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PALACE OF THE WIDOW
Botanic Ritual

Self-released (2022)
Rating: 8.5/10

Dane Adair, the man behind Spectral Tower’s 2014’s self-titled opus, is back with another project, only this time the talented musician is aided by friend Matt Lebearveau.

California’s Palace Of The Widow is a very atmospheric expression born out of personal issues experienced by both members, so what you get here is a sprawling sense of black metal sprigged with blackgaze traits. But let’s forget about the silly sub-genres attached and just enrol ourselves in this tapestry of sound.

From the off, with ‘Seed Of Never’, there’s something harmonious yet also extreme about this work; there’s the juxtaposition of the gargled vocal barks mixed with rhythmic percussion and some excellent, slightly more traditional guitar work. It’s not particularly aggressive musically but then it’s not meant to be. Palace Of The Widow explores a more soulful journey but is forever changing as it rolls out like spectral mist that appears at once eerie yet mesmerizingly serene.

Hats off then to some of Matt Lebearveau’s acoustic passages, and there’s even a saxophone thrown in for good measure, but don’t expect some sort of Lynchian avant-garde jazz fusion. Instead, revel in the depths of this misty yet quite meditative state where the trickles of instrumentation transport me to a place I’m not familiar with but which is lined with a sense of dread of foreboding, made all the more suspenseful by the harsh, ethereal vocal barks.

‘First Lord’ is a sea of raging black metal, although some will argue “post black metal”, but for me black metal is black metal yet with levels of flexibility. However, one thing I do take from this is a very spiritual nuance, as if I’m a spectator to something alien, pastoral and yet cold as almost idyllic guitar tones weave wistfully between great gushing geysers of gloom.

Botanic Ritual is very much a soundtrack to something unknown and deeply personal. It’s pensive lyrically but always ethereal as ‘First Lord’ gives way to ‘Thousand Year Sleep’ with its almost Cynic-like levels of textural complexity in that cavorting bass before the frozen, cascading glut of torrential tumult unravels. There’s still that ever-present atmospheric black metal vein, the blizzard-affected horizon, except this time we see beneath the layers of cold fog to peer at unnameable form by those gushing streams, those damp meadows and damp nooks.

Everything about this opus feels expansive, vast and deep. The title track subtly trickles as Dane Adair barks to the horizon like some forlorn, far-reaching creation dwelling in a sorrow soaked up by the landscape. And that’s where I am with this, visually trying to become one with the enveloping flickers and vapours cast out in a quaintly esoteric fashion.

‘Ancestors Of Time’, ‘Infinite Dots’ (featuring some excellent axe work), ‘Rootbound’ (swirling like a progressive rock icon), ‘Teraform’ (raging with an ice cold-hearted flurry) ‘Released’, ‘Light Siphon’ and closer ‘The Mortal Wish’ all exist as spacious, sprawling adventures through the tear in the fabric of time, where unknown worlds are bolstered by the more striking demonic narration and yet all unequivocally stirring in whichever guise they take.

This is not a simplistic route to take, the adventures within will be treacherous underfoot due to the strange, mesmeric footfalls the guys create, but if you want a record to get utterly lost in without having your bones snapped or face battered then Botanic Ritual provides more than enough kaleidoscopic scenery amongst its contours.

To me, this is engaging, enchanting progressive music with a black metal heart, but it’s one speckled with an extensive mysticism that many a psyche may feel completely alien to. I think Palace Of The Widow can be approached a number of ways, but what I do recommend is several listens first before attempting to unravel its fleshy folds. Personally, all I see are pinks and purples, endorsed more so by the strange cover art, and a track such as ‘Infinite Dots’ more than sums up the nature of this shimmering entity of darkness and light which, for some, may be an acquired taste.

Neil Arnold

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