SpiritWorld: Welcome to Deathwestern
If John Wayne had formed a band with members of METALLICA and AGNOSTIC FRONT whilst moonlighting at Helvete in Oslo, Deathwestern would be the album they delivered. Whilst John Wayne didn’t give up his gunslinging ways for a life in heavy metal, SPIRITWORLD scratch the itch for anyone chomping at the bit for True Grit to be soundtracked by black metal, crossover thrash, and hardcore.
Their debut Pagan Rhythms was re-released in 2021, whilst its accompanying book of short stories set in the same world, Godlessness, is re-releasing this year. With Deathwestern picking up where Pagan Rhythms left off, is everything going to plan for the concept band?
“The vision is the same, although the execution is somewhat altered,” admits band visionary Stu Folsom back home after months touring through Europe. “I had a plan to self-release three albums originally, a collection of short stories and then a novel. With the way that things have picked up, we are now releasing the second metal album rather than the punk/Americana album.”
Hang on, the band who’ve broken through heavy metal’s underground barriers via a signature blend of black metal and hardcore are going Americana? With Deathwestern arriving now, are SPIRITWORLD already a step ahead? “That will be the next album now, and I am still working on the novel but am very intrigued by some opportunities to take this world into a graphic novel, and may be pursuing that.”
With all of his fingers in all of the pies, Folsom may be gunning for heavy metal’s busiest bee. Just like the buzz around his band, he’s been flying high on creative momentum, which is why there’s so much coming out of camp SPIRITWORLD, including Deathwestern. “I kept writing as I was finishing Pagan Rhythms and Godlessness. To be honest, it is sometimes easier to create new things and have that immediate dopamine blast that comes with it, than to untangle the knots and drag projects across the finish line. You could say that while I was procrastinating on my to-do list to finish these projects, I was hiding out and writing harder songs.”
Unlike a lot of songwriters though, there was no eureka moment, no floodgates opening. Because Stu had purposely sat down to write Pagan Rhythms follow-up, he simply had to write until the songs had passed his own quality control test. “I didn’t have that moment. I didn’t know it would be good enough to share with people until I had the first three or four songs done,” Stu says, adding “After I had the demos to Relic Of Damnation and Moonlit Torture floating around, I knew I had a monster on my hands.”
Like Dr Frankenstein and his monster, bringing Deathwestern to life was a tall mountain for SPIRITWORLD to climb. Taking a lesson from the fab four, Stu found himself opting for a little help from some friends. Behind the boards of Deathwestern, as both producer and mixer, is Sam Pura. Best known for his work with pop-punk and emo royalty, like THE STORY SO FAR and BASEMENT, he’s a far cry from the crossover chaos Stu and co. fancy causing on a Friday night – so how did he impact this wild west fantasies’ direction?
“It is hard to get people to understand the goals that I have with my art,” reflects Stu. “Sam is one of my best friends and shares the same ‘no compromise’ approach to making records that I do. He helped me make these albums in a million different ways. Sonically, I think his ability to see an entire song and help guide all of the parts to come together is really fantastic. He is a bit of a genius when it comes to audio, so it is always fun to relinquish control of my baby to someone who has the exact opposite taste in music that I have and see what excites him on the songs.”
The exact opposite taste in music is an understatement. Whereas Stu seasons the SPIRITWORLD meat with AGNOSTIC FRONT and CRO-MAGS herbs and spices, Sam bought his love for pop princesses CARLY RAE JEPSEN and KATY PERRY to the flavour profile. It’s not as weird as you think though, apparently these two worlds can collide. “Sam and I geek out on music production all the time. We both look at all of our favourite records and figure out who engineered and produced them and every single trick they used. So the work Max Martin did with KATY PERRY is something that I have studied.
Don’t worry though, dear reader, for Deathwestern isn’t pop-goes-extreme-metal. There’s no selling out for SPIRITWORLD, but there is a pop sensibility that shines through the production undeniably; an accessibility that can’t harm anyone looking to climb above the noise. “I don’t go too far into making sure everything rhymes and that the hook and pre-chorus are set up multiple times in different ways to make a pop hit, but I definitely am inspired by lots of music production that has little to do with extreme metal.”
Throwing the polish of pop production into the abyss of extreme metal might sound like walking a tightrope between skyscrapers. But Stu’s influences trump any other card on the table, shining through Deathwestern without compromise. “I love crossover. Bands like AGNOSTIC FRONT, LEEWAY, CRO-MAGS that took the thrash of METALLICA and fused it with the intensity of hardcore punk have always hit home for me. I love the POWER TRIP dudes. I set out to make the heavy side of this band an amalgamation of thrash, 90s death metal and the hardcore groove of bands like 100 DEMONS, MERAUDER and STRIFE.”
