Photo by Jasmine Garcia

If you have ever heard Stu Folsom speak about his craft, one thing becomes very evident quick - Folsom is a bit of a romantic. There's a magic he discovers in art - a spiritual connection that resonates in finding a translation. It's presumably  what seems to propel such a prolific creative pace. 

As the driving force at the cellular level of desert death, Old West occult collective SpiritWorld, Folsom's unique vision has thus far fruited two acclaimed albums in Pagan Rhythms and Deathwestern. In addition, Folsom completed his accompanying novel, Godlessness, which enveloped the entirety of the SpiritWorld universe into a haunting tale of Lovecraftian horror set to a backdrop of frontier desolation and desert dread.

All this within the lifespan of just over five years.  

For Folsom, the collision of styles is a function of earnest authenticity. Nurtured early with a healthy diet of classic country western, countered with the volume and disposition of hardcore, the budding songwriter and storyteller cultivated not only a well-versed ear, but an expertise in identifying that 'it' that makes good songs great. That intangible, unteachable talent  carried over as Folsom sought out his own identity - ultimately resulting in the kind of amalgam that could be misconstrued as schtick - if Folsom didn't keep it so real. 

Set to release the third installation in the SpiritWorld orbit, Helldorado arrives in March and marks a pivotal moment in the run of the passion project. Functioning as the completion of his overarching, acid western headtrip, the album bookends what Folsom began with Pagan Rhythms and further built with Deathwestern. More importantly, Helldorado seems to showcase Folsom as a songwriter in the truest sense of the word.

Though no less meticulous on album three, Folsom seems less methodical, opting to embrace the magic he has always found in music instead. Fully leaning into the Old West occult fever dream that is SpiritWorld, the songs on Helldorado remain a well-constructed amalgam of styles, only this time around, there are less items on the creative agenda. And while the previous works were never about checking off a box for Folsom, suffice to say that third time's the charm in the sense that end result was seemingly the most organic. 

“Abilene Grime” feels like a very deliberate way to introduce this next album in that it’s arguably the most obvious nod to your outlaw country and western influences. Given the reception of Pagan Rhythms and Deathwestern, was the thinking kinda like, “fuck it, let’s really go for it this time?”

Folsom - (laughs) I operate mostly in a state of, 'fuck it, let’s go for it!' so I think the main thing for me was, I am sitting on a bunch of great songs I have written that are in a cowpunk, alt-country vibe musically but lyrically would not fit into what I have cooking on Pagan Rhythms, DEATHWESTERN, Helldorado, Godlessness and the new book I’m writing.

So, for me it was letting go of my desire to put out those songs now, and pivot back to completing this horror western trilogy. Once I sort of settled into this, then the natural process of picking up a guitar and going where it leads happens. That being said, there is definitely more of that roots music stuff seeping into this album than the last two, which was purposeful. More so from the idea that I think DEATHWESTERN was really an exercise of going balls out and ultra aggressive and I captured that and feel like it was done really well and something that I am proud of.

The goal of that record was just ripping shit as hard as possible. With Helldorado, I did not have such a rigid gameplan and allowed myself a lot more space to just create things that were interesting to me. 

You spoke about dreaming of making records and you have referred to the “stench of being genuine” - Was this meld of western occult and blackened thrash something you felt could work even back when you were first envisioning what making your own records would look like? 

Folsom - I think from the standpoint of bringing together lots of influences and then letting them naturally form a unique piece, yes I probably have. I would be lying if I said I had all of this figured out from the jump. It is more of a linear path of discovery that has added up and added up until there is now this body of work that seems pretty prolific and glued together with lots of detailed continuity. One inspired discovery leads to another and another. For everything that seems to work well and seems effortless there is also a pile of really dumb ideas being left to rot. I think knowing the difference may be the black magic with SpiritWorld.

Given that Pagan Rhythms and Deathwestern were essentially companion pieces to your books Godlessness - was the genesis of Spiritworld always to have this giant story arc that revealed itself in portions with each release? 

Folsom - Sort of. For me SpiritWorld was going to be the name that I put everything out under but (and I don’t remember my exact train of thought now off the top of my head), but I ended up thinking it might be sort of confusing to write books under the name SpiritWorld and have to hire a lawyer to comb through a record contract that basically locks up SpiritWorld in “this universe and any known or unknown universe in perpetuity forever and ever”, so I made the decision to write under Stu Folsom.

As far as this current trilogy of material, that spans different mediums, yes. I am telling a story that is sometimes in fiction writing, heavy metal records, etcetera. I will also have projects under SpiritWorld that will NOT be set in this world. I have many interests and many things I want to do. Right now, since this is primarily what has been shared with the world, it probably seems like we are on the Amon Amarth path of a viking metal album every 2 years, and maybe that is the safer path. But, I would say in my heart SpiritWorld will end up being much closer to say Ween, The Flaming Lips, Post Malone, etcetera. Something that bounces around open range and cannot be fenced in.

Rather than working on music while grinding out on the road, Spiritworld took most of last year off to really focus on Helldorado. Do you feel like that kind of focus is needed for the kind of records you are trying to create? Do you feel like you compromise anything by not ironing out those wrinkles live?

