Rider | Akateeminen Kirjakauppa

Nothing is ever easy for Black Spiders, never straightforward, there’s always a plethora of circumstances, bad luck and karma. Their last album, released in 2023, was titled ‘Can’t Die, Won’t Die’ and here we are at the dawn of 2025 and they’re still not fucking dead. Back with a brand-new album of high-voltage smashers, the Sheffield righteous rockers are set to release new album ‘Cvrses’ on Dark Riders via Cargo Distribution. Featuring twelve new tracks of exactly the kind of soaring rock ‘n roll action we’ve all come to expect, love and demand from Black Spiders, their intentions are the same now as they were from the very the moment they started back in 2008 – be true to yourself, no compromise.
“Stick to that formula and everything will be alright is what we hope and then with a little bit of luck life might surprise you,” says guitarist Pete Spiby. “It’s our fifth album, from the point of view of myself and Irwin. It’s our best. Our statement of intent has not changed from day one.” Recorded once again at Axis Studios in Doncaster with producer Matt Ellis behind the wheel, ‘Cvrses’ is, and of course all bands say this, very possibly their best album yet. It successfully distils everything that is thrilling and life-affirming about Black Spiders unique brand of thumping heaviness. Massive riffs, massive hooks, massive beats. It’s all massive. Opening song ‘Never Enough’ is as good a statement of intent as you’re ever going to get, crashing in with three cracks on the snare from drummer Wyatt Wendels, before a strutting garage rock riff pumps the album into immediate action. “Never Enough is where the initial idea for the album title ‘Cvrses’ came from,” explains Pete. “It‘s the reality of how you can be relentless in the pursuit of something, but once you get over the crest of that hill, there’s another hill in the distance. More obstacles in life. So, everything is always just out of reach, but the positive side of that is you’re still striving, living.”

And from that moment on, ‘Cvrses’ steams through a rollercoaster ride of rock emotions, from the hand-clapping ramalama of ‘Cool Reaper’, to the soaring balladry of ‘Dia De Muertos’, it’s all there, fully intact and in your face, right where proper rock should be. And why is the album called ‘Cvrses’? Well, ‘Cvrses’ has double meanings, on one hand it’s a supernatural punishment, invoked to do harm, and it’s also a very old English swear word. Both of these meanings ring true in every sense of the word in relation to Black Spiders. “As long as that drive is in the tank, we will keep going, because that’s what we need to do,” summarises Pete and Cvrses to anyone that tries to stop them.