CoC : Spiritus Mortis - Forward to the Battle : Review

Spiritus Mortis - _Forward to the Battle_
by: Chris Flaaten (4 out of 5)

Spiritus Mortis are from Finland, but do not play the kind of music their name and location indicate. The band have existed since 1988(!) and have now united again to show "the Finnish kids" how to play -real- metal, or "perkele heavy metal" as they call it themselves! And metal they play. Following in the footsteps of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, one can't argue about its "realness". The production is quite good, not high-tech or state-of-the-art, but still close to perfect considering the kind of music they play and that this is a demo. The five-piece plays with confidence and a certain flair, sounding tight and fresh at the same time. The vocalist does an excellent job and his voice is perfect for their sound. Of the six songs on _Forward to the Battle_, "Forever", "In Pouring Rain" and "In Between" are a bit better than the others. Clocking in at 18:26, this demo still has a decent amount of variation, both inbetween songs and in the songs themselves. In conclusion, this demo put a smile on my face, albeit a nostalgic one... I can be a sucker for nostalgia. I somehow doubt this music has much potential in the 2001 metal market, but I do not think becoming metal superstars is Spiritus Mortis' goal with their music. Have fun, play metal, perkele!

Contact: vesa.lampi@pp.inet.fi

(article published 12/8/2001)

DEMOS
10/19/2001	C Flaaten	3	Spiritus Mortis - Demo 2000