For all the discussion around up-and-coming artists just getting their start in the industry, it’s easy to forget that eventually, every band will have to ride off into the sunset. After treating us to a decade of badass heavy metal, such is the case for Spirit Adrift— following band leader Nate Garrett’s decision to axe the project for personal reasons, surprise new record ‘Infinite Illumination’ has become their final word. It’s a damn good note to go out on.

Garrett is hardly reinventing himself here, and we wouldn’t want him to for his final outing: his sixth studio album exudes all the confidence and the majesty of the metal albums of old, pulling off every trick with an effortless efficiency. Despite its grandiose, biblical artwork, ‘Infinite Illumination’ plays its classic metal style almost completely straight, outright refusing to dilute the indisputably impactful sound that put Spirit Adrift on the map. If there’s a criticism to be levied against the album, it lies in just how cut-and-dry these songs can wind up being, despite the lofty runtimes of the title track and closer ‘Where Once There Was An Ocean.’ Wrapped in a mix as clean and digestible as this, these eight tracks leave very little to the imagination— it’s not an album that’s out to surprise you, taking the same ingredients from its first track and managing to keep them interesting and delicious unto the last. ‘Infinite Illumination’ is not the flashiest record out there: what it is, instead, is just plain awesome.

If Spirit Adrift aren’t bringing much new to the table, what they have brought is a host of ideas and writing devices that will never get old: it’s shocking, really, just how exciting and momentous the band manage to make their style of old school doom metal, which is propelled forward by the swagger and soul of Garrett’s performances. ‘Born in a Bad Way’ is probably the cleanest cut here, stomping its way through bulldozing guitar riffs and a chorus oozing with an 80s hard rock sneer: Spirit Adrift take the opportunity to display their mastery of these metal fundamentals often across ‘Infinite Illumination,’ and there’s simply no arguing with the Black Sabbath-esque evil of ‘Buried in the Shadow of the Cross’ or the out-and-out cheesiness that fuels ‘White Death.’ The mixture of unabashed heaviness and accessible songwriting that comes to define the record is quite a feat, with Garrett refusing to loosen his grip on either the malice or the catchiness of his music. He just doesn’t put a foot wrong anywhere.

And yet somehow, despite its simplicity, ‘Infinite Illumination’ also manages to feel impossibly grand and definitive— you can really hear Garret’s desire to go out with a bang on this one, and his wish has most certainly come true. The record’s title track is a monstrous undertaking, throwing wistful acoustic guitars, triumphant doom metal riffs and ethereal guitar tones together into a number that never loses its momentum, nor its ability to capture you: it even finds room for fast-paced chugging in there, and the way Spirit Adrift harmonise their guitars in that moment is nothing less than inspired. The spirituality of its cover comes through best in the various choruses across ‘Infinite Illumination,’ which almost transcend the record’s otherwise bludgeoning metal style on ‘Window Within’ and ‘You Will Never Hold The Key.’ It’s a similar story for the ripping technicality Garret displays in explosive bursts across the project, delivering a particularly memorable solo to cap off ‘Where Once There Was An Ocean.’ As far as their wheelhouse is concerned, Spirit Adrift have absolutely knocked this one out of the park— truly, what else could you ask for?

None of us are looking forward to the day our favourite bands call it quits, but when it happens, we can only hope they go out in a high note: if you’re a Spirit Adrift fan, how could you possibly be disappointed in this fantastic finale? ‘Infinite Illumination’ is lean and mean, letting the emotions of its creator shine through in every moment without becoming self-indulgent or overly sentimental. Nate Garrett really nailed this one.