Photo by Jasmine Garcia
From the grim genius of Stu Folsom, outlaw thrash amalgam SpiritWorld have announced their third full length album, Helldorado. The much anticipated follow-up to the acclaimed 2022 release of Deathwestern is set to arrive March 21st via Century media Records.The third entry in the SpiritWorld series, Helldorado further adds to the dismal, desert landscape - a universe brought to life with celebrated releases dating back to the band's introduction, Pagan Rhythms.
Last month, SpiritWorld unleashed a 2-minute onslaught as first strike, merging the Old West and the occult with "Western Stars & The Apocalypse". To officially begin the band's next chapter, SpiritWorld have shared the next single with "Abilene Grime" - a grizzly track that achieves the ambitious task of asserting a bit of honky tonk into heavy music.
Coupled with the release of the single and the news of the pending full length, "Abilene Grime" also follows the SpiritWorld MO with a cinematic visual to best underscore the desert frontier aesthetic that is core to the band.
"When I wrote the demo for 'Abilene Grime,' it felt like the album really found its identity and materialized out of the ether," says SW architect, Stu Folsom. "It twangs, it bangs and it has a sick video, directed by our dear friend Todd Hailstone, which we filmed in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. Enjoy, everybody!"
As for the album, Helldorado marks an important transition for the project. While the previous SW releases, along with Folsom's book Godlessness all worked in tandem to create a consistent narrative of harsh, western frontier heft - album three affords Folsom the creative freedom to expand on his influences and embrace his Western pedigree.
Along with guest features from Sgah’gahsowáh of Blackbraid, Zach Blair of Rise Against and Frederic Leclercq of thrash legends Kreator, Folsom manages to expand the conventional boundaries of metal to include uncharted creative terrain.
Folsom explained, "Maybe it is a risk to incorporate things that will be pretty far out there for the casual punk or metalhead, but having the opportunity to make a record comes with a responsibility to me. I dreamed of making records for so long. Way before I could play guitar or do any of the practical things you need to be able to do. I take it very seriously to follow my gut and let my style hang out on these records. I only want to do things in life that I am all in on. If that makes me an outcast or even more fringe than your average underground music act then that's okay. The stench of being genuine is beautiful."
Folsom further added how the contrasting dynamics of Helldorado were not only deliberate, but ultimately, what makes SpiritWorld, SpiritWorld. "This record, more so than the last two, I think you hear way more fearlessness and confidence in the choices. Things that were showing up as interludes have manifested into fully fleshed out pieces. At its heart, Helldorado is a punishing, unrelenting masterclass in crossover and hardcore thrash. But in a scene where every riff has been played before and every great band has thirty contemporary acolytes mining their catalog and doing worship albums, there is something in the strangeness of Helldorado that makes it endearing."
Helldorado, the third full length album from SpiritWorld arrives March 21st via Century Media Records. Order the release - HERE
