Spiridion - A Moment Of Clarity

A thought has occurred to me recently. Perhaps Tool have transcended band status, and have in fact become a sub-genre all of their own. The number of bands who use a deep, rumbling bassline and whispered lyrics who sound like Tool but are not Tool is increasing by the day, or so it seems (not forgetting A Perfect Circle, of course, who don't sound like Tool but are Tool). But thankfully it is not all without merit.

I first heard Spiridion's debut album on a one week only preview on the band's website. I noted how Tooly they were, and decided to plump for the album. I'm all for supporting new bands and quite like the idea of giving money directly to the cause, so I shunned iTunes and gave Amazon the heave-ho. Direct purchase via Google Checkout and onto my mat dropped A Moment Of Clarity. No comments on my need for moments of clarity, ta.

In truth, while they do indeed sport a 10,000 Days era Tooly sound, it would be unfair to categorise them as a Tool wannabe. They remind me of three bands, in fact; Sanctorum, Lostprophets and Drought. The last of these I picked up in the $5 sale on CD-Baby and remind me, oddly enough, of Tool.

Spiridion's sound is a crunchy, raw sort of music. Like eating a dry Shredded Wheat. Your brain is fighting all the while to convince you that it's like swallowing a dried up loofah, but you still love it. And get annoyed when the box is empty.

This review may be a little early because I haven't had time to properly digest (ho ho) the music, but I can tell from the off it's going to be played quite a bit. It's got a dreamy, shoe-gazery quality that makes it ideal for sleepy drunken evenings or long, boring train journeys.

There are plenty of nice little touches to embellish the tracks. Noodly, twiddly guitar and synths and heavy drums brought to the front of the mix mean that the beat doesn't let up, and the use of random percussion gives the whole thing a more ominous feel than a straight up guitar/drum combo. The tracks are alternately dark and broody, and harsh and angry, switching neatly back and forth with chugging solos filling the gaps to keep the head nodding.

A Moment Of Clarity is a great debut album. I hope to hear more from this band. It'll be interesting to see if they can take the formula and spin it out in their own direction, adding more of themselves into an already technically accomplished mix.

And now I'm going to resume my task of watching the countryside go by the train window, and digesting some dry Shredded Wheat. Lovely!