The year 2010 has shown that the Australian underground is still in the position to give birth to countless new and interesting Ambient / Black Metal projects – so the Australian “cult act” STRIBORG is for sure no influence here. The latest release from Down Under is the SPIRE debut – the band has been founded in 2007 – and even if the band can’t invent the wheel once more is the release in the position to offer 30 minutes of true underground Black Metal supported by a handful of great songs and ideas. The band is strictly following the principle of less is more and songs like the opener are offering a simple but effective riff which is supporting the song over the whole playing time. The ambient influences are mainly incorporated in the Black Metal songs so don’t fear 15 minutes of white noise. What gives this album a minor negative touch is the layout which for sure hides a secrete message to an unknown species out there (the booklet is illustrated by pictures of black holes and star systems) because neither the song title nor the lyrics can be identified by any living species on this planet. I’m for sure not a fan of 24 colored pages with a thanks list to all living friends of the band but what is the reason of a booklet without a real message? So coming back to the pure music is the SPIRE debut again the prove for the potential within the Australian Black Metal scene, so please be invited to check out this combo via following links. www.myspace.com/sspiree, www.art-of-propaganda.de, www.obscure-abhorrence.com