ALCHEMIST: Spiritech

Produced by Alchemist with DW Norton

Released: 1997

On Spiritech Alchemist continued to thumb their noses at current trends, setting off on a mystical journey where the rules of the road are their own, paving the way with a trademark melting pot of styles that belongs to no other band. With the previous album Lunasphere Alchemist had begun to show exactly what they were capable of but it took this release for them to truly nail all the divergent aspects of their sound.

While the two epic tracks which book-end this album, the indomitable 'Chinese Whispers', a vast cut that stands to this day as one of Alchemist's very best, and 'Figments', could quite easily have been at home on Lunasphere, the rest of the tracks contained mark something of a further progression from the surf-grind driven style that was at the very heart of that most excellent album.

Most noticeably, that surf guitar sound gave way to a good deal of pure death metal riffing, especially in 'Hermaphroditis', which was as close to a straight-forward metal song as the boys are ever likely to get. The predominantly Eastern sound which is at its strongest in 'Road To Ubar', wasn't lost however, nor was the intertwining dual slide guitars that are a hallmark of Alchemist's work. Some of the tracks also made good use of tribal rhythms, a facet of their music that became central to later recordings. 'Beyond Genesis' comes in with a huge jungle drum beat which 'Spiritechnology' takes up, weaving conspiracy theory samples into the framework.

Lyrically, Alchemist's focus here changed from issues of the spiritual as evidenced on Lunasphere and was now preoccupied with the disturbed balance between nature and technology, again something that would be carried across to the next two album. Adam Agius continued to extend his vocal abilities, best evidenced in the aforementioned 'Chinese Whispers', the album's true stand-out and one that remains a staple of their live set to this day. Here is where everything they do comes together in one place, grinding guitars, BM-like vocal shrieks and a long, almost ambient middle section featuring polyrhytmic drumming, squealing synths and trippy guitar lines. This is a true masterpiece.

Spiritech is another excellent album from a supremely creative and interesting band, and remains perhaps their finest moment.

1. Chinese Whispers
2. Road to Ubar
3. Staying Conscious
4. Beyond Genesis
5. Spiritechnology
6. Inertia
7. Hermaphroditis
8. Dancing to Life
9. Figments

Rating: 96%