ALBUM REVIEW: Helldorado – SpiritWorld

March 20, 2025 Tim Bolitho-Jones

SPIRITWORLD’s breakthrough album Deathwestern was one of 2022’s underdog triumphs. A brutish combination of 90s groove metal and hardcore with a memorable cowboy theme, it was a hugely enjoyable release and received rave reviews, including one from this very website. The Las Vegas-based five-piece spent the following years riding the trail, hitting up every festival and support slot they could and now they’ve returned; coated in dust and in desperate need of a whiskey, with Helldorado.

And hoo-whee Skeeter, them boys gone done it a second time. Helldorado proves that Deathwestern was no fluke and that these no-good varmints are in it for the long haul, or at least until the law catches up with ‘em. It doubles down on the western theme and is a rump shaking, pit-igniting hoe down (stop it or you’re fired – Editor), where the distinctive twang of bluegrass sits side-by-side with power chord breakdowns and doesn’t sound out of place. This gimmick would have been only too easy to get wrong, but SPIRITWORLD are more PALE RIDER than PAINT YOUR WAGON, and somehow manage to not be cringeworthy.

The theme is most evident on the more laidback tracks. Bird Song Of Death comes across like an amped up version of THE WHO’s Baba O’Riley and conjures mental images of dusty plains, cattle drives and good times in saloon bars, while Prayer Lips is a winsome ballad written by tired working men, huddled around a campfire. They’re dreaming of home, and they’ve only got another six hundred miles to go before they see it. But there’s a beauty in the wilderness, and they’ll yearn for it once they’re back.

However, don’t go thinking this is a romantic slice of train-hopping Americana, SPIRITWORLD are a metal band first and foremost and Helldorado goes heavy. Waiting On The Reaper is a fist-clenching cocktail of gang chants, driving rhythms and big riffs with the meanest damn chorus this side a’ the Shenandoah (I’m warning you! – Editor), while Oblivion is a throwback to that brief period in the nineties where VISION OF DISORDER were kings in waiting. Helldorado earns its moniker, it’s meaner than a coyote what just got bitten by a rattlesnake.

It’s also comparatively short and rockets past in what feels like no time at all, even with instrumental interludes like Cleansing to spread things out. Apparently, it’s also based on a book written by singer Stu Folsom, but it works perfectly well as an on-point adrenaline rush. Helldorado is an atmospheric, headbanging gem and perfect for anyone who likes their metal a little bit on the genre-pushing side; it’s rare to hear honky tonk guitars on a Century Media release but it works surprisingly well. If you were raised on Chaos AD and Burn My Eyes and know who Arch Stanton was, say howdy to your new favourite band.

Rating: 8/10