Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Just when all hope seemed lost, when the chips weren’t just down, they had been fried, assaulted by fat and consumed with all the gourmet finery available to those in a busy city centre on a Saturday night out, the British Heavy Rock brigade gets the shot in the arm it has craved since Black Sabbath’s phenomenal album 13 was released. Sheffield’s Black Spiders fit the bill perfectly as one of Britain’s Rocks finest as they survey the wreckage that the Metal scene has become and This Savage Land is more than grateful.
The sound, the hum of a million guitars set on 10 and then added just for fun the comprehensive echo of Concorde flying past doesn’t even compare to the beat that Black Spiders manage to reproduce for This Savage Land. A silky and well-hidden web full of tasty morsels in which the heart will pound to, the glistening of musical dew drops shining throughout and emitting an odour of satisfaction for the growling and splintering drums, the guitars, injected with pace and venom take no prisoners and no matter which track you choose as your favourite after one listen, the other songs will all be stalking, whispering derision at your choice and making sure they are in line next for your well-earned approval.
The aptly titled Knock You Out, doesn’t just lead the way like a Captain should in the midst of battle, it makes sure that what follows is unhindered by the raw and utterly compelling music, nothing should stand in their way but should something try, then it won’t last very long. Like the beast in which they take their name, Black Spiders are almost universally too tough to destroy, they need to be heeded and taken note of.
From Knock You Out, what follows is a musical masterpiece of British Heavy Rock know-how, an art that seems to have been misplaced of late but in tracks such as Balls, Put Love In Its Place, the pounding attack and quiet malevolence of Raised By Wolves and Teenage Knife Gang make This Savage Land easily on par with Black Sabbath’s 13. Hard work, so much dedication in making sure This Savage Land would be remembered for so many good reasons has meant that in terms of hard British Rock/Metal in 2013, Black Sabbath has at least band ready for the fight ahead, Black Spiders fit the bill exactly.
Ian D. Hall