I have to admit: I did not know Spüolus, at least not before Kunsthauch were so kind to send me (and in extension, ‘us’, for I am part of the Concreteweb-crew, of course…) the first, and sole full length album Behind The Event Horizon. The only other thing this project did, if I am not wrong, was a split (with Mare Frigoris) in 2013, which has been re-issued as well via Kunsthauch.
Anyway, Spüolus is a solo-outfit by one of the most notorious Hungarian Black Metal artists, Szabo ‘Thanatos’ Void, who was in acts / projects like mighty Mystagog, Thy Funeral or Diecold. And with Behind The Event Horizon, we have almost one hour of magisterial Aural Art, divided into four parts.
The album opens with I Stand Nowhere (nineteen minutes of length, and the longest composition on the album), which creates a mostly oppressive and dense spheres, built on hypnotic sounds based on both Ambient Black Metal and Atmospheric Funeral Doom. It’s a long-stretched aural journey (once again; Kunsthauch are truly experienced in searching, finding and signing this kind of projects! I am mostly thankful!) with melodic yet repetitive tremolo riffs and deep-throated grunts. After six minutes, the track gets even more ambient, when emotive piano tunes and eerie synth-scapes join in. I Stand Nowhere is an integer, freezing cold and minimal epos, which might last too long after a while in case you’re not willing to dissolve into dreamlike dimensions. Your Defencelessness (18:29 minutes) and The Last Vanishing (14:24) go on in the very same tradition. These compositions too are based on nihilistic, primal yet melodic repetitive leads, darkly coloured with floating keyboard lines, slow rhythms and deep grunts. Your Defencelessness too has a couple of creepy, twisted intermezzos and hypnotic breaks, and a purest funereal atmosphere, while The Last Vanishing might be the most ambientally-mesmerising piece of Aural Art on the album. The album ends with the shortest piece, Arcane Annihilation (clocking just over seven minutes), which is the most creepy track on Behind The Event Horizon. This one has nothing to do with ‘Metal’, but it brings a horrific, ominous, eerie, and extremely uncomfortable form of Alien Industrial Ambient, with vocal samples and nightmarish keyboard passages.
With Behind The Event Horizon, Kunsthauch deliver another highly interesting soundtrack of doom and despair, which might appeal to all fans of both Atmospheric / Ambient Black Metal and Funeral Doom. Or: Astral Journey and Graven Dusk, to keep it kunsthauchich, or Shape Of Despair, Ahab, Amaranthine Tramples, Darkspace, …