If you believe Hardcore has little to offer outside of the fairly narrow musical alleyway it usually occupies then today might just be the perfect time to take a listen to SpiritWorld. Combining Country Music and bedazzled outfits with Punk aggression and Thrash Metal riffs, the Las Vegas act are a sight to behold and they return with a vengeance on third full-length album Helldorado (Century Media Records).
As gimmicks go, it’s a good one for sure but there’s much more to SpiritWorld than leftfield aesthetic choices. With their songs also rooted in horror fiction (much of which frontman Stu Folsom writes himself), the band has evolved quickly since their inception in 2017, this latest release arguably their finest to date.
Opening with an organ and a jaunty honky-tonk shuffle, “Abilene Grime” quickly transforms itself into snarling groove riff Slayer would have killed for before the pace quickens for the heads-down charge of “No Vacancy in Heaven” and the trickier-than-it-sounds riff of “Western Stars & The Apocalypse.”
The mood changes again with the country-picked swing of “Bird Song of Death,” a more lightweight cut backed with gang vocals and hand clapping while “Prayer Lips” takes whispered crooning and melancholic, cleanly picked strumming and adds some quiet, thoughtful saxophone by RJ DeMarco. “Waiting on the Reaper” is classic SpiritWorld; a vengeful mid-paced Slayer riff heightened by signature dive-bombs.
“Oblivion” finds axemen Matt Schrum and Randy Moore joined by Rise Against/ former GWAR guitarist Zach Blair, and Folsom accompanied by BlackBraid main man Sgah’gahsowáh who produces a predictably mighty vocal contribution. The rhythm section of bassist Nick Brundy and drummer Preston Harper get in on the act seriously here too, the pair delivering a thunderous bridge to a section driven by classic fast-paced hardcore energy.
After the brief instrumental of “Cleansing”, we get “Stigmata Scars” featuring a guest guitar solo from Frederic Leclercq of Kreator, and closer ‘Annihilism’, an addictively upbeat country track driven by dark, revenge-fueled lyrics that closes with more saxophone and leaves a longer lasting impression than you’d initially think.
From its weighty production to the balancing act of different styles and moods, Helldorado is a perfect blend of country music and metal groove. Living proof, if ever any were needed, that you really haven’t heard all hardcore has to offer after all.
Buy the album here:
https://spiritworld.lnk.to/Helldorado-AlbumPR
9 / 10
GARY ALCOCK
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