Live Review : Spectral Wound + Final Dose @ Gorilla, Manchester on August 6th 2026

Bloodstock may be taking part less than eighty miles away but metal still lives and breathes elsewhere for those who cannot attend. It’s a really encouraging turnout too as Gorilla is around three quarters full. Spectral Wound made a couple of appearances on our shores last year at Incineration and Damnation Festivals and playing shows of such stature has possibly helped in drawing a good crowd. They aren’t just playing to hardcore black metal fans either as there are extreme metal fans of all creeds, young and old, here tonight.

The stage is bathed in red light for the emergence of London’s Final Dose. They play raw and primitive black metal which is pretty simplistic. There is a punk edge to them which is mainly provided by the drummer who doesn’t appear to use double kick pedals. This makes it seem a bit messy when they play too fast.

Mid-paced, galloping hellfire is where they best showcase their strengths, and Bruno Fusco’s raw throated and anguished vocals help to conjure a suitably sulphurous atmosphere. Some of the tracks have a driving Motorhead feel and at these times they feel much more cohesive than the studio recordings.

The band are rather static and it feels like they are going through the motions for the early portion of their set. The band stare out at the crowd in a way that is meant to be menacing but just comes across as disinterested. The intensity does pick up during the second half but forty minutes feels too long and they probably would have benefited from cutting the set by ten minutes. They do get a good reaction from the crowd though.

There is an eerie intro before Canadian headliners Spectral Wound rip into the feral ‘Fevers And Suffering’. There’s lots of tremolo guitar picking played at a ferocious pace reminiscent of classic Darkthrone.

This isn’t relentless second wave black metal worship though. Illusory’s drumming is excellent, providing a driving beat with plenty of inventive fills which takes their sound way beyond pure icy blasting although he does have plenty of blastbeats in his arsenal too. The guitarists are basic foot on the monitor merchants but the pizazz comes from their fingertips as the melodic leads add Dissection or Windir qualities to the sound. The frontman Jonah is a magnetic presence who stalks the stage, headbangs and looks both menacing and cool as hell. His screams seem to come from beyond the grave and they help to add a rawness which acts as a counterbalance to any melody.

They are confident in their aesthetic and amusingly, a number of their song titles could describe their sound and presentation. ‘Aristocratic Suicidal Black Metal’, ‘Black Satanic Glamour’ and ‘Soul Destroying Black Debauchery’ (which is absent from the set tonight) are all apt descriptors.

Tracks like ‘Aristocratic Suicidal Black Metal’ and ‘Frigid And Spellbound’ have a dynamic, fist-pumping, galloping groove which is joyous and anthemic. There are small classic metal touches too. ‘Less And Less Human’, ‘O Savage Spirit’ starts off with a drumbeat and riff that could be classic Judas Priest before the double kick and bass transform it into a thunderous metallic blitz. ‘A Coin Upon The Tongue’ is a merciless frostbitten blast, breathless in its intensity, only broken by a brief Maiden-esque mid section.

A savage and dramatic ‘Twelve Moons In Hell’ brings the show to a close. An expectant crowd lingers for a few minutes, hoping for an encore but alas, it isn’t to be. An excellent showing nonetheless though.