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SPIRAL FRACTURE - GRACE IN DECAY
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Available now via Wormholedeath Records - Virginia’s Spiral Fracture arrive at full definition on Grace in Decay, a record that rejects progressive metal’s usual indulgences while retaining intelligence. Released on January 23, the album showcases a band that has stopped proving competence and started exercising control. Complexity is present everywhere, but only functioning as complete structure within their realm of music.
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The songwriting is disciplined. Polymetric drum patterns from Brian Fisher never drift into excess. Tanner’s bass operating independently, often carrying melodic info that destabilizes the guitar’s center of gravity. Dave Givens’ guitar work is theoretical without sounding academic, riffs bending, fracturing, and reassembling, while solos feel volatile - chaos shaped by restraint.
The defining shift is Javier Ramos’ vocal presence. His alto delivery avoids the operatic tropes of the genre and instead anchors the album emotionally. The voice is neither aggressive nor ornamental, cutting through the density with clarity and tension, giving tracks like “Soul Allegiance” and “Defiance” their weight. Melody becomes the access point for many of these tracks.
Grace in Decay moves with complete and utter purpose, with shorter track lengths keeping ideas sharp. “Derelicts of Delusion” establishes unease, “Burning” sharpens into focus, and “CTRL ALT DEL” frames modern dislocation without the standard cliché. There are no keyboards, no ambient padding, no cinematic shortcuts, just a heavy rock core pushed through progressive soundscapes and architecture.
This is by no means a genre hybrid chasing relevance. It’s more a cohesive statement from a band understanding where metal fractures under its ambition and exploits those cracks deliberately. Spiral Fracture have arrived in the right timeframe, and listeners are in for one hell of a ride.
SCORE 8.5/10
Words by LearnTwoExist
In collaboration with Headbangers Australia