening music; and can sometimes throw way too much at you at a time, which I think makes the songs harder to process. Spawn of Possession aren't an exception to this, but if you are one to go through albums a second, or even a third time, I think you'll find that they have a lot to offer. In my opinion, if you're even a fan of metal with somewhat complex structures, then you're already familiar with this.

Going to recommend this piece to those who aren't familiar with their works:
Spawn of Possession - Lash by Lash

by no means is that their best piece, but I think it's a fair representation of what they have to offer.

Any fans looking forward to a new release? Or if you're a fan of this genre, but not this band; do you have any reasons/feelings as to why you believe they aren't all that good?

Huge Update Jesus:

http://www.spawnofpossession.se/

NEWS UPDATE - 24/06/09


[Line-Up]

Two very talented and competent musicians has recently joined Spawn of Possession.
Matthew Chalk (Ex-Psycroptic) is going to handle the vocal and lyric writing.
Christian Muenzner (Obscura, Ex-Necrophagist) is going to do the Lead Guitar part and unleash his madness
into the multicoloured and distorted universe of Spawn of Possession. The Line-up is now complete.

Vocals - Matthew Chalk
Bass - Erlend Caspersen
Drums - Richard Schill
Guitar - Christian Muenzner
Guitar - Jonas Bryssling

[Status]

I'm expecting whatever they release to be just plain fucking nuts after seeing this.

Man, as much as I respect SoP for their talent... and I know they know how to write riffs... But whenever I listen to their music, I feel like I'm taking a calculus exam... And I suck at math.

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That's generally how I felt when I first got into them, but eventually I began to really appreciate their music.

Their solos are a bit unnecessary if anything though.

I really dig Noctambulant. I'll be looking forward to hearing whatever they release.

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I really like Cabinet but I didn't like Noctambulant at all. It still has some of the goodies that make SoP stand out but its also got a lot of nonsense and a feel that they're trying really hard to be technical and wacky when on Cabinet it seems much more natural.

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i would completly agree with darko, i love cabinet, perfect combo of tech and brutality without it feeling like 'lets see how many notes i can jam in this riff and how many riffs i can cram in this song' Noc. doesnt seem to have that natual flow to it

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What do you mean by 'nonsense' in specific? It doesn't really feel like they're trying hard to be technical to me; that just seems like what they do. Their first album was arguably far more atmospheric in nature, whereas the second one is focused more on complex structuring.

I wouldn't argue that Noctambulant can come off as 'overly technical', but I will argue that it turned out great for what it is, and that Cabinet wasn't exactly a cakewalk.

Generally, either album can come off as extraneous.



I honestly like that they switched their focus from 'brutality'. It honestly sounds like they're trying to be 'brutal' on the first album.

If they don't wish to be brutal, they should also drop the DM vocals. I'm tired of bands using death metal vocals to pay lip service to the genre, without actually offering any of the substance or feel of death metal.

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ummmm... Are you suggesting bands should go out of their way to sound 'brutal' because that just seems absurd. I really don't want to hear contrived bullshit from bands. If your music doesn't have the Brutality of old school death metal like some people want, then it doesn't have it, and you probably don't need it to make good music.

Death Metal growls in my opinion are just another instrument. I don't even think it should be exclusive to Death Metal, and as far as I've noticed, it isn't.

I'm saying exactly the opposite. Bands that aren't brutal should drop the pretense of being death metal altogether, because death metal is, BY DEFINITION, 'brutal'.

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I'm going to have to strongly disagree here. First of all, that's like saying that your music can't qualify as 'blues' unless it sounds depressing. Second of all, making the prerequisite for fitting into a genre based on such a vague staple term like 'Brutal' seems to be overly restrictive.

Generally, I'd like to think that Death Metal isn't exclusive to 'Cannibal Corpse', and other bands of that ilk. I'd imagine using heavily distorted guitars, fast drum paces, growled vocals, and somewhat speedy overall tempos would be enough to qualify you; But I think even using those as prerequisites would be a bit too much.

Personally, I think it's enough to produce music, and leave it's genre open to interpretation by the bands that compose the music, and the majority of their fan base.

An addendum for you:
Alot of 'Rap' literally promotes 'Brutality'; Perhaps Rap is Death Metal's long lost twin brother?

But SoP doesn't even use heavy distortion. They have a wimpy, low-gain guitar tone that would be better suited for POWER METAL.

