The Vortex sounds both terrifying and hauntingly hypnotic in "Sounds from The Vortex" by German Saarlanders, THE SPIRIT. This full-length debut from these Black Metal newcomers is a strange but welcomed gift from the eternal sonic cosmos from which this band has been formed. The type of Black Metal THE SPIRIT plays is a pure cascade of noise. A beautiful cascade, make no mistake, there is a beauty in the mire that drips from their instruments and in the perilous chord drops that send notes cascading to their deaths. The undercurrent of rocky drum beats set the stage for treacherous landslides. THE SPIRIT is no doubt a restless one, endlessly screaming for anyone to free them from their fate.

The sounds of the fire-spitting, death machine in "Cosmic Fear" aims to rip the fabric of space itself, chords shredding through galactic depths unplumbed. "The Clouds of Damnation" is next to blanket the world in impenetrable, black as night storm clouds. "Crossing the Bridge to Eternity" is a remarkably powerful track with breathtaking lyrics, towering backing guitar chords and hard-hitting drums. "Illuminate the Night Sky" is full of towering flames and dark rites being performed in the ink-cloaked silence of the deep woods. "The Great Mortality" and "Fields of the Unknown" are furious, storm-raging prairies full of dead vegetation and cracked, fallow land. MT growls with the voice of pestilence over the gorse-spiked instrumentals.

Mysterious as THE SPIRIT is for arriving so recently to the scene, they have a very polished debut after skulking about in the shadows and playing noises to the void three years ago when they began. THE SPIRIT is, in every sense, an inescapable storm that wails against the windows and rattles the sky with its thunder. "Sounds From the Vortex" is a frightful whirlwind of an album.