POWER TRIP’s influence isn’t just heard throughout the record either, it’s bonded in the concept’s blood by late-frontman Riley Gale’s involvement in the accompanying short stories collection Godlessness. “I think friends that make art always influence each other ya know. He used to come out and see my old band play, we always supported POWER TRIP and the circle just keeps going. POWER TRIP are one of the best bands to come out and do the thing ever. Period. So I am 100% proud and influenced by them.”
Of course, no matter your influences, whether it’s POWER TRIP’s new school of thrash or KATY PERRY’s pop masterclass; heavy metal has more than its fair share of gatekeepers. Does that worry Stu when fleshing out SPIRITWORLD’s sound? “I think metal is much more welcoming than a lot of scenes that I have been involved in. The rockabilly and punk scenes to me have always been much more elitist than the metal scene. I don’t really care too much about genre. To me, it is all about having a good record, first and foremost. I am fully aware and intentional in making sure that everything that I do is communicated in a way that I am proud of and think is cool. A lot of bands act like they are promoted in a way that was defined by their label or management, but that has not been my experience. I have laid out exactly what I want to tell people about my art from the get go.”
Whilst sometimes it’s cryptic, other times SPIRITWORLD does what it says on the tin. Take their second album Deathwestern as a prime example; it’s a statement that shocks the gatekeepers into submission and sets out their stall simultaneously. “I think it is kind of a mission statement. I like the challenge of blending death metal and western films, so I thought it was a cool, catchy way to combine the two. Our label asked what music genre and when I told them I think Deathwestern will be the title of the next album, they kind of ran with that.”
And if the suits at Century Media have a cunning plan to create a whole new genre, Stu doesn’t necessarily plan on spearheading a scene. “I am very isolated in this project to an extent, we haven’t even played a real show in our hometown yet. So I am part of a tradition of Las Vegas DIY hardcore punk musicians but as far as a new scene, I do not think so; I feel like we will probably always be the weird artsy band on most tours.”
Being that weird artsy band isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it’s what sets SPIRITWORLD and the world they’re building apart from anything else in the scene. Described as “Blood Meridian meets Return Of The Living Dead with riffs,” Deathwestern picks up where Pagan Rhythms left off. But the reality of living life through a pandemic over the past few years has informed the way it’s characters have grown, and how their stories are told.
“Writing so much as the world has gone insane the last few years has probably seeped into the work in strange ways. I really like writing fiction and sometimes the feelings and world views of characters are things I know about a character going in and sometimes they story just fleshes it out on its own. Having an outlet to express these types of ideas has been really rewarding and interesting to spend time with for sure.”
But away from the perils of the pandemic, influences were few and far between. In fact, Stu found himself floating further and further away from heavy music, like the lifeboats from the Titanic, before being brought back to extreme music’s shores. “I have been so busy the last few years, I have been a little burned out on heavy music, so I think I have listened to way more eclectic stuff that inspires but doesn’t necessarily show up on the record. I really love 200 STAB WOUNDS, watching them every night on tour made me go back and listen to Slave To The Scalpel a lot; they will take over the death metal world next year.”
SPIRITWORLD, like 200 STAB WOUNDS and POWER TRIP before them, are bands built for world domination. But with all the hype in the world surrounding them, the pressure can quickly pile on to keep things ticking above expectations. But for Stu, it just doesn’t hit that way. “I don’t make music or art for my career. I have a really great day job, so the pressure that most bands feel I think is always coupled with the decision to give up their jobs and chase a dream. For me, I can afford to make records with or without anyone. So the pressure is more to make something that will be remembered, that I am truly proud of,” he says.
“Whereas someone that needs to have their record fit into the current scene and they acquiesce to using a hip producer or let an A&R man guide them, that is completely different. My challenge is to stay true to my vision and find a way to elevate the things that I personally feel were lacking. Most of those will be scarcely noticed by anyone and probably won’t make a difference in the chances of us being playlisted. Quite the opposite I think. That is why the video for Deathwestern was flagged for adult content, which effectively ‘ruined’ the video and streaming numbers. If I prioritise those things, then I would have felt differently about the video. Which I think is absolutely stunning and perfect.”
Having put so much of himself into Deathwestern, and subsequently SPIRITWORLD as a whole, you’d be forgiven for assuming the album has greatly impacted Stu. But as the John Wayne of death-western music stakes his claim for the throne, it’s clear the album itself needs to tumble-weed its way out of his town for a while. “You’ll have to ask me that one in a few years. I am so sick of the album, I still can’t listen to it and enjoy it. I only hear the mistakes and things that I wish I would have added or done differently. I always say I want to make my favourite records but the truth is after I try so hard to deliver on that, I usually find that I can’t stand the songs any more. I am always more excited on the next batch of songs or projects.”
With an Americana-punk tinged album in the works, alongside graphic novels and books, there’s no glass ceiling for SPIRITWORLD, so you better keep watching.
Deathwestern is out now via Century Media Records.
Like SPIRITWORLD on Facebook.