Spiritworld - "Deathwestern"

 This is not what I was expecting going into this album. When it kicks in there is more of a thrashing metallic hard core feel than what I thought be melding with this more western themed mood originally painted. The riffs hit you with gut punch and the vocals are command with purpose, so it works for me. "Relic of Damnation" proves that the Slayer influence on the opening track was not by chance, it is something that drives the second song as well. The hyper aggression of the hard core running in the veins of this focuses the intent, more than if this was just another retro thrash revival. 

The drummer is totally out of their mind they have to play to keep up with this kind of thing. The blend of the two styles is cool in that it balances out the hard-core side of the band by keeping it from leaning too far in the punk direction where the groove might feel rushed and stuff, and it does let things get too metal and pull-out flash and guitar solos at every turn. The most important thing is how fucking heavy it is while still being very song focused which is a rarity in this day and age. At first "Ulcer " feels hard core then they flip the accent on the chorus. The western elements teased at the beginning have not resurfaced midway into the album, but I almost did not think about it cause these riffs are so fucking mean. I dig their sue of samples, gives it a more 90s feel. They even touch on break downs but do them in a more metal manner.

There is a slight return to the melodic western sounds of earlier going into "the Heretic Butcher". The thrash is dialed up a little higher on this one. "Moonlight Torture" is the first song where the momentum ebbs and it feels more like a formula they are working off of. Even their formula is better than most. The minute and a half song after this has a better riff. "Lujuria Satanica" works off a similar aggression. The same can also be said for the last song as well, they come at you once again full speed and head on. The album does not run out of gas but the last three songs while effective might not hit me as hard since it's not the caboose that kills you when a train hits you.  I will give this a 9.5, once of the stronger albums of it's kind.