Review
Cathedral Speech establishes Spirit Possession as the sharpest, most structurally daring force in modern underground metal. Rather than settling for the raw, insular blast-and-scrape of their earlier entries, the Portland duo channel their velocity into expansive, labyrinthine arrangements that move with absolute discipline. S. Peacock’s finger-picked fretwork eschews standard power-chord bluntness for dizzying hammer-ons and warped, vintage fuzz, while A. Spungin’s percussive attack relentlessly pivots between galloping speed-metal meters and volatile stop-start interruptions.
The record's triumph lies in its sprawling second-half suite—anchored by "Second Liturgy (…Impossible Exits…)" and "Trinity Possessor (…In Ten Thousand Hells)"—where their feral intensity stretches into eerie, progressive-rock ritualism. Custom analog synthesizers hum beneath the caustic vocal rasp and jagged tremolo, allowing sudden acoustic reprieves and rhythmic detours to breathe without puncturing the suffocating claustrophobia. It is an unvarnished, feverish display of songwriting that bends primitive hostility into genuine architecture.
