Sometimes we all ask ourselves, why do we seek out new music? Finding bands like Fell Omen provides a very quick answer to that question. When an artist experiments with their methods and pushes boundaries, creating something unique in the process, it’s a feast for the ears. ‘Invaded By a Dark Spirit’ is exactly that and more as Spider of Pnyx, the creator of the project, dives into medieval themed black metal, using a variation of instruments all played by himself across every track.
The guitar powered ‘Don’t Go Hollow, You Have Steel’ is certainly a great introduction to
the album, as Spider of Pnyx shows us some insanely good riffs, drum work and screams, which are the only vocals on the first track of the album. The energy of this track takes you right into a moshpit and makes sure you don’t want to leave any time soon.
The same goes for the second track, ‘Dungeon Metal Punks Besieging Digital Castles’,
except the track starts off not-so-traditionally with hurdy-gurdy, an instrument we would love to hear more of in metal music, as it pairs very well with the genre with it’s own unique and distinctive sound, that creates a wonderful atmosphere within the song.
The third song, ‘Upon The Cliff, In Castle Stormveil’, is not as energetic as the first two,
but it does feel very well-written and comes across as a story as much as a song. The track gives the listener a small break before ‘Warrior Jar’ storms in and picks up the pace again in a fairly typical punk fashion, before ‘Forlorn Knights and Strange Flasks’ both get the reins off with some outstanding drum performances.
Listening through, the throne for our favourite song goes to title track ‘Invaded By a Dark Spirit'. The combination of acoustics, electric guitars and drums melds together into a glorious amalgamation of uncomfortable sound, which seems to be one of Spider of Pnyx’s greatest strengths. The final track on the album, ‘In the Poison Swamp’, is also the shortest one, but will give you chills from the first second. The melodies are bounding with energy, but in some way feel like a farewell, albeit perhaps not a very long one.
The album is a great showcase of Spider of Pnyx’s head-bowing talent and absolutely
strengthens his well deserved reputation. It's mind-blowing to think that all the instruments and vocals were produced by a single person. Fell Omen as a whole is an outstanding project, that grabs you within the first seconds of the first track and is going to hold onto you until the dying seconds of 'Invaded By A Dark Spirit', and you're going to love it.
‘Invaded By A Dark Spirit’ will be released on 14th February via True Cult Records.
Words: Katerina Stepanikova
Photos: Fell Omen
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