Greece's SPECTRAL LORE is a one man black metal band formed in 2005 by Ayloss. "Ετερόφωτος" is the project's fifth full length album; six splits and three EPs have also been released. I am a newer fan of this band, having never listened to them before their masterful 2020 split album with MARE COGNITUM entitled "Wanderers: Astrology of the Nine." After that I moved onto their other split with MARE COGNITUM entitled "Sol" and then to their "III" album.  Needless to say I've liked what I've heard but what of this album? Does it allow my continuous fascination with the band to thrive? Oh hell yes.

Atmospheric, intricate songs drowning the listener in the near immeasurable depth of song writing prowess is what all their albums have been about and "Ετερόφωτος" continues the adventure. Synths, black metal, grandiose songs...it's all here. The production is fire and the mix is on point.  Songs like this, with many elements, twists and turns, deserves a decent sound it can all be heard clearly and thus full absorbed.

The first track "Ατραπός" begins with bass that straight up slaps and black metal winds that howl like some kind of night creature. This song is just so frantic and fun, two things that one wouldn't think mixed well but it does here. The vocals are monstrous and archaic-throaty and raw. Around the 5:40 mark the riffs open up with more details and well thought out notes. The bass and drums work their way around the song and bring all the elements together. I love it when the song fades out for ambient and atmospheric tones to come into this sonic landscape. The clean guitar that builds up slowly back into electric fury is nothing short of attention grabbing and expansive.

"Initiation into the Mystery" is one of those types of songs that just makes you want to hit the repeat button. Not only is it just a damn good song but it requires multiple listens, each one giving you something new from one of its many layers. The lead guitar following the path of the vocals makes the song chaotic and explosively even while the drums and bass make it a battering ram.  Around the halfway mark the riffs get more detailed while the double bass goes into warp speed. SPECTRAL LORE's ability to meld coherent craftsmanship into the songs while making it seem like your brain is being pulled to another dimension is unmatched on this album.

The eleven minute epic "The Sorcerer Above the Clouds" is quite possibly the best song I've heard from this band. The beginning is imaginative, interesting enough to hold attention but alluring enough to want to see where it goes. The lead guitar lays down fast melodic lines over galloping bass guitars and drums. Every time the lead guitar returns, the music gets all the more fast and dependent on every element around it. It's a dizzying effect that doesn't stop until the halfway point where the guitars take center stage.

The bass helps push this entire section into new territories and it growls and changes until the more blackened elements return. The title track "Ετερόφωτος" spends the first half being riff oriented black metal with a lot of slick lead guitar built into it. The later half is more ambient and cautious in approach until the riffs and blackened growls return with some of the albums best music.

The album ends with "Terean", a 19 minute instrumental synth. It ends the album perfectly and sounds appropriately ancient and distant.  This band is no stranger to synth/keyboard driven songs so ending an album without any metal elements should come as no surprise. With that being said, "Ετερόφωτος" is yet another stunning addition to SPECTRAL LORE's discography and will surely go down as one of the year's best black metal albums before it is all said and done.