Folsom - That question is a bit misleading. Yes, we didn’t tour last year but most of the record was written in 2023. I did make 3 trips or so to Pandaland but I spent most of last year just getting my house in order and taking care of personal things. My father passed away while we were on tour with Sepultura and my mom moved in with us. Then she had a pretty bad heart attack, almost died, and luckily the amazing nurses at Summerlin Hospital were on the ball and were able to CPR and shock paddle her back to the land of the living.

The last half of 2023 and most of 2024 was crazy. While I was out of town recording Helldorado, some little shit asses smashed in my back bedroom sliding glass door and stole a bunch of shit from our bathroom and bedroom. Luckily, the motion alarm went off when they got to my living room and they scurried off to their rat holes before they cleaned us completely out. So we had to replace the door and we installed security window screens and doors to prevent the next little shit asses from raiding us.

A huge windstorm scalped my roof and blew off half the damn shingles. Jen’s little sister had a liver transplant and she was up in SLC with her for months. Our cat of 15 years, Badger passed away from cancer. Yeah, anyways I’m rambling. I guess my point is, what may come across as a record that sounds like a guy ultra focused for a year is actually the sound of a guy that is just unbelievably happy to escape an unrelenting barrage of bullshit happening in life for a few minutes. Very glad I had this record to work on and escape into, and most importantly I’m glad for every long day we’ve spent busting ass, grinding and working hard, has paid off enough that we can be in the position in life to take care of our family members when shit is hitting the fan. 

The features on this record are diverse. Sgah’gahsowáh of Blackbraid, Zach Blair of Rise Against and Frederic Leclercq of Kreator - from black metal to thrash to arena-sized punk. How did those come together and did you already have the personnel in mind as the music came along? 

Folsom - I love Blackbraid. Sgah’gahsowáh hit me up and our lead guitar player Randy ripped a solo on the last Blackbraid record. I was not going to have vocals on the end of "Oblivion" but then it felt like it was missing something and Sgah’gahsowáh was kind enough to lay down some vocals. It’s one of my favorite parts of the record. We went and saw Rise Against and the Menzingers a few years ago with our legendary A&R man Mike Gitter and connected with Zach. We played a bunch of shows with Kreator and Fred was kind enough to rip a solo for us on "Stigmata Scars". I did not have the personnel in mind. It all just came together and worked out!

Given your early balanced education of punk, hardcore and outlaw country, do you feel like people are missing the common threads among the styles? Heavy honky tonk isn’t a thing but Merle and Hank were cut from the same cloth as Lemmy and Danzig right? 

Folsom - I don’t think so. Maybe young kids that are hyper absorbed into one or two niche underground scenes feel that way. I think most people can see how all these different music scenes and eras inform each other. It takes time for people to absorb stuff. Is there much difference between any group of songwriters in any time period, making up albums and touring to play them for people? Maybe the sonics are different but I think spiritually it all strikes the same magic chord inside of people when it connects with them. I don’t think any genre you love feels any different when it finds you at the right time and it is your favorite shit than another genre. I have felt the magic in everything from gospel music, to grind, to ska and everything in between. 

The aesthetic and the visual aspect of the Spiritworld universe seems equally important as the soundtrack. Visually, was there anything from the world of film that you took cues from in building Helldorado? 

Folsom - Yeah for sure. I can’t think of anything specifically that I could point to, but I love film and I am sure the influence has manifested all over my work. Definitely, in the mood and pacing of the album sequencing, I think you can probably feel the influence of some of my favorite directors. work.

As the primary songwriter and architect of Spiritworld has it gotten easier or more difficult in doing all of the heavy lifting creatively? As the band’s universe expands, do you still prefer going it alone?

Folsom - Making art is fun. I love it. It is not a drag at all. It lifts me up when I am down and gives me something to share with the people I love. It is a true gift.

Songwriter, musician, author… how likely is it that you add film director to your resume given how conducive Spiritworld is to cinema?

Folsom - 100%

Where does Helldorado rank for your in terms of professional accomplishments? What defines its success for you personally?

Folsom -  I haven’t thought about that.The idea that this is a professional accomplishment seems a little phony to me. I still dump tens of thousands of my money into SpiritWorld projects. I would say it is the accomplishment of a degenerate gambler, rollin the dice on a riff that makes him feel a little better than he did before he wrote it. I do it because it is a compulsion to create meaningful art. At this point there is not a financial consideration outside of paying my band mates on tour and maybe one day making art and not spending a shitload of money on to do it. 

Success for me is making things that I love in a way that doesn’t give me an ick and hopefully doing it in a way that stands up to my favorite bands and artists that have inspired me over the years. At the heart of this effort is remembering when I was feeling low and lost growing up and finding a new band or a new record or new author that could wash away anything happening in my life for a while. The act of making art is like that for me and I know that if I do it right, somebody else somewhere that needs it will find it one day and for thirty minutes they will escape too. 

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Helldorado, the third album from SpiritWorld arrives March 21st via Century Media Records. Order the release - HERE