Tonight’s bill is a red hot one, and the opportunity to see Spectral Wound in an intimate venue like Gorilla is not to be missed.
Final Dose
Final Dose are a late replacement for Noctule, who were originally the support act, but had to pull out. The venue is nice and busy for them as they take to the stage, and they get a very favourable reception.
Bathed in a Hellish light, Final Dose fill the stage as if born to it under an unholy star. The songs are short and violent, but still leave room for vicious character and a surprising amount of worldbuilding.
Final Dose tear up the stage with their blackened punk assault. Or punky black metal assault, depending on your perspective. Either way, the band’s formula is an effective one, and backed by a forceful performance, they get a good response from those in attendance. There’s even some pit action once people get warned up.
Final Dose play a blistering set, and should be a hit when they return to Manchester again in November for this year’s Damnation Festival.
Spectral Wound
Spectral Wound are no strangers to hype, but rather unusually they have the skills to live up to it. All of which is to say, it’s busy in Gorilla and an air of expectation can be felt.
The set starts calmly, before the inevitable storm. When it arrives, in the form of a face-ripping Fevers & Suffering, it’s a fierce one. Spectral Wound offer up a feast of classic black metal, and tonight’s crowd wolf it down. The band dominate the stage with a somewhat larger than life presence and a potent sound that accentuates the songs’ violent side. The singer’s voice in particular is sharp and piercing. The entire band are animated and give it their all, but the singer has the most freedom of movement to really go at it.
Waves of blackened energy surge off the stage. The crowd feed on it, giving it back in a cycle of repeated reinforcement. Basically, the show gets more intense and enjoyable as it goes on. Unleashing a barrage of serrated savagery shot through with icy melody and dark atmosphere, Spectral Wound are on fire.
Highlights are many, but include the aforementioned Fevers & Suffering, the brutally rendered Black Satanic Glamour, and a masterful rendition of The Horn Marauding. It’s hard to argue against Frigid and Spellbound‘s hooks either. Hell, the entire set was great.
They play past the advertised curfew, but nobody seems to be complaining. The final song – Twelve Moons in Hell – is absolutely merciless.
Tonight was lethally good fun, and both bands delivered a very strong and satisfying show. Spectral Wound’s charged performance is unlikely to be forgotten any time soon.
Wonderbox Metal 