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It seems you are somewhat of an elitist my friend; would that not be correct?

What you define Death Metal and 'Brutality' as, requires a guitar tone bathed in heavy distortion it seems. This a very vague way to define music, and it's really foolish.

First of all, using the word 'wimpy' to describe a valid sub-genre of Heavy Metal? Are you just trying to put a show of ignorance on display? Listen, I'm not an incredibly huge fan of Power Metal, but I sure as hell won't denigrate it on such thinly veiled logic. Power Metal may not have the 'Aggression' or 'Brutality' of Death Metal, but there are certainly some very skilled musicians and composers within their genre. Just because they go for a more contemporary way of musical expression does not invalidate their efforts. Describing Power Metal as 'wimpy' is a foolish show of arrogance.

Nextly,

Whether Spawn of Possession's chosen guitar tone is comparable to Power Metal is a moot point, since no one should be focused on what genre their tone sounds like, as much as they should focus on whether or not it fits the compositions they've written, and whether or not it sounds good to their ears. They'd be fools to start 'copy and pasting' tones like a lot of bands do.

Also, did it ever occur to you that maybe the tone they chose was because it suits the incredibly precise style they've chosen to play? Maybe their guitar tone isn't saturated in distortion because they want as many notes as possible to be audible. Should they sacrifice audibility for 'Brutality'? More over, should any band choosing to play obviously technical music choose to sacrifice an audible tone on the vague definition of 'brutality'.

I have no issues with fair criticism of a band, but you come off as if you think you have set the standard for what Death Metal is defined as; And even if there is some widely agreed upon definition that might be valid in some eyes, there's something called evolution that happens within all genres of music.

'Wimpy' is quite literally the most intellectually bankrupt way I've seen a Guitar Tone Described as. Not even including the fact that disparaging a band on a chosen tone that has an obvious purpose is not the best way to go about criticizing them if you want to look credible.

If you don't like SoP, fine, but please do everyone a favor and stay away from vague terminology when trying to criticize them, or any music for that matter.

For my rebuttal, see the first paragraph of this review

[I wrote that, so don't accuse me of being lazy... I just don't feel like repeating myself]

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Yeah let's make sure all metal is defined by how saturated your tone is. Seems like a brilliant way to have music progress.



Spawn of Possession have all the conditions in your rebuttal met, and they manage to not sound anything like the listed bands.

Pretty sure me and you have nothing else to discuss because I don't agree with your definition of 'heavy' or 'brutal', and I just out right think you're borderline tone-deaf for even suggestion that SoP's tone is 'wimpy'.

http://metaltabs.com/forum/showpost...223&postcount=2

Not sure if this still applies since how incredibly dated it is; But I'm really not interested in debating genres any further, with anyone.

I'd prefer hearing how 'overdone' their riffs are, or some shit directly related to their compositions, not; 'Hey this isn't death metal, it's cherry flavored bubble gum punk metal'.

...But you overlook one simple fact - Jonas Bryssling himself has stated that his writing bears little, if any, actual death metal influence. You can look that one up for yourself, if you don't believe me. But even that is beside the point.

Yes, evolution is a fact of life. But at what point do you draw the line, and say 'okay, this is where a band ceases to be death metal'? Suppose SoP released an album that consisted of clean guitars with DM style vocals... what would you call that [besides absurd]? The fact is, death metal has ALWAYS been identified by its brutality. Any band that sacrifices abrasiveness and heaviness for clarity in its guitar tone is forfeiting its identity as a death metal band.

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Not to but into your guys argument, but dude, if you don't think SoP is death metal, then something is obviously wrong with you. They might not be 'brutal' death metal, as you define it, but they most certainly fit the death metal genre and for you to claim otherwise baffles me.

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This is planely ridiculous and equivalent to the equally annoying trait popular among elitist black metallers of disregarding production values. Intricate fretwork does not lend itself to an abrassive tone; the notes become lost in the mix and the artist's true statement is lost. I don't think this is a difficlut concept to understand and, by extension, neither is the fact that clarity of production or tone has nothing to do with which genre a given band falls within (even considering the early constraints of what it meant to be grindcore).

