review by: Mladen Škot

As we've done with Leviathan, there should also be a default introduction for this one man band, Striborg. Why say the same warnings over and over?

Here: This is black metal. Of the worst sounding kind.

No, he can't write a song if his life depended on it, and he can't play any of his instruments. No solos, no arpeggios, no licks and no subtle cymbal work.

And no, it's not like that Darkthrone CD you once heard. It is worse. Yes, worse. Happy? Now go away.

Speaking of faults, it is good that Sin Nanna sticks to his. Like the "finger on a wet UFO starship glass," eeriest of the eerie keyboards. They can mean anything — hot sweat dripping down your neck as you're trying to find a way through the thick forest, surrounded by cries of unknown species. Or you have already been caught by them and the fangs of cold death slowly grasp you?

Also, the guitars: distant, painful, reverbed and distorted to hell. Whatever oxymoron they are attempting to do, there are too many to feel safe with just one. Could it be that the dry guitar tone wants to depict the moist forest nights of Sin Nanna's native Tasmania, or are those the hot "nothing but treble" guitars emanating from the icy darkness of misanthropic isolation? It's a matter of perspective. Let's leave that to the listener.

Re-released through Southern Lord, Spiritual Catharsis is a 2004 album. Throughout the eleven tracks and 73 minutes, it proves itself to be the default Striborg CD. Once again, it is pointless to talk about the things that make this one different from the others.

Curiously, the vocals sound like Abbath gone wild (and also reverbed and distorted to hell), and the drums have a sharp natural sound with lots of room around them.

Oh, there are songs. If it's necessary to point the examples out, "Misanthropic Necroforest" is a constant blast with guitar strings apparently made of glass. "Dicksonia Antarctica" engulfs you with just two chords before turning into a thundering nightmare with demonic banshee yelps, and "Black Metal is the Forest Calling..." is what the name says. And also... No. this is pointless. You don't talk about Striborg. You listen.

There is no way for any black-at-heart misanthrope not to listen, really. He will instantly identify himself with Spiritual Catharsis, play it on "repeat" and send everything else to where it belongs: nothingness. What can be left and visible in the same light when the guitar sound changes the whole living space with its vibrations, pulsating, radiating and seeping into the smallest, hidden corners of it?

The drums are barbaric. Superbly played, they are still irregular enough to keep the attention, making all the difference between the same, repeating moments. Pity on those who need digital precision to feel comfortable. What's better for becoming entranced anyway? Digital or natural? Examining the lyrics, there is no mistake in answering the question.

Spiritual Catharsis is a statement. To quote Sin Nanna himself, "So much hatred for mankind, nature glorified in my dark spirit, cold black sound of nightmares prevails." Simple as that, just like Nature viewed from afar. But, with an endless number of minuscule details only visible once you come closer. And listen. (9.5/10)