This is the fourth album by this Quebec band, but it was their previous 2021 album in particular ‘A Diabolical Thirst’ which seemed to grab the attention not just of myself but of a whole bunch of other people too and ended up with mentions aplenty on the end of year lists. Full blooded black metal with a deep, dark atmosphere but still that raw edge. So now we have ‘Songs Of Blood And Mire’.

‘Fevers And suffering’ kicks off with a no frills, punk tinged black metal riff. Straight to the point and driving before the outburst of feral black metal. The vocals are superb; all teeth and claws and snarling aggression. The drumming really gives it some nasty muscle and the guitars scrape and draw a lot of melody and heft but keep that visceral feel intact. It’s an excellent opener. Just throws the listener in and lets them sink or swim. And then we find ‘At Wine-Dark Midnight In Mouldering Halls’… It has that immediate, savage grace to the melody, something almost romantic but in the most dark and twisted sense. The riffing is sublime, each turn of the melody sinking fangs deep into me. There’s a little of that Sargeist riff style, but the feel of the song is all Spectral Wound; dark, disturbingly emotional. The shifts in tempo work beautifully here, adding the presence of a malevolent intelligence to the shadows created. And when it rages….. Just magnificent.

‘Aristocratic Suicidal Black Metal’ is perhaps one of those titles that reeks of the late eighties and only bands of utter commitment can pull off. Never doubt this band’s commitment. More direct perhaps but still they raise those supernatural melodic washes and pull you deeper into the darkness. ‘The Horn Marauding’ shows an affinity with slower paces towards the end, a pulsing majestic turn that indeed shows their mastery of subtle. ‘Less And Less Human, O Savage Spirit’ is about as vicious as the title sounds, with a bass heavy theme rising and falling throughout. ‘A Coin Upon The Tongue’ is a swirl of elemental horror that feels like a cloak of earlier Melechesh with a pounding Quebec heart beneath. ‘Twelve Moons In Hell’ closes, a relentless ride that closes the door on an intense bout of pure black metal.

Anything amiss? No, not a thing. You will have to be prepared for an album that hurtles along with little concern for your welfare. It is dark, determined, vicious and utterly fixated on the world it wants to create. I dare say that some may find it too fixated, too set upon its journey with little time for variation. It might be a fair comment, however I simply disagree. This album is crafted and created almost to perfection; it gives no quarter, offers no respite and closes the exit. The world it has summoned is delicious, decadent and diabolical and if it isn’t for you then perhaps be more wary of the doors you open next time.

Manipulative, malevolent, magnificence.

 (9/10 Gizmo)

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https://spectralwound.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-blood-and-mire