Speirling - The Piper

Tracklist:-

1. Tempest Of Truth

2. Filthy And Cold

3. Wrath Of The Wild

4. Three Shrill Notes

5. The World Breaks

6. Into The Blazing Abyss

7. Born Again Damned

At the turn of April the only known release from UK black metal band Speirling was released via Ulthar Records.The Piper was originally released in 2008 via Unholy Design Records and has now been made available on various formats (cd, tape and digital download). This band of brothers with links to Winterfylleth and Ethernal has created an opus about a Piper, who was raised and then rejected by Christians before corrupted their young. This reissue provides another murky glimpse into the underground history of UK black metal.

Beginning with the beguiling intro piece titled Tempest Of Truth, Speirling creates mournful yet menacing black metal with a primitive edge. Nechtan’s drumming is something to behold especially during Filthy And Cold. The ravaging screams of Blaidd are accompanied by up-tempo guitar playing that marches at pace. Wrath Of The Wild flows beyond the black metal blueprint, mixing subtle elements of death and guitar melodies are woven into the background alongside folk-inspired instrumentation. Three Shrill Notes does not proceed as it’s title would suggest. It’s mid-paced stride and off-kilter time signatures during the opening verses make it a joy to listen to. Later on it retreats back toward more familiar territory. Considering that Speirling was a duo, their sound is thicker and a lot more powerful than I was expecting. The World Breaks is a bit of a thrashy number yet it still shows off the band’s more orthodox black metal leanings. The guitar work on Into The Blazing Abyss is nothing short of majestic. The song itself follows straight on from The World Breaks so as to not to loose momentum, before finishing in serene fashion. Closer Born Again Damned extends the misery one final time, this time with the use of both harsh and clean hypnotic vocals. Those hypnotic vocals continue throughout and while its the longest song on the album, it doesn’t feel like it. I love hearing hidden gems like this and it’s wider circulation via Ulthar Records means other people can check it out as well. Really enjoyable release.

You can stream and download The Piper here:-

Tape versions are also available from Ulthar Records above.

Speirling Metal Archives page - http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Speirling
Ulthar Records Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/UltharRecords