Opus number 6 in Cyclone
Empire's 'Imperial Anthems' 7" series, is a very exciting split
from Spiritus Mortis and Pale Divine originally released in 2011. Limited to 500 hand numbered copies and on
blood red vinyl, both bands do one track each covering Deep Purple. Not an easy
task, if you ask me. Recording someone elses work is tricky business, and
oftentimes fall flat because the outcome is a note-by-note-perfect rendition,
with little to none soul nor imagination. In my opinion, when you do a cover
song, make sure the listener knows who the originator is but put your stamp on.
Be a little creative and take wide turns. So, how do these two bands fare in
this outing? Well, why did I even doubt the quality of this 7" to be
nothing but amazing? Shame on me because we are after all talking about Spiritus
Mortis and the mighty Pale Divine!
Spiritus Mortis has the
honour to initiate the proceedings with a ballsy, groovy and badass version of
the Purple classic, 'Black Night'. One that has been covered countless
times before, the Finns certainly step out of the box and shake things up a
little bit. Actually not too far off from the original version, small things
here and there tweaks the song and pushes it in the right direction, making it
better than most versions I have heard. Sami Hynninen does a great job on
vocals, hitting the high notes with ease but in his more gruff style and that
alone sets it apart. Mixing their own Finnish-style doom with the sweet sounds
of early 70's rock, the rest of the band, from the guitars and bass to the
drums and the organ, simply kills. Wonderful!
One of my all-time
favourite bands, Pale Divine, opts for a "lesser known" Purple song,
if you will. Messieurs Diener and McCloskey take on 'Bloodsucker' which
is a very bold move. Although in-yer-face and psychedelic in its original
version with a solo interchange between Blackmore and Lord, Pale Divine sure
keeps the in-yer-face attitude but speeds it up slightly. And having no organ
parts added their version has been elegantly altered, all while Greg Diener
plays all the solo parts brilliantly. I've said it before that Darin
McCloskey's fantastic drumming reminds me so much of Brian Downey and Ian
Paice, and here he shows why. Care-free, technical and groovy he puts his mark
on Mr. Paice's parts. As a long time fan of these Pennsylvanians, I regard this
track as a turning point for the band. Greg has always been the guitarist and
singer for them. On their previous full-length, 'Cemetery Earth' he had
changed his almost bashful singing approach, to a more gutsy attitude. 'Bloodsucker'
demands an incredible effort from any vocalist and holy hell, Greg does an
amazing job here. It sounds like he has his ball sack caught in a forever
turning vise, hitting the heights of Ian Gillan. To get to my point, to me the
way he sings here paid off in abundance, here and on their next full-length, 'Painted
Windows Black', where he took his vocal performance to a completely new
level. By the way, did I say this is a truly fantastic, one-of-a-kind version?
No, well it is, you hear!
As far as a 7” split
goes, I doubt it can be any better than this. Actually, regardless the format
this single is top notch. Both bands brings their very best and turns this to a
joyful exciting listening experience every time I play it. I honestly don't
know if Cyclone Empire has any copies left, but it's a must-have so contact
them, or the bands if they have any. Or send out feelers to track a copy down
elsewhere and become a proud owner, dear wave riders.
- Swedebeast
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