Spectral Wound
A Diabolic Thirst

Annihilating.

If I had to use an adjective to describe this "A Diabolic Thirst," it would undoubtedly be this. The third album from the Canadian band Spectral Wound, a young musical reality emerging from the blackest and most nihilistic underground, is an authentic mine ready to explode in the face of any unsuspecting victim. I know well that words like these might seem bombastic and clichéd, especially when talking about black metal, a genre for which adjectives like "devastating," "malevolent," or "bone-crushing" are often overused (frequently even for albums that deserve half the attention they receive). However, those who follow the recent evolutions of the extreme scene know well that one can encounter significant surprises, especially when digging deeper and not settling for the usual names everyone is talking about. Canada, then, has proven over time to be a decidedly fertile ground for the development of Black Metal, as evidenced by highly respected musical realities such as Sorcier des Glaces, Forteresse, and Gris, to name a few examples.

Well, Spectral Wound joins this list of bands that have gradually captured the attention of critics and audiences, and it must be said that they have little to envy compared to the well-known Scandinavian classics. After an interesting but still unpolished debut like "Terra Nullius" (2015) and a better-constructed second album like "Infernal Decadence" (2018), the Montreal group hits the mark with this third album, "A Diabolic Thirst," released in April 2021 and which has received praise and appreciation almost everywhere from the start.

The credit certainly goes to exceptionally inspired and mature songwriting, as well as precise, furious, and sharp execution. The sound of the guitars is icy and razor-sharp, while the drums effortlessly transition from whirlwind blast-beats (some of the most violent I've heard in recent times, I must admit) to suffocating and sudden slowdowns. The development of the songs is fluid; there are no forced passages nor endlessly repeated riffs to stretch the compositions (as often happens in albums of this genre).

A decidedly old school work, this "A Diabolic Thirst." It's noticeable right from the black and white cover. By listening to it, you realize that Spectral Wound would rather distance themselves from modern black metal trends in favor of a more retro sound, somewhat comparable to the work of bands associated with the Finnish scene like Horna and Sargeist ("Impérial saison noire" and "Frigid and Spellbound" are examples). Then, when they decide to slow down the pace, as happens in the nearly 10-minute long "Mausoleal Drift," thoughts turn to the more doomy and rhythmic Darkthrone, a sign that the Canadians manage to merge various suggestions and influences into a single coherent sound flow without weighing down the overall listening experience.

The concluding "Fair Lucifer, Sad Relic" and "Diabolical Immanence" close this album with dignity and maintain a good general quality, even if they don't add anything new to what has been said so far.

In conclusion, it can be said that, while not inventing anything new, "A Diabolic Thirst" gives us 40 minutes of black metal like we haven't heard in a long time. This proves that when you have good ideas and compositional vitality on your side, it takes little to create an album that lasts over time, without getting caught up in absurd experimentation that amounts to nothing.

The old school has struck again, and the Black Flame burns more vividly than ever.