Heavy Mental outfit Old Spirit fuse disparate worlds of NWOBHM, doom, thrash, and psych rock with an acid-soaked aesthetic. Think: Witchfinder General falling into a very deep hole of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, where Mercyful Fate and members of the Melvins are playing a high stakes game of Cribbage. Formed by instrumentalist/songwriter Jason Hartman, Old Spirit is an extension of (but worlds away from) his work in dream-doom purveyors Vanishing Kids, doom metal outfit Jex Thoth, alt metal outfit Night Eyez. Clearly, the Wisconsinite is prolific even as his eyes point skyward and his spirit ever inward.
“Snow Leopard” is a track that grinds into inner spaces of panoramic, if dangerous colors. It weighs heavy on the ears but it’s lithe on the mind. Hartman, under his Old Spirit guise, is bridging the wilds of ’60s/’70s psych rock–from Haight-Ashbury to the heart of Germany–with purposeful thrust into the far extremes of metal. “Snow Leopard” may not hit on the first go-around, but once its swirling claws sink into things, it’s hard to let go. Kind of like what Hawkwind were doing on Hall of the Mountain Grill but with the songwriting ethos of Trouble and inexplicably Voivod. Again, Old Spirit is old in style but modern in execution.
Says Hartman: “‘Snow Leopard’ is about a spiritual journey after death. The music to me on this one mixes some early metal favorites of mine. Mercyful Fate and Voivod are probably the most prevalent on this track.”
Ride into the mountains of the self with Old Spirit’s “Snow Leopard.”
** Old Spirit’s debut self-titled album, Old Spirit, is out now on Bright As Night Records. LP, CD, and digital are available now from Old Spirit’s Bandcamp (HERE).
** Check out Hartman’s Night Eyez post at Decibel HERE.
