I was once so fucking proud, glowing bright and incandescent.
- "I like strange things and things that make me uncomfortable."
Norwegian/British Black Metal musician mostly known for previously making harsh noise music and dark ambient under the name Vivisectionist Exhibitionist, as well as numerous guitar covers ranging from Deathspell Omega to Porcupine Tree. Taking the name from the closing track of Pyrrhon's What Passes for Survival, Empty Tenement Spirit makes an incredibly raw, experimental style of Black Metal that harkens back to the Second Wave, but not entirely. Clean vocals are the primary vocal style, harsh distorted guitars that sound like a mixture of black metal and noise rock, as well as lyrics focusing on such topics as vengeful gods, deforestation, and emotional Dark and Troubled Past subjects.
Empty Tenement Spirit contains examples of:
- Album Intro Track: "Lamentum" is the closest example, as a short piece centering around a brief guitar intro with organ accompaniment, with the rest of the song being an Organ/Choir section.
- Anonymous Band: Not as extreme as some bands, as the artist has shown their face numerous times in various videos, however their name is not revealed as yet.
- Bilingual Bonus: Occasional, "Sympatiske gatespøkelser minner" is titled in Norwegian and opens with a short Norwegian vocal intro.
- Capitalism Is Bad: "Lunatic Shuffling" tells of a society where everybody simply wakes up to continue the "dance" but not really knowing why, or knowing anybody else that they're dancing with, as well as expressing feigned hope in the leadership of the society. The song gets noticeably more off beat and clumsy as it progresses, complete with Spirit's vocals being slurred and clean-sung, to symbolise being lost in the meaningless pursuits of the world.
- Dark Is Evil/Dark Is Not Evil: Discussed in "Wherein a Wooded Arch...", concerning a vengeful God bringing ruin onto human civilization because of deforestation and other similar behaviours.
- Drone of Dread: Done usually to mark transitions between song sections, or occasionally within the sections themselves.
- Epic Instrumental Opener: "Lamentum", natch.
- Epic Rocking: Not the rule, but "Sympatiske gatespøkelser minner" runs for 6 minutes and 29 seconds.
- God Is Evil: Invoked in both "Sympatiske gatespøkelser minner" and "Wherein a Wooded Arch...". But for completely different reasons.
- Green Aesop: Somewhat evident in "Wherein a Wooded Arch...".
- I Am the Band: Empty Tenement Spirit is the only member.
- Indecipherable Lyrics: Because of the raw recording method, the lyrics are usually not the easiest to follow. However, every video comes with lyrics in the description to avert this.
- Metal Scream
- Mind Screw: "Sympatiske gatespøkelser minner" centers of a mentally unstable individual who destroyed their most meaningful relationship solely out of delusions and paranoia.
- Misanthrope Supreme: Occasionally.
- Nobody Loves the Bassist: There is no bass whatsoever.
- Ominous Latin Chanting: "Lamentum" repeated endlessly throughout the track of the same name. Latin phrases thrown in "Wherein a Wooded Arch...".
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: "Sympatiske gatespøkelser minner" contains at least 5 synonyms of the word "bright". Spirit tends to write in a mixture of informal and also flowery vocabulary.
- Signature Style: Distorted vocals, simplistic guitar tracks, no solos, noise elements both digital and guitar driven, low production values, introspective and social lyrical themes.
- Stage Names: The artist name, naturally.
- Surprisingly Gentle Song: In all three currently released songs, there are at least 2-3 sections in each song where the heaviness dies down and is replaced either by ethereal choir, guitar, or even an Organ/Choir section in "Lamentum".
- Three Chords and the Truth: Invoked, many riffs are simply altered versions of already played riffs, however the tempo and rhythm changes significantly as well as some minor details. Very little flashy technical play, in the spirit of the Second Wave.
