The quest for the transcendent is writ large throughout rock lore and legend, with the desire for connection beyond this earthly plane indivisible from the electric charge of heavy amplification. This is a mission fully understood by two skilled purveyors of their craft, Spell and Pøltergeist, who join forces here on a seven-inch mission, utilising the psychic forces of sound and fury to forge a portal to other dimensions.
Whilst these two outfits share Canadian origins, they take singular and eccentric paths on their journey into the ether — Spell with a version of occult legends The Devil’s Blood’s A Waxing Moon Over Babylon that weaves its incantatory invocation through their own savagely graceful metallic filigree; and Pøltergeist with the propulsive and crepuscular Fall To Ruin — a crypt-kicking deathrock anthem that charts a pathway from the catacombs to the stars.
For Spell, this seven-inch marks something of a devotional practice, as the band’s brothers Cam Mesmer and Al Lester have been rabid fans of The Devil’s Blood since their inception. The duo even went as far in their earlier years as to take a pilgrimage across the Atlantic to Helvete Club in Oberhausen, Germany, the better to see the band perform one of their first ceremonial rituals, after which they slept in a local graveyard. Their take on a song from the Dutch conjurers’ debut 7-inch is therefore as replete with all the spiritual charge one could demand from a band whose fierce love for classic heavy metal is only matched by their gnostic and distinctive approach; blissful guitar harmonies and haunting melody intertwine here for an evocative and appropriately nocturnal serenade.
Pøltergeist meanwhile set out with a track of their own writing, and one that’s rich with its own uniquely twilit magic. The brainchild of Calgary’s Kalen Baker, the band takes a distinctly DIY and punk rock approach to stadium-sized songcraft, weaving their distinctive web with inspiration from the gothic rock and 4AD indie of the ‘80s as well as the deathless glory of the NWOBHM. The result is Fall To Ruin, a track which marks out the band's dark marriage of the bleakly catchy and the perversely uplifting. Featuring Spell’s Al Lester on drums, this is only the first taste of a musical elixir sure to provoke rapture all across the darker quarters of the musical spectrum.
This dangerous meeting between two possessors of mercurial powers marks a communion powered by mighty serendipity; starlit protagonists driven by similar intent yet casting defiantly singular sorcery. Dare you step across the rubicon?
