Swedish / American Death / Doomsters SKELETAL SPECTRE formed back in 2008. Two full-lengths, "Tomb Coven" (released in 2009) and "Occult Spawned Premonitions" (2011) revealed the true potential of the band. And now, SKELETAL SPECTRE are back once more, in their most menacing and disturbing form, setting their mind into calling the spirits from beyond the grave with their nine voodoo inspired tracks. Their third album, "Voodoo Dawn" encompasses the best of the early 90s death metal scene, while their groove and heavy riffing brings them closer to the doom/death subgenre.

The title track that introduces the album is one of the highlights in this release. The unreal groove combines perfectly with the deathly riffing to unleash a true Death / Doom opus in all its glory. The beginning of the actual track has something of the rotten sound that SUNLIGHT STUDIO was able to conjure in albums of famous acts such as ENTOMBED and DISMEMBER. The riffs that SKELETAL SPECTRE are able to unleash have a definite influence from the early Swedish Death Metal scene, managing to retain both a heavy sound but with a fair bit of melody in there. The disturbingly great "Shallow Grave" reveals the old-school influences of SKELETAL SPECTRE in all their glory.

Then there are instances when the actual guitars are dripping venom, as is the case with "Altar of Damballah" and in a much more schizoid manner in the background of the much more energetic and aggressive "Bone Dust", managing to lift the track to a whole different level while the track also includes one of the thrashy, face melting solos that the band incorporates to their sound. Of course ferocity is another vital part of the band's music, for example in "Black Augury Hallow", the beginning of which can only described as epic, seriously it is as if the whole band is dancing on your chest.

Of course SKELETAL SPECTRE are also relying on their doomier, heavier side. "Serpent Moon" has a much thicker sound, with the guitars once again retaining their poisonous quality on the lead parts, it becomes much darker and menacing when the chorus kicks in with a towering groove to it. It is also noticeable that in some cases they call forth the spirit of the doom/death scene of the 90s, with "Haunted Gallows" having a rhythmic part that is reminiscent to very early CATHEDRAL works (just the very first riffs of the song).

And if all that was not enough, SKELETAL SPECTRE somehow are capable of gathering influences from the thrash scene and implementing them quite nicely to their sound. This can be as subtle as a few fast solos, or in some cases diabolically extended in tracks such as "She-Wolf of Devil's River", with the use of excellent deep vocals and a completely mental part about two and a half minutes into the song. They even go as far as to create a Thrash Metal fucking anthem. Closing track of the album, "The Flip-Side of Satan" is quite the surprise of this release, turning away from the doom/death character and into an electrifying Thrash vibe, including clean vocals. Especially the breakdown part of the track is fucking unreal.

"Voodoo Dawn" finds SKELETAL SPECTRE at their absolute best moment so far. The music seems much more inspired, the production really stepped up its game, the lyrical themes are darker than ever, the vocals are offering variety while the band is able to constantly move between Doom / Death, old-school Death Metal and their Thrash extensions without losing any of their edge. So dive into "Voodoo Dawn" without any remorse.