To illustrate this, I'll throw one name into the ring: Death. Unmistakeably death metal, but far, far from being brutal. Extrapolating from the forefathers to the genre as a whole shows that brutality is not the one defining property of death metal. If this was not the case, then why would there exist a specific sub-genre entirely devoted to "brutal" death metal? By your definition, the "brutal" tag for this genre should be tacit given that all death metal has to be brutal. Simple inspection proves that this is obviously not the case and offers a contradiction to your logic.

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I've actually seen that quote, but that doesn't change the fact that the way it's written and played more than easily allows it to fit into Death Metal. I find it more intriguing, and for the best that Noctambulant has little Death Metal influence. If anyone's actually listened, you can hear that alot of the music on that album sounds like a fucked up atonal fugue, and it certainly appeals to me.

And Suppose Christina Aguilera released an album utilizing harsh growls, down-tuned, distortion saturated guitars, and heavily dissonant riffage - At what point does it cease to be pop music? At what point has she left the sacred confines of pop, and with complete reckless abandon, entered the realms of Death Metal? Seriously man, do you really want to start throwing around hypotheticals to prove a point that does nothing more than promote some religious passage of rites into the corridors of Death Metal?

I'm going to tell you this, if you make good music, I don't give a fuck what you call it, as long as I can find it. To add to that, I prefer clarity - If you write music which contains a myriad of intricate details, and I can't make it out, then all you've accomplished doing is writing complex inaudible sludge, with fucking growls over it. If that's what you want, have at it man. There's loads to choose from, but please don't start micro-managing the genre like it's a divine chalice sent up from Belial that just can't afford to be washed.



I'm hoping that this argument is over. He has his opinion, and I have mine.

Also, thanks John, I couldn't have stated that more eloquently myself.

SoP is death metal by the narrowest of margins.

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I'm atleast glad you let them make the cut bro

As an aside, does anybody here like Visceral Bleeding? They comprise mostly of Spawn Of Possession members and veer more towards Suffocation than Necrophagist.

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I've heard them way back in the day, but I'm not really familiar. And recommended songs?

Very nice. I've been waiting for some new stuff for ages!

And John - VB are great, although I prefer SoP - I think SoP are more musically interesting. In the context of this thread, VB is a good recommendation if you're looking for something in a similar vein but fits more into the standard death metal profile - they tick all the basic boxes as well as offering some nice technical riffage. Remnants Revived is a great album.

I'd say my favourite of theirs is "Merely Parts Remain" from Transcend into Ferocity.

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Listened to their debut a while back... didn't care for it. Just boring.

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Yo

Why such a buzz kill?

Hahahahah
SoP's new lineup makes me think they should be announced like the Planeteers

FROM SWEDEN - BRYZZ, WITH THE POWER OF GUITARS
FROM AUSTRALIA - CHALKY, WITH THE POWER OF VOCALS
FROM NORWAY - ERLEND, WITH THE POWER OF BASS

and so forth

BY YOUR POWERS COMBINED, I AM SPAWN OF POSSESSION!

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I just saw that update on their site

I nearly fainted.

[Line-Up]

Two very talented and competent musicians has recently joined Spawn of Possession.
Matthew Chalk (Ex-Psycroptic) is going to handle the vocal and lyric writing.
Christian Muenzner (Obscura, Ex-Necrophagist) is going to do the Lead Guitar part and unleash his madness
into the multicoloured and distorted universe of Spawn of Possession. The Line-up is now complete.

Vocals - Matthew Chalk
Bass - Erlend Caspersen
Drums - Richard Schill
Guitar - Christian Muenzner
Guitar - Jonas Bryssling

This is fucking sick. I've missed Matthew Chalk's vocals ever since he was fired from Psycoptic, and Christian Muenzner is obviously talented at what he does.

This is like an allstar line up.



They should really do this for a hidden track or something, I'd die laughing.

Holy shitting fucknuts. This is amazing. Matthew Chalk is awesome, heard any mephistopheles?

I would have thought Muezner would be busy with Obscura... I can't wait for this line up to tour.

That's my first time hearing them. Really impressive stuff.

Looking forward to seeing what Matthew Chalk brings to SoP. The guy is a really good DM vocalist.

haha, that's a bit harsh.

Hmm, I could be mistaken about him being fire. Was sure I had read that somewhere a while ago.

The vocals on Symbols of Failure were fine, but I didn't really care for the preceding album as a whole, including the vocals.

Symbols of Failure and everything before it are some of my favorite pieces of death metal.

Probably. It's not really the case.