SHINY OBJECTS: Spiter - 'Bathe The Babe In Bats' Blood'
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SPITER
’Bathe The Babe In Bats’ Blood’
Hells Headbangers Records
Look at that cover art, what the hell is that? Who gave the okay for that? Okay, okay, I probably would too. It’s one of those that’s so bad and so ridiculous that it’s actually good, right? I mean, given the characteristics of this band, you probably wouldn’t want, like, a beautifully evocative Mariusz Lewandowski (R.I.P., by the way) landscape or something like that. Also nothing too serious-kvlt, as then the tongue-in-cheek nature of this release would be a little lost on those not too familiar with Spiter. And even though the provider of blood in the scene is very different, I find it reminds me a little of ‘Death Penalty’, and that’s a good thing in any book of good taste. And hey, they’re trying - it’s a marked improvement on their debut EP’s artwork, right?
Anyway, enough about the artwork, as it has surely done its job by now, which was certainly to grab attention and get people to talk about it for a while, and also obviously to make hacks such as myself have an easier time on reviews by allowing us to say stuff like “and the music totally reflects that vibe!”. Well, it does. This is really an easy album to talk about, because it’s that straightforward. It’s black metal, yes, with that punked up, devil-may-care attitude and sound that has always been a part of some of the coolest tunes in the genre from its very inception. A lot of people have failed to understand this, but Venom is punk, Darkthrone is punk, Impaled Nazarene is punk, Ildjarn is punk, just to mention a few of the most important examples, all of them artists who got the raw connection that exists between those two big genres, and found a way to stand in the frontier between them and balance it out in their own way. Fortunately, bands like Midnight, Devil Master, Okkultokrati or Raspberry Bulbs, again to mention but a few of the most important, have been talented enough to carry this torch to the newer generations.
Why this rant? Well, because naturally Spiter also belong in that list now. There’s even a direct connection, as bassist Bat is none other than Darkest Prince from Devil Master, or more “normally”, also Francis Kano from Cape Of Bats. The campy/gothy thing those bands have got going on is more present in terms of imagery and lyrics here than musically, as Spiter is much more straightforward, guns blazing, headbanging kind of stuff, but they’re good references. Also, Richard Spider from Shitfucker is on guitar and vocals, so how’s that for a good pairing? And yeah, it does descend into a bit of silliness sometimes, like on the first half of ‘Full Satanic Power’ (or how they call it “True Vampyric Metal Punk”), but fortunately they keep it simple and didn’t go for horror movie samples or Munsters organs or anything a bit too stupid like that. Nah, they’d rather have good galloping riffage and catchy choruses, and that’s just fine. Imagine demo-era Midnight with less of a rock’n’roll thing going on and you’d be close. And songs like ‘Suicidal Blood Fucker’ or ‘Tortured Soul’ are just undeniable.
It’s not deep, but we don’t always need shit to be transcendent and redefine our souls or whatever. All in all, this is a great record to throw horns and chug a beer to, while disrespecting the “no mosh no core no fun” rule, because fuck rules, and having a bit of good old dirty fun with it.
[7]
Out now on Hells Headbangers Records. Find Spiter on Bandcamp, Facebook and Instagram.