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Immortal's Requiem

by Phantom Spell

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1.
Here upon this altar I wait, And pray to lords of time, But in vein. With a desperate blade I will fly, For the burden of life, Shall be lifted tonight. Just like the stars – to your eyes, I have shone too bright and long since died, Through countless years, Withered away. To markings on a grave, A thought. A name that soon will fade...
2.
Dawn Of Mind 08:29
Calm, silence of the dawn, Lying. Waiting. Blood on the stone, Blade in my hand, The echoes of life, Ring out again, Once more. Breath the cold air, lean in to the new day, As the hourglass turns on it’s head, Feel your past life bleed in to the future, The cycle is complete again! For an age I have waited in darkness, Deep within you, But bound to the blade, Your free will, all along, an illusion, This was not your curse to break! Oh, I thought I’d claimed it for myself, But all this time, My life belonged to something else. Come, You’re the first in line, For the dawning of my mind, Lifting the veil on what we think we know, Falling endlessly, Through the threads of fate we weave, Dawning of mind will end this curse tonight. Feel the magic that calls from the black spire, Feel the power it draws from the deep, I will grant you it all in the next world, Your lifeblood is all that I seek, I won’t suffer the weak! No! I’ve been played as a pawn for too long, I was born in to power and madness, And with it I’m proving you wrong, So now I’ll go… Whisper in secret my last spell, Because in time, We’ll only answer to ourselves. Come, You’re the first in line, For the dawning of my mind, Lifting the veil on what we think we know, Falling endlessly, Through the threads of fate we weave, Dawning of mind will end this curse tonight. Come, You’re the first in line, For the dawning of my mind, Lifting the veil on what we think we know, Falling endlessly, Through the threads of fate we weave, Dawning of mind will end this curse tonight. Come, You’re the last in line, For the dawning of our minds, Lifting the veil on what we think we know, Falling endlessly, Through the threads of fate we weave...
3.
Misfortune paves the way – unseen, And guides me to the Seven Sided Mirror, To share in shadowed dreams. Mysterious and crystalline, Gilded by the beauty and the terror, Of the magic held inside. And all at once they come to me, Reflections of a face, broken and weathered, letting out a silent scream. They turn to look me in the eye, The more I stare the more I come to realise, The fears they feel are mine. Deep in the ancient, magic mirror, All my fears have come to life, Trapped in a prison of my making, Paralysed. Each of the seven demons calling, Tearing at fragments of my mind, Taking my form and calculating, My demise. (Oh…) The seven sided mirror. (Oh…) The seven sided mirror. As the walls closed in around me, Tears of glass began to fall, I did not feel the need to turn and break my gaze, From shattering reflections of my soul. (Oh…) The seven sided mirror. (Oh…) The seven sided mirror.
4.
Up The Tower 04:01
I’m stumbling through the dark, No way to see, Hoping to find some sort of sign, In this labyrinth of the mind. All around you hear closing doors, The harder you search, The harder it is to try and unwind, The meaning in-between the lines There’ll be things you didn’t see before, When your eyes are opened wide. An open hand that holds a key, A lock presented in a dream, Inside are secrets to behold, So it’s up the tower I go. You believe there’s a better way, One you’ve well-earned Well, I suppose it goes to show, The pride can hurt more than the fall Every step is another fight, Sometime’s you win, But will you ever truly know, If you’ll get to where you’re going? An open hand that holds a key, A lock presented in a dream, Inside are secrets to behold, So it’s up the tower I go. An open hand that holds a key, A lock presented in a dream, Inside are secrets to behold, So it’s up the tower I go. It’s up the tower I’ll go...
5.
[Instrumental]
6.
Beneath the dust, and still remains, Are the thoughts of finer days, Here in this room where shadows grow. I run my hand across a page, Of an old, forgotten scroll, I touch the words and then they start, To fade, Away. Deep in the withered, ancient stone, There’s a magic starts to wake, And brings an aching to my bones. I find no comfort in remorse, But at last I understand, The man who mastered time must be, No more. And as the lives I’ve lived come to an end, There’s a feeling in the air… I speak the words I‘ve known since time was born, The phantom answers my command, ‘Tis I who conquered you and brought you this form, It’s time for me now to descend. And as the lives I’ve lived come to an end, There’s a feeling in the air… The mirrored glass it bites and drinks from the vein, I watch my blood turn into sand, Time is repeating but somehow not the same, The cycle broken, The curse will end. And now the lives I’ve lived have all been spent, There’s a feeling in the air…

