Written By Caine Blackthorn
Spell Wretched Heart album Release Date
Vancouver’s hypnotic heavy metal collective Spell will return on May 1 with their new full-length album, Wretched Heart, arriving via Bad Omen Records. Alongside the announcement, the band has released the first taste of the record – the haunting new single and video, “Lilac.”
The announcement arrives as underground heavy metal continues to embrace darker, more atmospheric sounds in 2026.
Positioned somewhere between gothic drama and classic heavy metal mysticism, Wretched Heart continues Spell’s evolution toward a more cinematic and emotionally charged sound.
Where 2022’s Tragic Magic embraced the darker mystique of hard rock and heavy metal tradition, the new record pushes further into atmosphere, pairing steel-edged riffs with melancholy melody and hypnotic textures.
Frontman Cam Mesmer describes the project as an extension of the band’s core philosophy:
“Music is magic, and Spell is a spell. Fundamentally, it is a forum to make our dreams come true.”
New Single “Lilac” Introduces Spell’s Next Era
The newly released track “Lilac” captures that vision perfectly. Equal parts wistful and grandiose, the song balances harmony-driven metal with gothic synth undercurrents, building toward a guest guitar solo from former Spirit Adrift, Carcass, and Angel Witch guitarist Tom Draper.
Lyrically, the song uses the lilac flower as a metaphor for fleeting beauty and the fragile nature of love and memory – themes Mesmer says extend beyond the literal imagery.
“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,” he explains. “This song isn’t really about a flower.”
The accompanying video, directed by James Barry and Sean Edwards of Ramble Films, visually mirrors the song’s dreamlike atmosphere, leaning into Spell’s signature blend of romance and shadow.
Described as both cathartic and paradoxical, Wretched Heart finds the band forging anthems that balance theatrical heaviness with deeply human emotion – metal rooted as much in feeling as in force.
Wretched Heart Release Date and Lineup
Wretched Heart arrives May 1 via Bad Omen Records.
Pre-order/save ‘Wretched Heart‘ at this location.
Watch the video for “Lilac” below.
Track listing:
01.) Dark Inertia
02.) Lilac (stream VIDEO)
03.) Take My Life
04.) Unquiet Graces
05.) Oubliette
06.) Iron Teeth
07.) Exquisite Corpse
08.) Savage Scourge
09.) In Duress
10.) Wretched Heart
Spell is:
Cam Mesmer (vocals, bass, rhythm guitar synthesizers)
Al Lester (vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, drums)
Jeff Black (lead guitar, backing vocals
Gabriel Tenebrae, (lead guitar, synthesizers).
Stream a music video for “Lilac“, directed by James Barry and Sean Edwards for Ramble Films, at this location.
Follow Spell Online
