Spellsword

“Night of the Grail” (Nox Liberatio Records, 2023)

The Portuguese Black Metal scene is mostly know - especially abroad - for the Raw Black Metal side of it. We were always, in my modest opinion, a country with immensely valid bands, being Decayed and Corpus Christii, probably, the ones that were better known before everyone went Raw… but really Raw. And let us not forget bands like Firstborn Evil (right before the shift to The Firstborn, which are also extremely impressive and underrated), Sirius, or Filii Nigrantium Infernalium, among others.

But there is Black Metal beyond what we, Portugal, “export” today, and Spellsword is a great example of such. Spellsword is the result of Alex’s love for Black Metal and History. Alex is - or was - part of a band I recall causing some “disturbance” on a famous Heavy Metal forum in Portugal some years ago, Antichthon, a Black Metal band from Coimbra whose, at the time, members were very young. Their sound moved along the lines of a Symphonic Black Metal, fantasy inspired, and it was a good band (“Through the Rupture of Dimensions”, 2010… and we might come back to it later). Never heard of them again until a few years ago, when I discovered Existence:Void (another cool act to check) and found out they shared musicians. 

“Night of the Grail” was a surprise. Not only I was not expecting it, nor did I expect it to be so interesting. I can place it - correct me if needed - along the lines of a Melodic, at times Symphonic, Black Metal. I do sense some nuances of modernity that to fuse quite well with the more traditional elements of the music, just like the Death Metal details, here and there, that add a harsher and more aggressive sound to the music. The theme on which Alex decided to base his music is one with which I feel a connection, as a History and Night Templars fan, and I do not see it as a restraint for future creative endeavors, but quite the contrary. And in terms of how the music “paints images”, well, it paints them quite well.

This record comes at a time when I am discovering releases that I missed as a younger fan, or rediscovering those that I have not listened to in a considerable while. The near-Symphonic moments that expand to epic pieces of music, majestic and powerful. Whenever I think of Black Metal and Fantasy, I think of Bal-Sagoth; not that Spellsword has any fantastic element attached to it, but the grandiose image that it paints once we press PLAY is along those lines (with due differences, of course). A track like “A Dark Being in the Shadows” is a fusion of most of the elements we have been talking about, a more violent side of Spellsword’s Black Metal, and brushes of modernity. I do prefer it when the artist embraces the more traditional sound; nonetheless, that ending on the above-mentioned track is quite interesting.

Usually, Fantasy and History themed Black Metal tends to fall into this overly technical, and at times exaggerated, structure, but Spellsword is still able to capture moments that remind me of the 90ies. E.g.: “Longinus and Gungnir” resembles, from the vocal positioning point of view, Dani Filth’s work. Overall, I do feel there are some bits that remind me of Cradle… and I accept the hate! However, this is not your traditional Black Metal track. No. Modernity… again with the more modern approach. Not complaining, but not loving. In short, Spellsword’s “Night of the Grail” was a very good surprise, particularly in a fringe of Black Metal that needs more attention in Portugal, this Melodic Epic Black Metal. Well done, well done.

Nox Liberatio Records Official Bandcamp