I often discover bands one or two years after they've been around. It used to be I'd discover them only after they went inactive, so I guess I'm improving. I'm pleased therefore to find RAVENSPELL on the advent of their actual debut, "Obsidian King" which was released on March 12, 2026 via Fighter Records. Hurray for me. Also, hurray for them. And if you are in any way into NWOBHM, hurray for you because you're going to want to check this album out.

RAVENSPELL hails from Quebec City, Canada. They specialize in combo of Speed and Traditional Heavy Metal. They started to drop singles in 2025, heralding the coming of their first full length album like the Silver Surfer heralds Galactacus, only instead of destroying worlds, RAVENSPELL destroys eardrums. I should note here that though certainly heavy, RAVNESPELL isn't full on discord and wreckage. There's plenty of melody in the riffage as well as harmony in the vocals. Again, some serious NWOBHM vibes going on here.

"Obsidian King" doesn't really have a unifying theme, I mean other than speed metal fury. You get the sense from the cover that it might be a bow to The King in Yellow, but track-by-track it really doesn't veer in that direction. Mostly it's epic stories about warriors and gods and raising hell—the literal hell, not the figurative one.

There's a bit of tongue in cheek going on as well with this album which I really like. They seem more interested in having a rocking good time than providing backdrop music to your next satanic ritual. I mean, the only spoken word on the whole album is lifted from Army of Darkness which gives you sense of their level of seriousness when it comes to the occult—e.g. not very.   

The album opens up with "God the Watcher," a furious assault that doesn't let up until the final track, "Attilia" which has about 90 second intro featuring that classic acoustic guitar style which was so popular in the early 80's. After those 90 seconds, though, it's back to the heavy with a doom-laden anthem about the King of the Huns. Standout tracks are "God the Watcher" as the perfect salvo to the album; "Raise Hell" which features a MÖTÖRHEAD-esque drum intro; and "Warriors of 9 to 5" which I think is meant to refer to "grinding" than an actual workday.  

To be honest, with a name like RAVENSPELL I thought this was going to be a Symphonic Metal band. Even the title "Obsidian King" suggests ethereal high fantasy. They ended up being more in the CIRITH UNGOL tradition, which is even better.