Spider God – Fly in the Trap
Release Date: 11th November 2022
Label: REPOSE RECORDS
Bandcamp
Genre: Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal.
FFO: Revenant Marquis, Abduction, Old Nick.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Only having heard the very first single off this album, I was extremely-interested in the insanity that might be associated with a concept album of this design. Having an entire intent to artistically-illuminate some actual historical events is not new in the black metal or death metal genre. For instance, the events of the lives of serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer or Ed Gein have been described in the death metal and grind genres as long as they have existed. Further, bands who like to take on perspectives from history are not new in the slightest, from Viking metal to world war one-themed bands.
Spider God’s recent release, Fly In the Trap, is a full album dedicated to telling (some of, at least) the story of Elisa Lam, a young woman who died in the famous Los Angeles Cecil Hotel, a spot which has drawn seekers of the supernatural for decades. Instead of telling the story from the perspective of the people who read about the news after the fact, we are placed in the “voice” of people involved with the case and events leading to Lam’s mysterious death in the water tower atop the 14-story building.
Allegedly, Lam was seen on CCTV wandering aimlessly around the hotel, often looking scared, as if she might have been followed. She was seen poking her head out of an elevator into what appeared to be an empty hallway, but nevertheless rushing to get the elevator to start moving, as if she was running away from someone, or something. After days, her body was found in the water tower on top of the building, where she presumably drowned. The guests were exposed to the tainted water which had been soaking her deceased flesh for days before her discovery, something which puzzled investigators and supernatural researchers alike.
Spider God’s album is a black metal rock opera in numerous ways, having a much more “musical” take than I originally thought it would. For instance, most of the tracks aren’t typical black metal tracks, only having 2-3 chords on the suspended range or in minor keys from first to last second. These tracks are often written in major keys, have traditional “Nashville” chord patterns, or sometimes even bring out a melodic tone that really ends up being foreign to the sensibilities of the traditional black metal listener. It’s a strange version of the medium to tell a dark story, something I am not sure if I had seen like this before.
It might be like listening to Nightwish sing Cannibal Corpse. It’s…not their style, but they still manage to offer it to the listeners in their own style. It’s forcing two things together that really don’t have any business together. Nevertheless, Fly In The Trap is extremely musically-diverse as an album, having a couple of more-traditional black metal songs surrounded by a rock opera of major-key black metal songs. It almost (and please don’t crucify me for stating this) seems like a broadway show for metalheads, if there ever was such a thing. There isn’t anything like a plot or dialogue; but there are many specific moments that coincide with important parts of the story, and are told from the first-person perspective.
The track Flies In The Trap [Feat. Revenant and A Forest of Stars] is 100% epic in every way. Frankly, it might be one of my favorite black metal tracks of all time. It’s so many things at one time, having time signature swings, refrains, what appears to be a “core”-type breakdown in a couple of places. Frankly, it’s amazing. However, I think that the rest of the album is going to take much longer to appreciate. If you watch some crime documentaries on the disappearance of Elisa Lam and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death in one of North America’s most haunted locations, you might really enjoy this album. I think that traditionalists will hate it. Genre-blenders will appreciate, maybe even love it. I think it’s something that ought to be on your radar. 
(3.5 / 5)
