If you didn’t get the memo when SpiritWorld dropped the absolutely killer Pagan Rhythmsin 2020 or when Decibel tapped them for the Decibel Magazine Tour 2022, get the memo now: SpiritWorld are a need-to-know band. The crossover death/thrash/hardcore unit have dubbed their style “death western” and they’ve unleashed their latest single, “Moonlit Torture,” which features Integrity singer Dwid Hellion.
Integrity’s influence on SpiritWorld has always been super obvious—in addition to playing a metal/hardcore hybrid, the Las Vegas-based band have long flirted with religious imagery in their art and lyrics. It was only natural for Hellion and SpiritWorld to collab at some point, as frontman Stu Folsom said via the band’s Facebook page:
“Crazy story. Many moons ago, my older brother Nick and my twin brother Beez and I went to a record store to buy Rage Against the Machine’s Evil Empire the day it came out. The record store had these listening stations set up with headphones and a set of selector buttons to switch between CDs. I saw the Pushead cover artwork to Integrity’s Humanity is the Devil, hit play, heard ‘Vocal Test’ for the first time and bought that motherfucker immediately! Hands down the most aggressive, insane shit I had ever heard. ????
“At the time I had hand me down cassette copies of 7 Seconds’ The Crew, Black Flag, Misfits, etc, etc. But I had yet to realize that Hardcore Punk was its own thing.
“Turns out that was the first album, the gateway drug if you will, from a real hardcore band I ever bought with my own money. I’m sitting in the Czech Republic as I’m typing this, my band is playing Brutal Assault today with At The Gates, Clutch, etc. And we got Dwid singing on our new song…”
In an official press release, Hellion added:
“Keep your eye on SpiritWorld because the apocalypse is about to be fully unleashed! I feel honored to have been invited up to testify on their pulverizing new sermon, ‘Moonlit Torture‘. Unleash the fiend within!”
If the pitch “If Integrity, but heavier” does anything for you, press play now. There are lots of chances to see SpiritWorld live too, an activity which comes highly recommended.
08/09 Josefov, CZE – Brutal Assault
08/10 Birmingham, UK – The Mill (‘Pulse Of The Maggots Festival‘)
08/11 London, UK – The Black Heart
08/13 Derbyshire, UK – Bloodstock Open Air
08/21 Las Vegas, NV – Psycho Las Vegas
With Creeping Death, 200 Stab Wounds, Ingrown & Tribal Gaze:
08/23 Oakland, CA – Starline Social Club
08/25 Vancouver, BC – Fox Cabaret
08/26 Seattle, WA – Substation
08/27 Portland, OR – Mano Occulta
08/29 Boise, ID – The Shredder
With Creeping Death, 200 Stab Wounds, Plague Years & Tribal Gaze:
08/30 Salt Lake City, UT – The Beehive
08/31 Denver, CO – HQ
09/02 Chicago, IL – Cobra Lounge
09/03 Detroit, MI – The Sanctuary
09/04 Toronto, ON – The Garrison (feat. Vomit Forth)
With Creeping Death, 200 Stab Wounds, Tribal Gaze & Vomit Forth:
09/05 Montreal, QC – Bar le Ritz
09/06 Buffalo, NY – Mohawk Place
09/07 Cincinnati, OH – Legends
09/09 Columbus, OH – Ace Of Cups
09/10 Syracuse, NY – The Lost Horizon
09/11 New York City, NY – St. Vitus
