Vancouver-based metal outfit Spell are poised to deliver their most ambitious record yet with Wretched Heart, arriving May 1 via Bad Omen Records.
The first taste of the LP comes with the single "Lilac," a bittersweet, addictive track that juxtaposes stadium-sized grandeur with wistful longing. Featuring a guest guitar solo from Tom Draper – known for his work with Spirit Adrift, Carcass, and Angel Witch – "Lilac" weaves harmony-laden metal riffs with synth-driven gothic chills.
The titular flower acts as a metaphor for the fleeting nature of love and life, though vocalist and bassist Cam Mesmer clarifies: "There are many things in life that disappear so quickly and will be gone immediately if we get preoccupied and forget to enjoy them and care for them. This song isn't really about a flower."
The video for "Lilac" was directed by James Barry and Sean Edwards for Ramble Films. Wretched Heart follows Spell's 2022 LP Tragic Magic, an album celebrated for embracing the mystique and darkness inherent in hard rock and metal.
Mesmer elaborates on the band's philosophy: "Heavy metal can often be a regressive genre, almost by definition. But it doesn't have to be! I think that getting set in your ways is death. I consider Spell to be a heavy metal band, and therefore whatever music we make will therefore be heavy metal, rather than the other way around, where you try to make your band fit into whatever narrow niche you think heavy metal is supposed to sound like."
Pre-orders for Wretched Heart are available here.
