Watchers of the coming mist take flight as the winds of madness pressure their wings into instinctive haunt, a flapping in the dark embodied within the still-bizarre melancholic intimacy of Vancouver, British Columbia-based mesmeric heavy rock quartet SPELL. For their fifth full-length album the gothic theatric heavy metal-trompe of the troupe grants its order additional membership, a wealth of guitars and synthesizers in eerie motion amidst deeper refinement. Increasingly connective yet iterative in some sense ‘Wretched Heart‘ doesn’t redefine the band’s voice so much as it extends momentum into increasingly personalized bravado.

Spell were initially a product of the whole “New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal” machine pumping up its bilge in the late 2000’s under another name (Stryker) but by 2013 they’d struck out with their better known name and an oaken heavy rock informed style. Shades of psychedelia, progressive rock and now post-punk/gothic rock’ve informed their progression beyond that 70’s-cum-80’s starting point resulting in several celebrated releases, my favorite being number three (‘Opulent Decay‘, 2020) an evolutionary spike which yet informs waves made since. My review of their follow up (‘Tragic Magic‘, 2022) characterized it as “a bit of an accessible rock record. A feat of springing prog-rhythmic knack, post-punk/shoegaze warmth, and their merger of 80’s hitmaker hard rock interest […]” and those categorical markers likewise apply to ‘Wretched Heart‘. They’d secured an identity and compounded it at that point but I’d felt their songcraft had greater potential beyond four-minute heavy rock catharses.

‘Wretched Heart‘ is presented as apocrypha from the heavy metal devout, an off-script bending of aesthetic strictures for the sake of a more personal interpretation where the stance is something like “in solidarity, something different“. This might appear as defensive prompt as the album opens to barreling punters like “Dark Inertia”, signature Spell by most any account, but you’ll understand the preemptive stance when hitting key pieces like “Iron Teeth” where synthesizers, 80’s Priest riff progressions and backing vocal vaunt rally behind lines like “you’re not afraid of fate but you’re afraid of love” on the gallop through. I’m not saying this is their ‘Turbo Lover‘ era just yet but it ain’t exactly a post-’96 Sentenced album either in terms of finding a gothic rock-tinged heavy metal pulse. The mood is tragically uptempo, melodramatic sans any crumpling psyche, delivered with its own gaunt deadpan theatre through largely same-structured pieces.

The many-armed capabilities of founding membership Cam Mesmer and Al Lester is yet the voice and foundation upheld within Spell‘s realm as their handling of choice bass guitar tones, vintage-sauced synthesizer and vocal harmonia yield forlorn signature within light experimentation. That said the pivot of this album’s general production values and approach includes an emphasis on fattened guitar tones, a choice which is reinforced by the inclusion of two additional guitarists onboarded per ‘Tragic Magic‘ session keyboardist Gabriel Tenebrae and lead guitarist Jeff Black (Glyph, Gatekeeper). This lends some strength to the first impression as heavier than the dreamier flush of the previous album. Beyond the aforementioned opener and a series of catchier single-readied selections (“Lilac”, “Take My Life” esp.) “Oubliette” in particular stands out as harder-edged within a growing sea of dramatic dread, no less expressive than its surroundings but well-stated in the bleakness it intends to convey.

Apart from the brilliancy offered via “Iron Teeth” Side B is the lesser half of ‘Wretched Heart‘ in terms of impact but the good arrives abreast of the bland. The core melody of “Exquisite Corpse” carrying a sort of melancholia-soused version of yacht rock doesn’t inspire but the galloping NWOBHM-era exchanges of closer/title track “Wretched Heart” and the “Oubliette” complimentary tone of standout “Savage Scourge” offer notable peaks. Taking on deeper catharsis and different vocal range help to secure the latter piece’s standing here, perhaps the best song to illustrate how much Spell‘s craft has evolved in the last few years, offering increased narrative float and less frequently cycled hooks; Much of the full listen is self-similar for effect or per foundational identity though I’d found this album less mired in its own head voice than before, offering more standalone pieces.

Spell‘s saturnine heavy rock spiritus remains an infectious agent on album number five though this time around the progression of their work halts to some degree, leaving the impact of ‘Wretched Heart‘ moreso in the realm of refined iteration rather than innovation. Heavier on some pieces, more indebted to gothic rock and metal on others the nine songs included here are yet cut from an exquisite burial cloth which shows little wear from the years left adrape. I’m not sure they’ve toppled the surreal proggy highs of ‘Opulent Decay‘ for my own taste here but rather smartly honed in on approachable, easier-digested hard rock station sure to inspire fealty and longevity amongst those following the thread. A moderately high recommendation.

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