Phantom Spell - Heather & Hearth

We live in sombre times. Anyone who regularly consumes news inevitably feels depressed, desperate and angry on a regular basis. To avoid falling into a deep hole, it is important to take your mind off things.

And music has always helped with that. This is where Phantom Spell comes in. Kyle's band presents Heather & Hearth, their second full-length album, which brings a lot of light into this darkness.

Kyle has proven himself to be one of the most talented musicians of his generation many times over the past decade and a half. Against this backdrop, it is hardly surprising that Heather & Hearth is also convincing across the board.

Of course, the album captivates with Kyle's great vocals and those wonderful guitar melodies that enhance every Seven Sisters and Phantom Spell track. This ensures a high recognition value – but that doesn't mean the Englishman is repeating himself.

Phantom Spell has its own identity, so constant references to Kyle's first band are out of the question. Heather & Hearth is deeply rooted in 70s hard and prog rock – and, taken as a whole, completely out of step with the times. This is not music for the streaming generation; it is art that needs time to breathe and is not suitable for careless background listening in a playlist. It is a statement.

Heather & Hearth is dreamy, melancholic, playful and sometimes intricate, but always accessible. The highlights are undoubtedly the epic, enormously varied long tracks “The Autumn Citadel“, which is also the opener, and the title track, which together take up well over half of the album's playing time. These two songs are among the best compositions Kyle has created to date – and given the consistently high quality of his songwriting, they are two very big exclamation marks.

However, the other tracks are also very well crafted: “Evil Hand“ in particular is a real 'hit’ that thrills with a superb chorus and (yet another) magnificent guitar solo. The bonus track provides an adequate final note: “Old Pendle“ is a folk song written around 1940 by Milton and Allen Lambert (words) and Ted Edwards (tune), which immediately reminded me of “The Bard's Song (In the Forest)“. Could Blind Guardian have been inspired by this?

Also worth mentioning are the excellent sound and tasteful artwork by Jean deMer. It's clear at every level that Heather & Hearth has been made with a lot of heart and soul and love for music.

All in all, Phantom Spell exceeds all expectations evoked by the excellent debut Immortal's Requiem (2022). In the best moments, and there are many of them, you literally float away – and wish you never had to leave this colourful world that Kyle has created. Heather & Hearth doesn‘t save this burning world, but it gives us hope. That's worth a lot.

Phantom Spell on Bandcamp: Click here.