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“RABM bands exploring leftist theory could be an obvious thing, but is not so common actually, taking into consideration metal aesthetics, obsessed with ancient times and fantasy themes, isn’t that friendly to modern or post-modern thinking. It therefore takes some brevity to attempt such an endavour, and after Ashenspire who very successfully delved into Mark Fischer, we have another band who turns into the current world to take aim at how the capitalist system creates its worldview and maintains itself. The second album of the post-black metal band from the US Prosperity Gospel bears an obvious reference to Guy Debord in the title and his analysis of the society of the spectacle, and it’s not just a passing nod, but a fully realized concept, as we soon observe.

And indeed few things have changed since 1967, when this critique of commodification and mass media took place. In today’s world characterized by the bombardment of constant sensory information, it’s the hardest that it ever was to pull yourself out and think clearly for a moment, much less challenge the system, which turns invisible and self-evident. Perhaps this is what Prosperity Gospel want us to do, as their version of a progressive and modern black metal imbued with post-rock and post-hardcore influences is varied, complex, technical but also melodic a lot of the times, not just relying on power and aggression (of which they absolutely don’t lack). They might also bring into mind at times the most forward-thinking and experimental bands of the norwegian scene, like Virus and Fleurety, as the guitar riffs often turn into unexpected territories, while the vocals also often show an interesting theatrical and dramatic approach.

The recording is truly excellent in quality and the performance of the band is stellar, showing a clear way forward of progression from their already very promising debut. “Society of the Spectral” is an exciting listen from start to end and places itself as a big contender for album of the year, and we will not be at all surprised if the band breaks out into a much wider audience with it.” – Anti-Fascist Black Metal Network

“Prosperity Gospel launched their listeners into the gloaming with their second LP, “Society of the Spectral”, a treatise set to the tune of desolation, a narrative scored with the bleak poetry of modern existence. With a stylistic nod to the likes of Downfall of Gaia and Deafheaven, Prosperity Gospel weaves a fabric of sound that is both haunting and heavily threaded with the intellectual.

The band ventures deeper into the abyss of sound that they began to explore in 2020, with each chord and lyric steeped in the dystopian philosophy of Guy Debord and the existential musings of Schopenhauer. Their latest opus is an audial descent into the spectacle of society as we know it—a world where the visceral and the cerebral collide.

Eddie Newman’s reflections on Debord’s seminal work resonate with a chilling clarity, painting a sonorous landscape that is not just heard, but felt—a symphony of the spectral. The album unfolds like a grim prophecy, heralding the transition from “being” to “having” and then, inevitably, from “having” to “appearing.” It’s a journey through a life disfigured by capitalism’s contradictions, a life that vibrates with the static of atomization and generalizes into a blur of existence.” – IDIOTEQ.com

“[F]ollowing up 2020’s ‘Violently Pulled From Bliss’ and brings more of the fast tremolo picked, atmospheric post black metal sound. This aggressively progressive sound is paired with scathing anti capitalist critiques in the lyrics which take you on a journey from current socio-political relations to a potential solution in the future” – Olivia Matthews, Hornthrowers

“And their two albums on the local record label Comfort Monk, 2021’s “Violently Pulled From Bliss” and the just-released “Society Of The Spectral,” have plenty of musical muscle. There are moments on both albums where it feels like the listener is in the midst of a relentless storm. Singer/songwriter and guitarist Eddie Newman shrieks and growls as grinding guitar riffs churn and the rhythm section coils and uncoils like a serpent. So there’s plenty here for black metal fans to like, but Prosperity Gospel is more ambitious than most of their peers in the genre.” – Vincent Harris, Post & Courier