Mundanus Imperium
The Spectral Spheres Coronation

Formed in 1994 under the name Nattefall and changing their moniker to Mundanus Imperium in 1997, after a hyper-symphonic black metal demo reminiscent of Arcturus' "Apera Hiems Simphonia," these young musicians returned to the market in 1998 with what is their only full-length: "The Spectral Spheres Coronation."

In the year that separates the two releases, many things have changed for Mundanus Imperium, foremost among them the recruitment of one of the best voices in the progressive power field: Jorn Lande, who brought much fame to bands such as Masterplan, Ark, and was also a former vocalist of Yngwie Malmsteen; another key addition to the group is Petter J. Tuve on guitars, capable of providing a greater impact on the guitar work, the sole flaw of the previous (and extremely fascinating) demo of the group.

Another major change lies in the genre proposed by the band; while previously they offered symphonic black with spatial hues, now the music can be broadly defined as Avantgarde metal, presenting itself rich with progressive elements, some nods to power, and keyboard and drum parts closer to black.

This "The Spectral Spheres Coronation" proves capable, right from the first track, Distant Conglomeration, of capturing attention thanks to really impressive guitar riffs and keyboard layers, to which the aggressive (like never before) voice of blond Lande adds an extremely theatrical and precise interpretation. The atmosphere of the piece is icy, at times even desperate, highlighting what the band's past was. Instrumentally, the song turns out to be extremely intricate, with complex passages reminiscent of some solutions by Opeth in a more symphonic key and with the already mentioned references to the symphony of groups like Dimmu Borgir.

The listening continues with "The Life Of What You Seek," in which our artists follow the trail of the previous episode, making the sonic wall even more symphonic, thanks to keyboard effects that recall what Arcturus would later do in "For To End Yet Again" on the album "The Sham Mirrors" of 2002. Once again, the work of the band is applause-worthy, extremely tight and capable of shifting from extremely cold and dark melodies to decidedly more airy and relaxed moments.

The 5 minutes and 51 seconds of the instrumental "Beyond The Earthly" thus follow, which clearly harks back to the band's previous work, that beautiful "Ode To The Nightsky," in which they fused symphonic music and black metal. Bent E. Holm is commendable on keyboards, managing to construct extremely atmospheric melodic patterns on guitar riffs that are extremely stretched in sound and on drums that this time do not emphasize speed of execution, keeping more subdued rhythms. "Starwars" strikes hard again, with a final result this time really ineffective, appearing confused and really unattractive.

With "Predominate" the band returns to more fitting territories, offering us a track full of sadness and epicness, in which Lande's voice succeeds in expressing itself at its best, often changing tone and proving to be an artist once again endowed with great vocal versatility and first-rate interpretative skills.

Thus, we arrive at the cover of the album, Rainbow's "Stargazer," which remains mostly unchanged from the original and from which Jorn comes out victorious, since the comparison with Ronnie James Dio could have been overwhelming.

"The Unborn Breathes In Silence" and "If The Universe Transformed" close the record, continuing to develop the path of the previous songs, while differing from each other; in fact, in "The Unborn..." the emphasis is on highlighting the more aggressive side of the sound of Mundanus Imperium, while the second is decidedly more oriented towards gothic aspects, thanks to effects that recall the sounds of violins, but also thanks to the singer's almost baritone voice.

Ultimately, although the record presents itself a bit static at times and with some minor style lapses scattered here and there, it is nevertheless a more than good work, also supported by more than decent production and sounds. Almost top marks.

Tracklist:

1)Distant Conglomeration

2)The Life Of What You Seek

3)Beyond The Earthly

4)Starwars

5)Predominate

6)Stargazer

7)The Unborn Breathes In Silence

8)If The Universe Transformed