Spread over eight songs, The Grimorian Tapes is a dark look at the dark arts, death, and where the two collide. For this, the duo put forth grim, industrial soundscapes that can suck the light and joy from a room in an instant, like the spells have already begun to cast. Kundalini's trademark spoken lines help the album to stick out from the pack, avoiding the trap of dropping the album down into the depths with ultra dark, overly grimy production. Instead, the words and music come together like the magical words on paper in these occult grimoires, and the album becomes its inspiration in its execution. Not only telling the tale of these books, The Grimorian Tapes turns into a modern day spell book, drawing the listener in to a world of darkness with a promise of everlasting life on the other side. The album is very restrained, and this works better with Kundalini's speaking/singing than something brutal and over the top. Her voice plays against the murky darkness vacillating between sorceress and siren, keeping the audience on their toes and giving the album extra depth. However, despite working sonically, there is something about the delivery that may not hit home for everyone (myself included), and the spoken bits can pull one out of the spell pretty quickly. Thankfully, the duo is anything but "one note," so there is a lot here for those that may not get on with that one style of vocal delivery. 

 

Moving at a speed that easily draws in the listener, The Grimorian Tapes has She Spread Sorrow & Luca Sigurtà bubbling forth dark and grim industrial from their electronic cauldrons. Like the ancient grimoires that provided its inspiration, this latest from the duo conjures up mystery and intrigue, as well as great listenability that lends to many repeated listens. Restrained and refined, The Grimorian Tapes works well in the quiet darkness, keeping one company while pouring away on their spells (or spreadsheets). Providing an intriguing insight into occult tomes and their promises of eternal life, She Spread Sorrow & Luca Sigurtà have a great new volume here with The Grimorian Tapes. To find out more