“Spaghetti Western Doom Metal” Band Soundtracks Shootout with the Devil

I wish I’d come up with the “spaghetti western doom metal” label, but that’s how the band Wolfhand describes itself. And it’s been a while since I’ve come across a zany genre combo that was so dead-on accurate. Both components are equally present on this quintet’s debut album The Devil Arrives. They go together so well you wonder why it’s not a more common sound. They should have called themselves Mörricöne.

“Wolfhand was formed out of our mutual love for movie soundtracks, bizarre cowboy movies, and doom metal, so merging all the material into a spaghetti western doom metal opus seemed to make perfect sense,” guitarist Dave Mahan says. That opus comes out next week, and we’re premiering the title track below.

The concept album follows a classic hero’s journey, in which a gunslinger takes on the titular Devil in a small western town. “The Devil Arrives” comes second on the album, when things are at their bleakest: The Devil comes to town, causing misery and ruin. The hero, outmatched, flees to plot his next move.

Now, this is a narrative you will have to imagine a bit for yourself – in true spaghetti western tradition, Wolfhand’s music is all instrumental. So to help tell the tale, they incorporate clips of dialogue from old public domain westerns. But someone should film a real movie with this as the soundtrack.

The full album comes out next week (preorder here). Hear the title track below.

Check out more of the best metal from Vermont bands here.