Spreading The Disease, from Kent, are an interesting BotD as they’re a band in development and with a plan that they’re just at the beginnings of working through.
Formed by bassist Steve Saunders at the end of 2014, he set out with a vision for a truly contemporary, modern day metal band capable of drawing influenced from all around. The first person to share his vision was drummer Edd Saunders (and, actually, I don’t think they are related!) and they were son ed by Julian Riquelme on lead guitar. At this point, the band began writing some material but before recording could begin, they recognised the need for a rhythm guitarist and a vocalist.
These posts were filled by Martin Osborne and Adam May respectively, and work began on getting those tracks down. The original aim was to record a couple of singles, but this seems to have expanded into a 4-track EP which was released this week. The purpose of Viral is to gain the band some exposure, create a fan-base and help soften up those ever-selective booking agents in the hope of grabbing some live slots. They’re aiming to begin playing shows in February 2016 and have several festivals in their sites as well.
So there’s their plan. All well laid out, but you know what they say about the best laid plans… Thankfully there are also exceptions to rules! Virus is a superb introduction to the band with four well-crafted and very heavy numbers.
Opener “F.U.C.K.U.” is straight in there after an atmospheric beginning; harsh vocals and simple, crunching rhythms which build to a frenetic conclusion really do give a taste of what’s to come. “Lost Generation” starts off with more of a groove feel, slower and heavier than the previous track, but the moshpit-inducing solo really ups the ante.
“Bulldozer” will, I gather, be the first video released from the EP and it’s a mammoth seven minutes in length so they’re got plenty of scripting to do! It’s another heavy-hitter which is very much the theme for Spreading The Disease. Despite being quite lengthy, it never really feels it and that’s quite an achievement. It’s also the only song where Adam really expands his vocal repertoire with some different styles in there.
Finally, we have “Evolution” which kicks off with probably the best introduction of the four. Brash, bouncy and thunderous it sets up a superb closing track. It’s different enough from the first three to really show the band off and genuinely leaves you wanting more. Or, if you catch them live, I’m sure it’ll leave you wanting a rest!
You can pick up the EP from the band’s own website and it’s available now.
Spreading The Disease: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | soundcloud | youtube
