Spirit Adrift's Infinite Illumination Review | Féroce
Words by Jack Hinks - Music Editor @ Féroce Magazine
Hailing from Mesa, Arizona, Spirit Adrift have been a prodigious force in the metal scene for over a decade. Originally the solo project of Nate Garrett (who wrote and performed the entirety of their inaugural album Chained to Oblivion in 2016), the band first performed with a full line-up in 2017. Since then, they have released five further studio albums. Their most recent record, Infinite Illumination (released 10 April 2026), also serves as their final album together.
Fans of Spirit Adrift will know them for their crushing guitar riffs, uncompromising rhythms and soaring vocals. Often regarded in the same vein as Khemmis, Pallbearer and The Sword, whilst even bearing hints of Metallica, Spirit Adrift are an alchemical melting pot of the best aspects of metal. Fans of Garrett may also know him from his latest solo endeavour, Neon Nightmare. Let me be clear: guitarists will love this album.
Infinite Illumination begins with slow, all-encompassing, drop-tuned acoustic guitars. They boast a deep, chest-opening progression that lets the reverb-soaked chords occupy plenty of space. Something that caught me early on is Spirit Adrift's ability to command time across a track. You get a real sense of respect for the sound they've crafted, and a refreshing approach to prog and instrumental storytelling. There is no rush to tell their story, and it only benefits the track that they take their time to do so.
The introduction of the full band drops like a ton of bricks. A beautiful mix of cavernous drums, thunderous bass and towering guitars rises out of the earth in front of you, setting the tone for a truly impressive album. Nate's vocals first come in past the two-minute mark, and I remember saying, "OK, yeah, I'm in." He has a perfect voice for metal, soaring and clean when he needs it to be, but guttural and aggressive when he wants it. All of the players are on the board, and the next six minutes pass in the blink of an eye.
"Window Within" picks up the baton immediately, offering rich, harmonised guitar lines and a blistering solo that doesn't overstay its welcome. So far, the themes explored seem to centre around struggle and perseverance, and a very human drive towards providence. Garrett has been vocal about his love of studying and referencing religion in his life and work, with this album borrowing heavily from Christian iconography. This appears to be an attempt to sate the heavy tone of metal without simply adding to a blanket catalogue of anti-Christian music. This sense of evangelical wrath and imposition follows throughout the album and is even seen on the cover art, with a seraph appearing before a lone figure.
Consistent with the album's arrangement and tone, "You Will Never Hold the Key" maintains the unbreakable rhythm behind all of Spirit Adrift's songs. Challenging the powers that be (or possibly the non-believers) and exploring the ceiling of our control, "You Will Never Hold the Key" feels like a lament of biblical proportions, complete with a metal choir and all the trimmings.
Aggressive and swift to a point, "Born in a Bad Way" offers the signature Spirit Adrift riffs, drive and chorus mantras in a more conventional pop structure, whilst losing nothing in the process. In just over three minutes, it gives the feeling of a sprint rather than a marathon, and is a nice choice in the pacing of the album to keep things feeling fresh as you listen.
Church organs, a choir and an oppressive beat slowly fade in to introduce "Buried in the Shadow of the Cross", a song that feels like a thorny resistance to life's challenges. Discordant melodies, snarling guitars and pounding rhythms accompany Garrett's wailing vocals. Nate Garrett's songwriting has garnered acclaim for its earnest, emotional resonance, and this feels like a pure distillation of his experience and personal struggles.
It's hard not to hear the influence of thrash-era Metallica in "White Death". Considerably more up-tempo, with chorus- and phaser-heavy, effected chugging guitars, this track proudly borrows from '80s old-school metal with the punch and clarity of modern production. We're even taken on a bluesy journey through the middle of the track, replete with solos, sweep picking and tempo changes, before circling the drain into a slow, impending breakdown that closes the track. "White Death" reaches for perfection, and damn near finds it.
"I Am Sustained" is a brooding, sludgy track that explores the power of fear and pain. Artfully addressed through its instrumentation and arrangement, sections of the verses omit the, by now, established and ever-present walls of distorted guitars, giving this track a refreshing sense of push and pull. I found myself enjoying sitting in the oppressive, steady space, and having a greater appreciation for the thick layer of distortion upon its reintroduction. The dynamic playground of "I Am Sustained" feels like a display of years of craft and songwriting, coupled with the robust attention to space that Spirit Adrift have made their own. As the track continues, anthemic and melodic guitar lines bleed into a brutal, guttural guitar solo, guiding us to a climactic and abrupt end to the project's penultimate track.
Spirit Adrift's final track was always going to be a spectacle. A staggeringly slow choir builds with imposing guitar lines before finally settling into a slow, unbreaking march. Some of this album's most poignant lyrics come from their last song, "Where Once There Was an Ocean":
"Nothing left alive, where once there was an ocean."
"Propagating life, where once there was a desert."
To me, this speaks to the universal experience of loss, impediment and, eventually, perseverance; the will to continue and plant the seeds that will sustain you in the future. It feels fitting that these lines should mark the end of Spirit Adrift as a project, whilst also inspiring hope that whatever comes next will be something as powerful, agonising and, ultimately, human.
A litany of changes, solos and builds leads us into a stoic march until the end, made all the more poignant by the knowledge that, when the final stabs decay, the silence will ring forever.
Spirit Adrift have managed to find the perfect balance between solid doom metal, huge riffs and virtuosic playing. I could listen to their music for a lot longer than an album of back-to-back eight-minute solos, whilst still getting my fill of expressive leads, tempo changes and a platter of all the best flavours that metal has to offer. Infinite Illumination offers real, unhurried, careful attention to lore-rich songwriting, all steeped in the gravity that this is the project's final swan song.
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