Through a Speaker Rumbly: Spectral Voice’s “Necrotic Doom”

“We are obsessed with death metal!”
For this month’s Speaker Rumbly, I tracked down one-half of Colorado’s new and incredibly putrescent death/doom outfit, Spectral Voice, for some good ol’ Q&A. Spectral Voice’s demo, Necrotic Doom, is currently available, but is likely not long for this world. I’ve been in contact with the specter herein known as E.W. since first hearing about Spectral Voice at the beginning of last summer, and although E.W. is reliable and always gets back to me eventually, getting him to actually stay put long enough to answer some questions was no easy task. Alas, such is the plight of the admiring music journalist who goes chasing after his subjects like some obsessive lepidopterist as his subjects flutter about, here and there, alighting sporadically according to seemingly nothing but their own whims.

Now that you’re initiated with the monstrous clamor of Spectral Voice, you’ll be delighted to learn that, should you happen to live on the left coast of the United States, you can witness Spectral Voice on their first major tour. Sempiternal Dusk will provide support for many of the dates to ensure that after every night’s show not a single thing is left standing. As for those of us who hail from the forsaken rest of the world, we’ll have to satisfy ourselves by repeatedly jamming the demo and staring at the extremely sick tour poster.

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Without further ado, here’s the interview. Thanks to E.W. for taking the time to answer my questions.

First of all, you play drums and guitars in Spectral Voice, right? Can you explain, then, who all is on the demo and what they’re doing?

On the demo it is just the two of us; I play drums, guitar, and do vocals. P.R. plays guitar, bass and synth.

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What other bands are you currently involved in? What about the other member(s) of SV? There’s a Blood Incantation bleed-over happening, isn’t there? How many members will the band have for the tour? Will you be pulling dudes from other bands to help you out with this?

We have a very stable live line up:  P.R. – Guitar; M.K. – Guitar;  J.B. – Bass; C.H. – Vocals; E.W. – Drums.

I also play in GRAVETORN (death metal) and ROSKOPP (grindcore), as well as a few more sporadic bands. P.R. also plays in BLOOD INCANTATION (death metal), UNMANIFEST (black metal) and numerous experimental projects. Live guitarist M.K. also plays in BLOOD INCANTATION, as well as STILLBORN FAWN (black metal). Both P.R. and I play in ABYSMAL DIMENSIONS (funeral doom) with I.F. (of Blood Incantation), so you can see the connection is very strong. There is not much of a death metal scene in our area, so we tend to stick together.

What prompted the formation of Spectral Voice? Which spirits specifically were you channeling when writing and recording this demo?

We had been jamming for a while, just the two of us. After almost two years with no stable lineup, we just decided to go forward with the project ourselves. We are obsessed with death metal! In particular, the early Finnish bands like Rippikoulu, Sentenced, Abhorrence, Thergothon, Demigod, Demilich, as well as diSEMBOWELMENT, Symphony of Grief, Mythic, Eternal Darkness, Rottrevore and tons more have influenced us in one way or another.

The demo was recorded in a barn in the mountains in August 2014; we did some additional tracking later at home. It was very primitive from start to finish. We sent it to Dan Lowndes to be mixed and mastered, and he did a great job. He made it sound the best that it possibly could. TOTAL SUPPORT!

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You mentioned some troubles with getting the tour together, so obviously you’re dedicated to what you’re doing. Can you talk a little about why SV and death metal in general are so important to you?

Any tour has booking issues, but in the end it will be a good tour. We’re pumped to get out there. We get to play with some great bands like Sempiternal Dusk, Ascended Dead, Cauterized, Ghoulgotha, Hell and Predatory Light. As far as why we play, death metal is very powerful music when executed properly. The energy, atmosphere, riffs and aesthetic are all intoxicating. We have all been playing in bands for years, music has always been the most important aspect in our lives. We’ve made friends all over playing this music, and being able to put something out that lasts is important to us.  For me, that’s what makes the underground so awesome; you get to tour and see your friends all across the globe. It’s an alternative to an average or mundane life.

What can the hungry and eager masses expect next from Spectral Voice?

We have a split 7-inch with BLOOD INCANTATION coming very soon. Both bands have already recorded. That will be released by Bleak Environment and Woodsmoke. A split with CHTHE’ILIST is in the works as well, but won’t be out until after their full-length is released later this year. That split will be released by Parasitic Records. Besides these, we are focusing on our full-length. Big news soon!

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What are the most proper listening conditions for jamming Necrotic Doom? Should the listener be deep in a cave with their Walkman, or sitting on their couch with a beer and a bowl?

Everyone has their own ritual for how best to enjoy music. I think the songs speak for themselves. As long as you are listening to DEATH METAL in a sincere way, that’s fine with us.

STAY DEATH.