about

Phantom Spell is the brainchild of Kyle McNeill. Frontman for London based classic metal stalwarts, Seven Sisters. Having established his command of songcraft over several albums with the UK's twin-guitar renegades, McNeill has decided to add a second string to his bow. Delving heart-first into a musical love letter to his favourite prog rock artists of yesteryear. As McNeill elaborates:

"Musically, this is an area I've wanted to explore for a very long time. The classic prog records have truly captured my imagination and continue to inspire me. I hope that in some odd way, this can be seen as me trying to repay the favour to those bands for enriching my life – a tribute to the dorkiness and grandeur of prog rock!".

A tribute, it may be. However, this is more than a mere copycat experiment. Those who have followed McNeill's work over the years have come to expect a certain level originality and attention to detail. This new project promises to follow in that same tradition. After releasing the single, "Keep On Running", in July 2021 to much praise, the stage is set for Phantom Spell's debut album.

Through "Immortal's Requiem", Phantom Spell presents a spellbinding sonic journey. A journey in which fractured thoughts of a deteriorating clairvoyant are given form as cascading guitar harmonies and weaving mellotronic passages. Songs like "Dawn of Mind" and "Seven Sided Mirror" effortlessly navigate shifting sonic textures with purpose and unabashed curiosity. Akin to the theatrical majesty of those dear Kansas and Yes gatefolds tucked away in record collections worldwide.

You would be forgiven for thinking this facade of shimmering synthesizers is a means of escapism from what we face in the real world. However, amidst the grandeur is a stark vulnerability on display. The driving electrified rhythms of "Up The Tower" clear the heady smog of spell-craft and make way for a direct message. After all, Phantom Spell was born in isolation. A child of the plague years and a necessary catharsis. As the project creator, Kyle McNeill, explains:

"At the core of these songs are insecurities and emotions we'll all encounter in our time. Even if you're an immortal wizard".

This sincerity makes for a compelling juxtaposition against the baroque instrumental passages and fleeting guitar work.

The album's only instrumental track, "Black Spire Curse" showcases McNeill's aforementioned guitar work perfectly. Navigating complex melodies and Hackett-like dreamscape soloing with equal dexterity. Culminating in a grand cacophony of marching rhythms and hedonistic simplicity before gently easing in to the lull of an acoustic/hammond organ combination. Foreshadowing the awakening that is the slumbering beast, "Blood Becomes Sand". The dynamic peaks and troughs that give the album such life are on full display here. A quality that brings the listener back time and time again.

With "Immortal's Requiem", Phantom Spell present a complete work. Rounded and satisfying enough within itself while presenting avenues of exploration for a later date. A fitting opening chapter to a new story!

credits

released August 19, 2022

All songs written by Kyle McNeill. Except track VII, which was written by, the late, great Rory Gallagher.

Recorded at Wizard Tower Studios.
Mixed and mastered by Kyle McNeill.

Artwork and logo design by Jack Welch of Seventhbell Artwork.

All songs are owned by Wizard Tower Records and Wizard Tower Recordings, except track VII.

© Wizard Tower Records 2022
℗ Wizard Tower Recordings 2022

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Phantom Spell Murcia, Spain

"A tantalising Prog-Rock journey through the mind of a deteriorating wizard"

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