A curious offering today! London-based Symphonic Death/Doom act (I mean that's an interesting pairing in itself!) SPECTRAL DARKWAVE unveil their second full-length, At Outer Dark, a full six years after their debut. It's not Chinese Democracy-level development hell, but it's a fairly hefty weight nonetheless: so was it worth it? It has to be said there's no feeling at all that the Symphonic aspect has been tacked on, it is full integrated into the formula these guys have forged out for themselves.

The sci-fi theme is evident from the moment one looks at the album cover. But the time-travel related narration over the course of the into track "The Insertion" plants a pretty big flag in that genre (and even the potentially Lovecraftian, going by the tentacles on said album art!) "731" deals with some pretty harrowing subject matter. For those of you unfamiliar with Unit 731 I would advise those of a fragile disposition to seek out an adult before researching! Good use of synths pairing up with the guitar riffs create an uneasy atmosphere that adds to the already disturbing topic rather well. Death and Doom are superbly blended with seamless transitions between crunchy slow sections and quicker paces.

"The March Of Sses" has an almost MASTODON vibe going on - frequent mention of large elephantine mammals and an almost Sludge feel. Its certainly no sin to make favourable reference to the greats! "The First Church Of Chaos" is another belter, exploring that Lovecraftian theme I alluded to earlier! Organ chords add to the thoroughly irreligious effect created - organ and metal are always a good pairing in my opinion, and it never gets done as often as it should! The Doom influence really asserts itself on "The Founding Of Man", in addition to a subdued acoustic section in the intro that really builds up layer upon layer of threat. The orchestral aspects are especially present here too, and the overall effect is an incredibly dense atmosphere that shows just what these guys can do.

"Galactic North" is an instrumental interlude with background narration, sort of a deranged rant about the unfeeling vastness of the universe. It is a sci-fi record after all. This leads directly into "The Last Red Hypergiant" continues the theme of the unimaginable scale of the universe (the title of the song pertaining to the largest kind of star that exists, somewhere between 200 and 2200 times larger than our sun - there's your science lesson for today, kids!) "A Season Of Abyssal Screams" combines heavy riffage, acoustic calm and natural sounds that all combine in the common ground of distress and unease. Hidden in the musical themes are even hints and suggestions of the East. It's a difficult thing to explain overtly but listen to it and you'll see what I mean!

"A Toll Is Due" opens with an arresting keyboard melody and guitar chords swelled with orchestral sweeps. It's a relatively short track in the context of the album as a whole, but it's definitely an album highlight. "Voyage Of The Necronaut" has a compelling ¾ beat about it (for some reason that always makes me think of sailing and sea shanties? Just me?) It's a compelling journey that has an almost boss battle feel to it, never a bad thing in my opinion! (Clearly I played too many video games as a child, my chains of association are all messed up!

Closing title-track "At Outer Dark" spends a lot of effort to set an intimidating atmosphere, lovingly referencing that iconic opening riff of "Am I Evil?" in all its devilishness! This theme recurs throughout this nearly eight-minute curb-stomper. We truly span the range of the Death and Doom influences here, quite fitting really! This is enormous fun and could be enjoyed by fans of many different styles of metal: Doom, Death, Symphonic are all represented and combined in a way that is genuinely unique and rewarding to hear. Do yourselves a favour and get these guys listened to!