Opening with somber riffs, there is a sense of the closing of a chapter in the life of founding member Nate Garrett on title track to the sixth and final Spirit Adrift album, Infinite Illumination. Having been doing this project since 2015 with albums like Curse Of Conception, Divided By Darkness and Enlightened In Eternity among others, there is a large debt of gratitude owed to this band for their longstanding dedication to quality over such a short period of time. The new record sees the band mix together elements of traditional heavy metal, doom and even some thrashing sections, buoyed of course by Garrett’s vocals and guitar work.
“Window Within” is a more straightforward track playing towards the strengths of previous albums and allowing for a solid gateway for fans of yore. Doom is the name of the game on “You Will Never Hold The Key,” heavy and slow riffs punctuated by a subtle melody closing out the opening movement. As the song progresses, a choral arrangement of sorts provides a church-like atmosphere that helps to transition back to the heavy riffs of the earliest part of the song, making for a full circle, self-encapsulating journey.
The shortest track on the album is “Born In A Bad Way,” a bite sized middle finger to those that have stood in Garret’s way over the course of his life and career. “Buried In The Shadow Of The Cross” sees some Trouble riffs that draw comparisons to songs from that band’s debut. This won’t be the last metal heavyweight to be highlighted as this album moves to its b-side.
“White Death” is a more direct ode to Pentagram’s “Sign Of The Wolf” as the main chugging riff is used prominently throughout the song, making no mistake as to where his metal mania started, featuring Crypt Sermon’s Steve Jannson on leads here is a nice touch as well.
“I Am Sustained” takes on a slower approach before giving way to another guest, the fantastic James Murphy (Death, Disincarnate, Testament) to add his own unique flair in sections that fans of his aforementioned bands will no doubt recognize. The power chords do a great job of becoming the bedrock of the song while Murphy lays down some tremendous leads as the song draws to a close quickly.
“Where Once There Was An Ocean” is the end of an era, the final track on the final album; a funeral march if there ever was one. The album’s final guest is producer extraordinaire and Eternal Champion guitarist Arthur Rizk, providing his leads betwixt singing keyboards, Sonny DeCarlo’s humming bass and the crashing of Mike Arellano’s crucial drums.
Having followed the band for most of their career, this ending is bittersweet, but it isn’t up to us to decide what a musician should and shouldn’t do. The album’s title feels like a reference to the light that this band which started as a Gatecreeper side project grew into its own fully fledged band provided fans, and saw it through to a proper end. For melding different genres together seamlessly, Infinite Illumination is a strong finale for one of the best bands in modern metal.
(released April 10, 2026 on 20 Buck Spin)
