Review by Vladimir on January 8, 2024.

Here I am back with another review regarding a split release of two bands. This time, I’ll be covering an independent split release of Lvctvs (Venezuela) and Suspirium (El Salvador) called Versos De Una Insignificante Vida, released digitally on December 31st, 2023. 

Both bands incorporate melancholic depressive black metal fused with a bit of dark ambient, although with an entirely different approach to the songwriting and a completely different musical expression too. Suspirium is much more oriented towards a dark ambient style, with the first track 'La Noche De Los Poetas Olvidados' being a half ambient half black metal track, whereas the second track 'Reflexiones De Una Existencia Vana' is a 3-minute clean guitar instrumental that transitions to the last track on this release, which is the only track by Lvctvs. Lvctvs on the other hand has the longest track on this split release, and it is a pretty maniacal and melancholic black metal song which feels like two tracks in one, with a very solid atmospheric flow. Both bands may be similar in style, yet they are very different in terms of their expression through music. 

Although I personally avoid comparing bands on split releases either due to stylistic differences or perhaps different lyrical ideas, but in this case, I felt that Lvctvs provided a much better output than Suspirium. The reason being is that the first track 'La Noche De Los Poetas Olvidados' felt a bit way too inconsistent with the arrangement, especially on the other half of the song when it just randomly transitions from slow to a fast blast-beating with tremolo picking riffs, which at some point made me think that another song started playing in the background. The second track 'Reflexiones De Una Existencia Vana' is fine and there isn’t really anything I could complain about that song in particular, plus it nicely transitions to the final track by Lvctvs, which felt a lot more focused and well-structured. I personally felt a bit that both bands don’t go together that well due to how each one expresses himself differently, although considering the fact that both are DSBM projects, the combination of their songs isn’t a complete misfire. The only real issue that I have with this split release is that it feels really short, with a total of exactly 20-minute length that quickly draws itself to a conclusion without there being a big payoff in the end. The production of both bands has a raw sound with a buzzsaw guitar tone, raw vocals and a solid drum sound. 

I personally think that this split is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of how both bands decided to unite under one banner. I think that the main criticism that I have towards this issue is just how it feels far less engaging and attractive than it should be, especially since I ended up preferring one sole track by Lvctvs over the two that were done by Suspirium. If you are interested to check this split release for yourself, feel free to do so and see what you make of it. 

Rating: 6.6 out of 10

Review by Adam M on September 17, 2019.

Cellar Darling has the female-fronted metal thing down pat. This is a very beautiful, yet dark album that oozes atmosphere. It sounds like a combination of Anneke Van Giersbergen era The Gathering with Madder Mortem and this is a high complement to be comparing them to those bands. The songs definitely have some bite but are very pretty sounding at the same time. It all leads to some of the finest female-fronted metal I’ve heard in some time.

There are many moments on the album that could be considered esoteric, but there are also those that could be considered ordinary and this is why this isn’t the perfect album. It simply isn’t as consistent as something like How to Measure a Planet? even though it really tries to be. The album gets off to a nice start and there is a definite highlight to be found with the title track, but it never really loses steam throughout. It’s just that some moments are more impact full than others and these are often when vocalist Anna Murphy takes center stage. She simply has one of the best voices I’ve heard from a female-led band in quite some time and is allowed to show off many times on this album.

The music is very moody and contains a good deal of instrumentation to back this up as well. All in all, I found this to be a great album that was a little lacking compared to The Gathering’s best material. It’s still a home run for a band led by a venerable female vocalist. It has the right amount of impact at the proper times and brings forth a nice beauty to the metal genre. It isn’t perfect, but this is probably the best female-fronted metal album I’ve heard from this year so far. The Spell definitely gets a solid recommendation.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10