Spiritworld

SpiritWorld is the project of Stu Folsom, formed in Las Vegas in 2017 and built around a collision of thrash metal riffing and metallic hardcore attack. Folsom writes and directs the project, with the recorded and touring lineups shifting around him.

The music leans on fast, chugging guitar figures, shouted vocals and short, blunt song structures, but the framing sets it apart: the artwork, song titles and lyrics draw on Western and outlaw mythology, horror and the American desert rather than the usual metal iconography. That approach has drawn attention from both hardcore and metal audiences, and the band's records have been released through Century Media.