SPIRITWORLD Unveil 'Death Western' Video For "The Bringer Of Light"
October 7, 2021, 3 years ago
The American frontier: Where lost highways stretch into darkness and undisturbed deserts speak a language as ominous as it is otherworldly. This is the tableau of SpiritWorld. Self-described as 'Death Western', Spiritworld is the aural vision of Stu Folsom, a Las Vegas native who has taken the intensity of that desert heat and given it voice on the band’s debut, Pagan Rhythms, for their new label home, Century Media.
Today, the band has shared another offering from the LP, in the form of a new music video for "The Bringer Of Light", which you can watch below.
Speaking about the new video, Folsom comments: "The film for 'The Bringer Of Light' has been a long time in the making. The director, Todd Hailstone, and I met in high school. He roadied on my first band's first tour and we lived together at the infamous Hammer Lane junkyard squat when we were young, dirt poor and wild as fuck. It was incredible to reconnect artistically after all these years and hand the reins over to someone that I have spent hours punishing with my plans for the fiction and film sides of the SpiritWorld project."
Stu adds, "I asked Todd to come up with a treatment that would introduce the world to the characters of [my book] Godlessness and Pagan Rhythms, on a budget that should barely cover another tired 'band in warehouse headbanging' video, and he was able to completely nail the John Ford meets 70's horror vibe anyway!!!! I am so thankful to all of the talented actors and crew that helped create this video, it turned out super cool and I can't wait for people to check it out!"
Conceived entirely by Folsom and produced by Sam Pura (The Story So Far, Self Defense Family), songs like "Comancheria" or the blast-beat propelled "Unholy Passages", courtesy of drummer Thomas Pridgen (The Mars Volta/Trash Talk) who plays on half the album, with ex-Apiary skinsman Adam Elliot playing on the other.
“It’s about trying to write killer songs and craft a classic record,” says Stu, whose love for the likes of George Jones or the legendary LA punk band X runs as deep as his metallic roots. “With ‘Pagan Rhythms’, I set out to distill my love of thrash, old school death metal, and hardcore into something new that would hit like a tomahawk right in the face. When I first started telling people about this idea, I had to merge Western imagery, horror fiction and heavy metal into an all-out sonic assault, it seemed ridiculous, but I truly believe that if you make great records people are a lot more willing to embrace your weirdness and come along for the ride."
The debut album, Pagan Rhythms, will be re-released on November 5 via Century Media Records and is now available (physically) for the first time outside of North America.
The album is available to stream on your platform of choice and is available in the following formats for pre-order:
- Ltd. 180g black LP + Art Print (with alternative cover artwork) - this format is only available for the 1st pressing.
- Ltd. Edition apple red LP + Art Print (with alternative cover artwork) - this format is only available for the 1st pressing. Expected to ship Spring 2022.
- Ltd. CD Digipak
- Digital Album
Tracklisting:
"Pagan Rhythms"
"The Bringer of Light"
"Unholy Passages"
"Night Terrors"
"The Demon Storm"
"Armageddon Honkytonk & Saloon"
"Godless"
"Comancheria"
"Ritual Human Sacrifice"
"Comancheria" video:
SpiritWorld is:
Stu Folsom - Vocals
Matt Schrum - Guitar
Randy Moore - Guitar
Justin Fornof - Bass
Nick Brundy - Noise
Preston Harper - Drums
Pagan Rhythms features additional musicians:
Thomas Pridgen - Drums
Adam Elliot - Drums
Sam Pura - Guitar/Bass/Vocals
Ben Verhoek - Back Up Vocals
Reif Barlow - Back Up Vocals
(Photo - Sean Jorg)