Underground Sounds: Spectral Wound – Infernal Decadence

Label: Vendetta Records
Band: Spectral Wound
Origin: Canada

Meet the second album of Spectral Wound, which just oozes darkness with a cover that captures a bit of the gloom of dungeon synth it seems. The well-defined aesthetic is definitely a quality for this Canadian group of black metallers on their second full length, titled ‘Infernal Decadence’.

Featuring members of bands like Profane Order and To The Cliffs, it appears that there is plenty of experience in the ranks of this atmospheric company. Little info though… What is clear, is that the group sticks to aesthetic classics in the black metal. Vague imagery, gothic fonts and black and white covers, but that’s not where the conservative nature of the music ends.

‘Woods from Which the Spirits Once so Loudly Howled’ is the sonic equivalent of an ice cold shower that suddenly opens up above you. Pitch-black, earthy and heavy the blasting black metal. The voice is snappy and given space in the mix, which is excellent. No rest, no remorse, just furious black metal that batters you like hail as a scintillating guitar line creates the minor semblance of a melody.

By the time you reach ‘Feral Gates of Flesh’, you are probably gasping for air in this continuous onslaught of tremolo guitar repetition and rattling blast beats. Yet, the melody takes on more interesting shapes and big movements that even bring in some rocking parts on ‘La nuit froide de l’oubli’. The best way to describe their sound, to me, is absolutist. Their overpowering gestures are all pervasive and grand, like those of a dark tyrant. The screeches are horrendously good, which makes this an album to cherish in all its unholy fervor.

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