April 23, 2022 by A.S. Van Dorston

Reports of heavy metal’s death are greatly exaggerated. Spirit Adrift treat Austin to a triumphant return before kicking off an ambitious European tour.

Last night’s Spirit Adrift show, their first since Nate Garrett moved from Arizona to just outside of Austin (just a few miles from Rancho Bulboso), was a triumphant return, reminding me of when I saw Baroness in 2013 after they survived a horrific crash where their bus plunged down a 40 foot cliff in England in 2012. Two members were injured so badly they had to leave the band, and others were in the hospital for weeks and had to go through intense physical therapy and learn to play again, working around their injuries, just nine months after the accident. When remaining members John Baizley and Pete Adams came onstage at the Subterranean in Chicago, it was jubilant. They were clearly stoked to be alive and playing. Adams left in 2017 to focus on his own projects, leaving Baizley as the sole original member.

Garrett’s ordeals might be less obviously dramatic, but still significant. Spirit Adrift began as a solo project, with Garrett battling his personal demons and addiction in the Arizona mountains and desert. During the pandemic, he and his wife moved to a rural area outside of Austin, bought land and built homes for themselves and his grandparents who raised him. Dealing with that and the pandemic, he still managed to release an EP on new label Century Media, Forge Your Future, on August 27 last year. For their Texas debut, brothers Marcus (drums) and Preston Bryant (synths) were no longer in the band, replaced by Mike Arellano (drums), Sonny DeCarlo (bass) and Leanne Martz (guitar). Leanne was sporting a Baroness shirt, who’s talented new-ish guitarist Gina Gleason, is inspiring as a fresh new songwriting contributor. Both women can shred, with Martz nailing her solos, and the dual guitarmonies with Garrett.

Every few songs, they meticulously tuned their instruments while some sci fi electronic music played on the PA, provided by one of the guys in Pallbearer. They did so usually in less than 30 seconds, keeping the pace of the show flowing. It sounded amazing in the small room, crisp and clear but not TOO perfect, Garrett’s vocals buried just a bit compared to the recordings. The set was a greatest hits from all their releases – four albums and several EPs, including latest single “Sorceror’s Fate.” I’m not sure if they performed any covers from their upcoming (August 19) EP 20 Centuries Gone, which includes covers of Pantera, Metallica, Thin Lizzy, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Type O Negative, because I had to leave before the end, as I had come directly from the surgery center, IV tube and bloody gauze trailing behind me, determined not to miss this.

I couldn’t get into Hell’s Heroes IV in Houston, happening at the same time, as it sold out long before I knew I was moving to the area. It included Candlemass, Slough Feg, Dark Angel, Eternal Champion, Riot, Satan, Enforcer, Night Demon, High Spirits, Haunt and Sumerlands. Damn. I gotta say that hurt my soul, but Spirit Adrift helped heal it quite a bit. I was surprised they were playing the indoor room, only 150 capacity compared to the 900 capacity outdoor venue. Next time.

Openers DUEL, BLK OPS and Easy Prey were all satisfyingly loud and brutal. I’ve been needing some of that for a while. With apologies, I can’t provide more details, because aside from Austin’s own DUEL, I’m unfamiliar with the material of the others, and was still a bit in a post-anesthetic fog. I liked all the seemingly homemade electronic gadgets the screamer in BLK OPS was operating, and DUEL locked into a very satisfying stoner-boogie groove, incorporating some southern rock into their heavy desert psych. Mwa.

KISS’ Gene Simmons has been famously declaring rock is dead for the past few years. Sure, if you only pay attention to the Grammys, and believe the Foo Fighters are the only remaining rock band in the world. He said, “The point is, yeah, rock is dead because if we play the game from 1958 until 1988, which is 30 years, you had Elvis, The Beatles, The Stones, Pink Floyd, and on and on and on.” He wonders where are the new AC/DC, Metallica, Maiden and, er, KISS. Right in front of your stupid waste-of-space face Gene. Khemmis, Pallbearer, Magic Circle, Eternal Champion, Baroness, Spirit Adrift and many more may not be storming the charts (with 100,000+ albums released a year, no one but Olivia Rodrigo and Morgen Wallen are), but they are very capable of handling a headline festival stage. Starting April 27 in Glasgow, Spirit Adrift are starting a massive European tour, hitting London’s Desertfest, then melting brains in France, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Netherlands. There’s a much more devoted audience for heavy rock and metal over there, and Spirit Adrift will get the heroic treatment there that they deserve. Hopefully their days of playing tiny 150 capacity rooms in the U.S. will end soon too.