Biography

South of Heaven, West of Hell Set in singer and multi-instrumentalist Stu Folsom’s apocalyptic, vision of the American West, SpiritWorld is metal at its most rustic and blood drenched. Think Slayer and Pantera getting into a bar fight while gunslingers battle demonic entities amidst tomahawk like riffs. SpiritWorld emerged in 2017 as a musical outlet for Folsom’s love of punk, outlaw country and metal, taking a decidedly outlaw roots punk bent. Yet, it was with the full-metal direction of the initially self-released Pagan Rhythms, (re-released in 2021 through SpiritWorld's new label home, Century Media) that won the band international acclaim. Daniel Carter, BBC 1 DJ and curator of The Rock Show with Daniel P. Carter, as well as the likes of Exodus/Slayer guitarist Gary Holt and former Sepultura/current Soulfly leader Max Cavalera sang the album’s praises on their social media, discovering the band on word-of-mouth alone. Folsom and his gang debuted their live show at Decibel magazine’s Los Angeles Metal and Beer Festival in December 2021, and immediately followed it up with a run in the States with Obituary, Municipal Waste, Gatecreeper and Enforced. In 2022 SpiritWorld’s dusty trail of riffs and murder ballads continued to Seattle’s Northwest Terror Fest, the UK’s Bloodstock Open Air, Czech’s Brutal Assault and Psycho Las Vegas ripping apart stages and saloons at every turn. Unrepentant and unforgiven is putting it mildly.