''Spirit of Purity'' is the debut album by the Swedish

Christian black metal Unblack metal (also known as Christian black metal) is a religious philosophy and subgenre within black metal, inheriting several characteristics of it, such as the melody, the lyrics and the aesthetics (corpse paint), whose artists either direc ...

band

Sanctifica Sanctifica was a Swedish unblack metal band, formed in 1996, and disbanded in 2003. After releasing their EP, ''In the Bleak Midwinter'', in 1997, they were considered to be one of the leading modern Christian black metal bands in the early 2000s ...

, released on Little Rose Productions and

Rivel Records Liljegren Records / CMSweden is a Swedish heavy metal music record label founded by Christian Liljegren (formerly of Narnia) in 1997. The label was originally titled C.L. Music and Distribution but was changed later. Notable current and former ...

in March 2000. With this album the band established itself as one of the leading Christian black metal bands of the early 2000s (decade), representing technical and chaotic style. Considered by many as the band's best album, ''Spirit of Purity'' was well received by both the press and fans, although the style quickly earned Sanctifica their "

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

clone" label, which the band later tried to escape by switching the music style. Music videos were shot for the song
"The Dark Desires"
an
"Spirit of Purity,"
released on the video compilation ''Power from the Sky''.

Recording

With the line up consisting of Hubertus Liljegren (vocals, guitar), Jonathan Jansson (bass), Henrik Georgsson (guitar), Aron Engberg (keyboard), and Daniel Thelin (drums), ''Spirit of Purity'' was recorded at Studio Berghem in 1999, produced and engineered by Mick Nordström and Sanctifica. Guest vocals on "The Wanderer" were performed by Per Hagström. The album was published by Finnish Little Rose Productions in March 2002 and Rivel Records. The album was distributed by House of Kicks Distribution. Two of the album's songs are sung in Swedish, "Riket" and "Allhärskaren", although all the lyrics are printed in English in the booklet. Sonically, the album is chaotic, emphasizing on melodic, technical tremolo riffing, very fast tempos, full soundscapes with keyboards and blast beats mixed to the background. "Riket (The Empire)" begins with a haunting, wintery keyboard intro before starting the black metal output. Some songs such as "Allhärskaren" focus more on the groovy, melodic songstructures, while others such as "The Wanderer" take a slightly more progressive approach. The lyrics deal with themes of grief and Christianity. The album was considered an improvement over the band's debut EP ''In the Bleak Midwinter'', gaining positive reviews from the press, and earned the band a devoted fanbase. Some considered the album to be too chaotic, while some called it a "masterpiece."Rivel Records
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Track listing

#"Riket (The Empire)" - 4:35 #"The Dark Desires" - 3:51 #"Released From Pain" - 4:24 #"Spirit of Purity" - 6:38 #"Allhärskaren" - 5:19 #"Landscape" - 3:14 #"The Dark Embrace of Night" - 4:57 #"The Wanderer" - 4:30

References

External links

Spirit of Purity
at Metal-Archives
"The Dark Desires"
video at YouTube {{Authority control 2000 debut albums Sanctifica albums