Some metal bands are, by their nature, divisive. This divisiveness can take many forms (a gross name, misanthropic actions, controversial statements) and may be intentional (as a way of garnering attention) or just part of who the band are. Spider God, a UK-based black metal outfit, fall into the latter category. They exploded on the scene in 2022 with Black Renditions, which took classic pop tracks, blackened ‘em up, and released them on an unsuspecting metal scene. It was audacious, it was confrontational, it was antithetical to what many consider one of the sacred tenets of black metal: namely that this is not saccharine music for the masses in general, and teenage girls in particular. Our own SpongeFren fell in love immediately. If you know him, you’ll know that nothing tickles his fancy quite like bold genre-splicing, so, unsurprisingly, he gushed like a fanboi. The follow-up, Fly in the Trap, was controversial for different reasons. Maintaining the debut’s hyper-melodic tone, this original material was based on a true crime, namely the mysterious death of a young woman found submerged in a hotel roof tank. The combination of overly clean production, weird tone, and the question of exploitation of real-life tragedy left me (and others) with mixed feelings. Now we have the third album. Will the divisiveness continue?
I’ve often felt that small changes can make a big difference, especially in music. The Killing Room, ostensibly, is very similar to Fly in the Trap, even down to its eerie and unsettling cover. Same hyper (and I mean hyper) melodicism, same “true crime” theme (we’ll get to that), same aesthetic… The concept this time is that ex-band member “Faustus” has gone missing under mysterious circumstances after becoming embroiled in a deadly online game known as “Possess the Devil.” The album features his lyrics before he disappeared, promising a mystery for the listener to solve. It is, in keeping with the trend of 2023, Part 1 of 2. Now, at this stage, you’re either intrigued or rolling your eyes hard. If you couldn’t handle the previous offerings, there’s nothing here that will bring you round. Similarly, if you loved the older material, this will continue to appeal. The interesting group are the unconvinced. The good news is that there are just enough tinkers and changes to perhaps persuade you.
The Killing Room by Spider God
The first major tweak is the band continuing to evolve away from black metal, and embracing either a more “black ‘n’ roll” aesthetic (“s.p.i.d.e.r.g.o.d.,” “The Black Web”) or going full pop on many of the tracks. If you removed the vocals from “Silicon Witch,” or “The Cloud of Unknowing,” both would fit nicely into any indie band’s repertoire. Crucially, Spider God hang onto the component that drew attention to them in the first place: their ability to marry insanely catchy hooks with harsh metal elements. This reaches its apotheosis on album centerpiece, and most impressive Spider God song to date, the 10-minute-long “The Killing Room.” It’s compelling, interesting, baffling, and confusing. In other words, Spider God is in musical form.
The second tweak is that moving away from real-life tragedy to artificial mystery removes the “ick” exploitation factor that pervaded the last album, making The Killing Room much easier to enjoy. It also eliminates some of the tonal mismatch of Fly in the Trap (nerdy mystery is fun, which suits the music). I still find it odd that Spider God want us to embrace an almost total pop aesthetic and a creepy and potentially violent story, but this is their schtick, and they cling to it. The overly clean production of its predecessor has been grimed up, which suits the material hugely, although I would love them to open it up a bit more and let the material breathe. The band has also wisely decided to push the vocals back and beef up the bass. All these small tweaks may be minor individually, but the improvement is notable.
Both The Killing Room and Spider God have grown on me enormously in the 2 weeks I’ve been listening to them. The band likes metal. It also likes pop. It takes a while to wrap your head around this combo, but it certainly is unique, especially when the band is as committed as Spider God. In addition, the band has tinkered and adjusted itself in response to the criticisms of Fly in the Trap. This will not appeal to everyone, and there will be the usual gatekeeping nonsense from some quarters. But if you’re willing to open your mind, you’ll find much reward in The Killing Room.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Repose Records
Website: spider-god.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/spidergodband/
Releases Worldwide: December 25th, 2023
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