Much like some of the greats they’re influenced by, you know exactly what to expect when you hit the play button on a Black Spiders album. Album four has them distilling that formula to truly get to their essence more than any other. Can’t Die, Won’t Die has Sheffield’s finest at their most defiant on their latest opus with the title acting as a statement of intent for the band’s story but also a taste of what lies within.
There’s no big epics to be found here so if you’re a fan of ditties like “Crooked Black Wings”, “Blood of the Kings” or “Sleepy Demon”, go listen to those songs. Instead, this is a tight and lean album by a tight and lean band. While they’ve always played around with various sub-genres and sounds, here, they’re a bit more focused and measured, focusing on their hard rock core and any deviations from it are from the more traditional up-tempo end of the spectrum. So don’t expect any doom-heavy, sludgy numbers that have appeared elsewhere in their discography.
If you like what we do, consider joining us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
Indeed, lead single “Hot Wheels” is Black Spiders in their purest form – a short, sharp blast of unadulterated no-frills hard rock. And if you want that with their trademark tongue-in-cheek humour a la “KISS Tried to Kill Me”, there’s “Alright Alright Alright” which, as you can guess, is all about Matthew McConaughey. Who happens to be arm-wrestling the Devil. For what it’s worth, my money’s on McConaughey. It’s a fist-pumping hard-charging rocker which runs at a breakneck pace, full of squealing guitars and a filthy, snarling bassline.
Meanwhile, you’ve got “Driving My Rooster” and “Destroyer” also making up the first few numbers on the album and it’s a relentless start to the album. The former is a fast and furious track which races to the end, built on a solid bed of blistering riffs intertwining each other. The latter chugs along confidently, the darker tone containing hints of Black Sabbath in its melody and bass for a more ominous track on top of Pete Spiby’s wailing vocals. Then there’s “Another Weekend” which has a very “Immigrant Song” gallop to it in its bass and drums.
Elsewhere, there’s the punk-infused “A Rat is a Rat” which is “Driving My Rooster” but dialled up to the proverbial eleven. It barks and bites in equal measures, a brutal force to keep the pace up at the end of the album before its Angus Young-inspired guitar solo comes in for the final blow. “It is What it Is” and closer “End of the World” are the closest songs which qualify as breathers. With bluesier tones and slower tempos on offer, even those don’t come close to the more sludgy numbers the band have in their repertoire.
Where the self-titled marks the glorious return of Black Spiders riding once more into battle, this album is perhaps even more welcome. Because it’s of even higher quality and is the closest they’ve ever come to an album as good as their debut some dozen years ago. There’s not a bad song to be found here and the extra focus on making an album as direct as possible has led to an “all killer, no filler” addition to their catalogue, trite as that phrase may be. They’re a band who know exactly what they are and like those who came before them, they’re not about to change the formula. And when great unadulterated rock and roll like this exists, you don’t need to mess with it.
Don’t fancy Patreon? Buy us a one-off beverage!
Can’t Die, Won’t Die is out now
Black Spiders: facebook | twitter | instagram | spotify | youtube | patreon | bigcartel
