Spirit Adrift – Infinite Illumination
Spirit Adrift- Infinite Illumination
20 Buck Spin
Release Date: 10/04/2026
Review by Rory Bentley
9/10
Although my cold heart largely lies with Hardcore and Death Metal, I’m also a big supporter of NWOTHM. The combination of grittier, more modern tones applied to the triumphant, uplifting magic of Classic Heavy Metal is a heady cocktail that I find hard to resist (as long as the vocals don’t ruin it), and after more than 10 years as a band, Spirit Adrift have come to embody the high watermark for this approach. Mainman Nate Garrett is a music nerd in the best way and understands how to combine the finest elements of Trad Metal with the weight of Doom, Sludge and even a little Death and Prog to produce a sound that is both refreshingly unique yet comfortingly familiar, and this adventurous approach has seen him turn in modern genre staples such as “Enlightened In Eternity” and “Divided By Darkness”. To say I’m gutted that this will be Spirit Adrift’s final album is an understatement, if this is to be the case, what a magnificent finale this is.
“Infinite Illumination” sees Garrett pool all the different aspects of the Spirit Adrift catalogue into one place, with the more traditional Doom elements of the earlier records featuring prominently, as well as the increasing focus on Trad Metal still being front and centre. The opening title track sets this stall out wonderfully, stretching out to nearly 8 minutes of heroic soloing, commanding vocals, and Matt Pike-worthy riffing, where the band isn’t afraid to ride a nasty groove for a long time.
The momentum never lets up from there, with Spirit Adrift blasting out the meanest, most driving record of their catalog, as if busting a gut to leave an explosive parting shot. ‘You Will Never Hold The Key’ is pure spite set to titanic Trouble riffs and spat out with sandpaper vocals from Garrett, until things take a turn for the epic in the second half as Phrygian melodies crash and weave like waves of sand displaced by an ancient demon bursting from a desert tomb. You don’t get more Heavy Metal than that, friends.
For my money, though, ‘White Death’ is in the running for Metal song of the year, bursting with soaring melodies and a chorus that needs to be bellowed from a mountain holding a sword aloft, and Iommi riffs that could stop a charging bull elephant. It just does so many familiar but awesome Metal tropes so well that you almost feel like a spoiled glutton at the greatest buffet you’ve ever been to. Pure Heavy Metal nirvana from someone who knows how to meld the finest, choicest cuts from the annals of history into one delicious head-banging feast.
There’s not a duff moment on the record, from the filthy grooves of ‘Born In A Bad Way’ to the sprawling Prog finale of ‘Where Once There Was an Ocean’, everything feels vital, assured, and bristling with life. “Infinite Illumination” is truly a case of “Don’t be sad it’s over, be glad that it happened” because my word, am I glad we got this final parting gift!
TRACKLISTING:
01. Infinite Illumination
02. Window Within
03. You Will Never Hold The Key
04. Born in a Bad Way
05. Buried in the Shadow of the Cross
06. White Death
07. I Am Sustained
08. Where Once There Was an Ocean
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