Through its furious blizzard of blasting drums, howling vocals and cascading tremolos Spectral Wound’s music is captivating, especially, for those who like a chilling style of brooding melancholy. Regardless of the Scandinavian inspiration, ‘Songs of Blood and Mire’ reaches high peaks from the start of the album. The opening track ‘Fevers and Suffering’ captivates the listener with the freezing atmosphere of the cold riffing and brings an aggressive tempo. The drums are played in a fast tempo style.

Every track on the album is full of excessive, moaning shrieks. With riffs sometimes sounding groovy and punky, it is no surprise that Spectral Wound delivers plenty of up-the-tempo sections with furious blast beats. Even when the fierce blizzard of blast beats is unleashed, you can hear the subtle layers of tremolos flowing perfectly through the cold icy atmosphere on ‘At Wine-Dark Midnight in Mouldering Halls’, which in my opinion is among the best tracks of the album.

As mentioned, Spectral Wound weaves a brilliant balance between raw and melodic black metal. From the opening songs the band wastes no time, thanks to the use of extra dark melodies which add a feeling of darkness. Without a doubt, the fourth album delivers high-quality riffs, something about the guitar arrangements that infuse a deep and haunting aura in these tracks.

The songwriting is superb and shows a great talent for mimicking the second-wave style of black metal with the modern style of Finnish black metal. Spectral Wound mastered its style without straying from its raw trait. The tremolos enhance such appeal throughout the forty-four minutes.

Speaking of Finnish black metal bands like Horna and Sargeist, the third track ‘Aristocratic Suicidal Black Metal’ delivers some of these badass old-school punk riffs that inject plenty of vitality in the tempo of the song. This clearly defines how Spectral Wound mixes diversity, melodies and fast thundering tempos. The energetic riffing stirs with the beating drums and double bass. The Canadian quintet keeps its ferocity intact.

Despite the range of melodies which is catchy and engaging, the riffs are memorable there is even more approach to creating different tempos on tracks like “The Horn Marauding” which is another great song.

The drums shift straightforwardly with riffs having a raw tonality. The music is volatile and slower and mid-tempos come and go all the time. The album is a step up from its predecessor and there are no fillers or weak moments. ‘Less and Less Human, O Savage Spirit’ delivers a sheer compactness of groovier/punky black metal attitude.

The fast pace of the drums shows the energetic approach. However, there is always plenty of space for the melodies to shine. The tremolos and rhythm are infused with menacing shrieks, the fast sections are very catchy and brilliantly executed on ‘A Coin Upon the Tongue’. The mid-paced tempo reveals the patterns of the guitars as they match the blistering speed of the drums. These melodies are deeply engraved in the song structure.

The closing track ‘Twelve Moons in Hell’ keeps the old spirit of black metal alive and begins with an avalanche of blast beats. While the overall atmosphere of this track is dark, the guitars deliver pleasingly catchy melodies and emphasize melancholy. The guitar work takes the listener for an emotional ride through cold icy landscapes covered with snow. While neither of these seven songs is complex, the music overall encompasses gloomy guitar melodies.

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