Restless Spirit - Blood Of The Old Gods - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

With their self-titled full-length, RESTLESS SPIRIT have reached a point in their career where the band of friends from Long Island, New York knows exactly who they are and where they stand. As the eight tracks on InchRestless SpiritInch are the most distilled version of what the trio is about, they saw no need for further explanation in the title. So, what are RESTLESS SPIRIT about? Pure metal, no more, no less. Born from the steel mills of Birmingham this musical style has deep English working class roots that the East Coast outfit translates into an American sonic slang with elements from desert and stoner metal and even the occasional progressive flourish. As a result, they seamlessly merge classic heavy solos with roaring guitars and a pinch of psychedelic fuzz. In hindsight, the massive punch delivered to the gut delivered by their previous album, InchAfterimage,Inch set the trio onto a course that led directly to InchRestless SpiritInch. Trimming away all sonic fat, focusing on the essentials, and refining their sound and songwriting down to it's heaviest core has yielded a record that promises to be timeless. RESTLESS SPIRIT are throwing out a rescue rope to all headbangers and particularly those dealing with all the cruelty that life can bring. InchRestless SpiritInch is a call to persevere in the face of others not understanding or even outright rejection. This album is about living on one's own terms, which was and is at the heart of metal.

Evergreens connect you mostly with American popular songs (standards) of Porter, Berlin, Gershwin and others that have attained such status. Danish composers from the same period, including like Kai Normann Andersen, Bent Fabricius-Bjerre and Aage Stentoft also wrote tunes that can also be called evergreens. The St. Annæ Pigekor (Copenhagen Girls' Choir) sing a collection of these Danish popular songs, arranged for choir and jazz group. They chose songs with weight, a swinging tone and proper fit for bright, clear feminine voices, a hallmark of the choir's sound.

RESTLESS SPIRIT's third album, InchAfterimageInch, embodies the East Coast trio's aim of never wanting to sound exactly like before. Long Island deep-fried guitars meet pounding rhythms and emotionally raw vocals. Where the predecessor InchBlood of the Old GodsInch (2021) sometimes ushered the listener into twisted complexity, InchAfterimageInch delivers short, sharp shocks that hit straight home. Lyrically, InchAfterimageInch is driven by tragedy and personal loss. Singer and guitarist Paul Aloisio has put his heart and soul into the album. InchAfterimageInch might well be read as a cautionary tale. Embarking on their musical journey very early in life, RESTLESS SPIRIT's core of Aloisio and bassist Marc Morello met the summer before Kindergarten and grew up discovering music side by side. Channelling influences like BLACK SABBATH, TYPE O NEGATIVE and THE SWORD and incorporating aggressive modern metal, unabashed stoner-doom pummelling, energetic changes and stirring, earnest vocals, their band was finally christened RESTLESS SPIRIT in 2019. Their debut full-length InchLord of the New DepressionInch (2019) fit equally well into the stoner, doom, and sludge moulds, while on InchBlood of the Old GodsInch, the three-piece developed a more varied, melodic approach with added complexity. On the live front, the Long Island band has undertaken several tours in support of InchBlood of the Old GodsInch and shared stages with the likes of CROWBAR, THE OBSESSED, and CANNIBAL CORPSE. With InchAfterimageInch, RESTLESS SPIRIT deliver a massive punch to the gut that actually feels damn great once the initial pain subsides.