Spectre - A Grim Menace from Beyond

SPECTRE - A Grim Menace from Beyond (SCHATTENKULT Produktionen CD 2018)

Another obscure black metal release from Schattenkult Produktionen. This is Spectre from Spain with their first album "A Grim Menace from Beyond". This project is led by Lilith and she seems to be quite charismatic persona, with pretty impressive black metal shriek, which I like a lot. By the way, she's also member of Körgull the Exterminator, where she performs under the name Necrobitch (haha cool!) and she's been in bands like Akerbeltz before (which is her husband's band). Spectre is actually a four piece, with members from other Spanish bands like Lux Divina, Inexorable End and more... but I only know these two from the whole list. And another interesting information is that this album comes 14 years after the previous Spectre recording, which was split with Grim Funeral (on Solistitium Records). I have no knowledge why there was such a long break between these two releases though. 

I have to say that "A Grim Menace from Beyond" provided a pretty interesting and solid listen. I enjoyed this harsh and utterly raw black metal, because Spectre came up with enough great riffs to catch my interest and they arranged their songs more interestingly than the primitive and dull way. The music is quite typical for the harsh black metal, with that characteristic Darkthrone'ish feel, it can be compared also to the likes of "Wrath of the Tyrant" era Emperor, "De Mysteriis..." Mayhem and Urgehal, but Lilith's howls actually make a small difference and distinguish Spectre from other similar acts. Her voice sounds really cool. I like the cold and ghoulish atmosphere, which was created on "A Grim Menace from Beyond", it all correspondents perfectly with these simplistic riffage and vocals. Tempo wise Spectre also did good job and balanced fast tempos with slower parts just enough to keep listener interested. Obviously I have my favourite songs here, like "The Nun's Walk", but to be honest I think that each songs captures attention either with good riff or something else. So, even if "A Grim Menace from Beyond" is not the most interesting and worthy black metal release of recent months, it's just good enough to give it several listens and enjoy it when taking a walk through the old cemetery lit by the full moon... ha! 

Oh, love the artwork!

Standout tracks: "The Nun's Walk" 

Verdict: 69/100