SolNegre – The Spiral Labyrinth

SolNegre – The Spiral Labyrinth
Release Date: 6th October 2023
Label: Meuse Records / Tragedy Productions
Bandcamp
Genre: Doom Death Metal
FFO: Early Anathema, My Dying Bride.
Review By: Jeffery Childress

 SolNegre, Spain’s dark and woebegone doom metal project from The Balearic Islands, will release their debut full length The Spiral Labyrinth via Meuse Records and Tragedy Productions on October 6th, 2023. This album will be a welcome addition to the collection of any fan of old school Anathema or My Dying Bride, with its strikingly dark moments of aggression and anguish while delivering a constant dose of bleak and somber. These guys know how to doom! This project is a combined effort by guys from Golgotha, Hyde XXI and Illogic Creatures and presents elements from each sub-genre that this doom troupe brings with them from their other projects; Melodic doom is present, along with death metal, groove, black metal, goth, and even a little prog can all be heard in the abundance of textures presented in this brilliant musical showcase. Without further ado, let’s jump straight in and talk about the tracks presented on this album.

Vessel Part 1: The Night Within commences the album in wonderful style with exemplary guitar work right off the rip. The drums are incredibly full and offer so many different layers and textures for the listener to explore. I love the beautifully melancholic bridge that comes on up into the track, followed by Mike le Rossetti showing off his exceptional guitar chops with a soaring solo and leads the band back into the song’s chorus riff to close the track. 

Miguel’s vocals are reminiscent of a combination of Vincent Canenaugh of Anathema and My Dying Bride’s Aaron Stainthorpe on Vessel Part 2: The Day we all Failed. This track is like having these two vocal giants in the same studio together. Rigel performs an amazing guitar solo that opens an absolutely scorching outro that takes on a structure more akin to black metal complete with blast beats, prompting me to bang my head through the final 3 minutes.

The End of All Things Endless offers a serene, hazy opening that invites a bit of uncertainty, and then suddenly introduces a soaring wall of sound that verges on the territory of “epic”; Its amazingly full sound leads up to the heaviness of Yours is a Legacy of Broken Glass as we hear Miguel’s vocals reach a level on this track that we haven’t heard up to this point on the record. One can feel the release in the final note as it escapes from Miguel’s chords. 

September 6th, 1995 is chock-full of feeling and emotion, from Tomeu’s heavy, crushing drum work to Miguel’s melancholic lyrics. This banger offers a satisfying juxtaposition as the band combines a somber atmosphere with guttural false chords and double kick. Gebre gets the opportunity to shine here as well with some heroic bass runs while The Waning Glow follows up with aggressive vocals, clean vocals, beautiful synth, heavy drum work, atmospheric bridges and plenty enough chugging guitar and bass riffs to satisfy a broad range of listeners audio desires. Eerie vocals contributed by Ivan Arrieta and a cinematic opening give Song For The Inert Part 1 a sort of epic doom feel that seems just right for the type of riffing being laid down in this trance inducing piece. Prepare your favorite relaxer right about now and let this one sweep you away for about six and a half minutes.

I can’t think of a better way to close out this album than with Ethereal/A Song For Nel. Gadea es Ineseta’s vocals and Tia Pujol’s piano licks are like receiving closure and comfort in a dark and suffocatingly dismal situation. There are only 300 physical copies of this album that have been produced, so if you like to possess physical copies of your music then you had better jump on this one quickly because who knows how quick they will go. I can however tell you this much, there will only be 299 left at most by this point because I will for sure have this one pre-ordered. But if you don’t make it in time to grab a physical copy, SolNegre will be offering the digital copy on their Bandcamp store; if you don’t have Bandcamp, get on that bad boy right now and doom on! That’s all for me at this time, boys and girls; until we meet again, stay extreme! 

(4 / 5)