SPIRIT ADRIFT

So this is the end for SPIRIT ADRIFT: one final album, released without warning, and an unavoidably dramatic period point at the end of a decade of exemplary music making. Founder member and creative mastermind Nate Garrett could easily have abandoned his signature project without saying goodbye, such are the real-life problems that he and his wife are currently navigating, but "Infinite Illumination" points to a noble commitment to finishing the job in style. The follow-up to "Ghost at the Gallows", the most acclaimed record he has ever put his name to, is one hell of an epitaph and one of the most emotionally super-charged farewells in the history of heavy music. Darker, doomier and, for obvious reasons, more thoughtful and introspective than any previous SPIRIT ADRIFT release (with the possible exception of 2016 debut "Chained to Oblivion"),this is a truly devastating way to bow out.

One of metal's most unpretentious and humble figures, Garrett has seldom made any bold claims about his position in the world of heavy music, but the overwhelming quality of his output over the last ten years is abundantly clear. SPIRIT ADRIFT began life as a one-man, melancholic doom metal project, but steadily grew towards a stronger and more classically minded entity. As with "Ghost at the Gallows", this new eight-song endeavor is an outright celebration of traditional metal, true doom and epic, inspirational songwriting. This time the overriding mood is one of crestfallen defiance, and the slower pace and more oppressive atmosphere of these tunes tells its own, mournful story. But what comes across most strongly is how Garrett's stature as both a songwriter and a heavy metal guru have grown over the years. From the towering, light-footed colossus of the title track onwards, "Infinite Illumination" is stuffed to the gullet with fantastic riffs, powerful old-school vocal melodies, and ensemble performances that ooze authenticity and unerring confidence. The specters of BLACK SABBATH, IRON MAIDEN and Black Album-era METALLICA are omnipresent, but as with earlier albums, SPIRIT ADRIFT have embraced those influences and conjured something with its own steel-plated identity. Songs like "Winter Within" and "White Death" revel in doom metal purity, while molding those lead-heavy riffs and sleepy grooves into something magical, vibrant and timeless. When some archetypal doom tropes are employed on the brilliantly creepy "I Am Sustained", they eschew mimicry in favor of a bold and colorful reimagining, with Garrett's gritty, soulful vocals providing a raw and utterly believable focal point. Graceful changes of tempo and an assortment of psychedelic and progressive touches ensure that these songs remain endlessly fascinating, but it is the strident, heavy metal grandeur of it all that elevates "Infinite Illumination" far beyond the usual, self-consciously retro approach to doom and classic metal that many lesser talents favor. You won't find a more lethally effective exponent of The Riff this side of Tony Iommi and Leif Edling.

There is a giant reservoir of sorrow being drained here, but even in their death throes, SPIRIT ADRIFT sound majestic, unapologetic and fearsome. The closing "Where Once There Was An Ocean" is a monumental parting shot: an episodic, seven-minute avalanche of flawless riffs, melodic elegance, and era-blitzing fortitude, it is one of the finest songs Garrett has ever written.

We will be hearing from him again in the future. Whether through his gothic side-project NEON NIGHTMARE or some other expression of his musical essence, Nate Garrett seems duty bound to wield his artistry as a weapon against the failures and torments of reality. But whether he makes a swift return to action, or vanishes into the shadows for an indefinite hiatus, SPIRIT ADRIFT have reached the end of their journey in the best of health and with inspiration still whizzing around their heads and through their veins. "Infinite Illumination" is their greatest album: few will surpass it this year.