Artist: Spiculum Iratus
Country: USA
Label: Into Extinction
Formats: Demo Tape
Year: 2025
Although they have existed since 2005, Spiculum Iratus is a new band to me. Perhaps that in part is caused by the fact that this Black Metal band from College City, California, hasn’t released anything since their 2009 album ‘Summa Anti-Theologica’, and before that only released a split and a demo. Anyway, it doesn’t really matter, because 20 years after its original release I now find myself acquainted with the band and their very first release, the demo ‘A Procession of Flagellants’ that has recently been re-released by Into Extinction.
What Spiculum Iratus presented on their very first release is Black Metal with a variation of influences, of which the back and forth style riffs along with the propelling drum pace are the common denominators. Looking at this track by track, ‘Confusion of Tongues‘ starts with chord strokes, then fast drums and riffs in the vein of Arckanum and early Burzum. With a loud bass and distortion and reverb on the vocals, the sound has a buzzing undertone. The subsequent ‘Black Crucifixion Wounds’ takes things to a more unsettling and skincrawling character, with a high pitch of the guitar notes and even more obvious distortion on the vocals. Besides Arckanum, a hint of French bands like Mutiilation, Vlad Tepes, Seigneur Voland and Peste Noire is present and it also certainly reminds me of Leviathan. Not only in the vocal effects that resemble that of Wrest, but also the riffs have a distant flair of the masterpiece ‘The Tenth Sublevel of Suicide’. With the following ‘Sky Burial Requiem’ the tone turns slightly more open and epic, once again with interesting back and forth riffs driving the song. Again, the connection to Arckanum, for instance on ‘Fran Marder’ seems obvious, a feeling that persists in the subsequent ‘Hanged, Drawn, and Quartered’. The title track then is a more twisted and gnarly track, initially balancing between eerie strumming and restless drums and later twisting into and oppressive atmosphere a more militant rhythms. ‘Perdition’ has a sense of melancholy that is not unlike the bands from Finland. Similarly, I can’t help but shake off a distant unnerving tone of Warloghe either in the closing track ‘The Seventh Day of Wrath’.
‘A Procession of Flagellants’ is a more than pleasant introduction to Spiculum Iratus. With the power of hindsight at our disposal, it displays a band still looking for their style. In comparison, the full-length ‘Summa Anti-Theologica’ turned out into a more mature and uniform record, strongly influenced by early Arckanum and Burzum. However, what we hear on this demo is already very interesting. The blend of Arckanum, Burzum and Leviathan with a distant ring of French Black Metal is filled with excellent riffs and an enthralling drive and mood, and while at first I wondered why a 2005 Demo would be re-released, it makes total sense to me now. Because it’s an excellent demo!
