Spades GT - "Sewer City Radio" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 171st monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and continuing our extensive backlog of new local album releases, we're taking a look at local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT's new album "Sewer City Radio" today! Released to major streaming services via Books Of The Dead Press on June 2nd, this is technically the third album from Spades GT, who (as Jack Spades) released their debut EP "The First" in 2014, before featuring on the "Fed Up!" split with The Ripcordz and Destroilet the following year. Since then, everyone but singer J.D. "Johnny Pints" Pearce has left the band, with J.D. relaunching the group in his new hometown of Barrie in late 2021 with the updated name. Joining him on this album is late-era Jack Spades guitarist Daniel Horton, plus a GTA-based rhythm section, including bassist James Roy Daley (Stand Against Fear) and drummer Tyler Reiner (ex-Caym).

Tyler's old Caym bandmate Jay Sarrazin (Sierra Pilot/Hellrager) is considered to be a full member of Spades GT, but he only appears on two songs, presumably due to his busy schedule with other bands, and he doesn't play many of their live concerts either. Guest appearances on the album come via Daniel's Fast Life bandmate Andrew Moorhouse on vocals on "XS" and from Anvil frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow on guitar on the title track (remember, his bandmate Robb Reiner is Tyler's dad, so they had an in to get Lips on board!). Recorded in Toronto in January with producer Kyle Marchant, you can check out "Sewer City Radio" on major streaming services like Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, and it is available to download from both iTunes and Amazon Music in the $7-$8 range if you would prefer actually having mp3 copies, or really want to support the band. Song names below are linked to their YouTube copies.

Teasers have came out in regard to physical pressings of this album on CD (note this image), but the band hasn't firmly announced them going on sale thusly, and their website is currently down. With eight tracks running for about 27 minutes, let's begin this review with the opening (and longest) song, "Hands"! A drum intro leads into a blistering thrash/punk attack that will definitely appeal to fans of J.D.'s local catalog, and they get a lot of mileage out of the lyrics about what hands can do! J.D.'s vocals have deepened since we last heard him in new studio material eight years ago, but the melodic yet heavy instrumentation is familiar yet fresh, and Daniel shows off well on guitar! James Roy get a brief bass solo to show off with too, so this was a good choice to let everyone get some time in the sun. The chorus can get a little repetitive late, but it's an intense return!

Track #2 is "Cenobites", inspired by the Hellraiser series, and it has more of a groove to its guitar and bass work here, which is interesting but feels kinda out of place compared with J.D.'s shouted verses. Can't fault the talent on offer here, and Roy's bass playing is top notch, it all just only really comes together for me as a full song on the choruses. The song ends well with an extended instrumental section, but I'd have had more varied drumming during the bridge. Good song with good energy, but it's all over the place tonally. Next up is "Final Girl", which got the album's (belated) first music video, and is the first of two songs featuring Jay on lead guitar. Inspired by horror movies often having the last living protagonists be a young woman, it starts with a siren before laying into their usual punk/metal attack, which melds together the best of their talents and sensibilities, and Jay's guitar solo is effective, if a little slower.

Where this song lags a bit for me is the choruses, which are repetitive lyrically and too driven by the drum beat over the guitar riff, but I do see how they would attract a sing-along response from a crowd familiar with the track. An improvement on "Cenobites" for me, and while not what I'd have picked as a lead single, it will speak to long-time fans! Next is "Red", which is the other song on offer featuring Jay, and it opens with steady drumming from Tyler before everyone else kicks in. This song chugs along nicely and never relents from its initial track until the chorus, which is ready-made for fans to shout along with, and I do think that Jay's solo is better (and longer) here than on "Final Girl"! More than anything on the album so far, this feels like an established song from J.D.'s entirely local band work, which is a positive statement, and while the verses never vary much, this will be a fan favourite!

The second half of the album begins with its title track "Sewer City Radio", and if you weren't sure, "Sewer" does seem to reference Sault Ste. Marie, with lyrics reflecting on the Soo in a Woods of Ypres-ish way, if that makes sense, but not quite as grim. This is the song featuring Lips from Anvil on lead guitar, and his solid shredding does add some much needed life given the subject matter! J.D.'s vocals drive the song during the verses and choruses, including some rapid spoken word before the solo, and while the lyrics are sure evocative, the music largely just rolls on and keeps the crossover thrash going, so there is more of a contrast here. Strongly done song with lyrics that will hit close to home for many! Track #6 is the shortest song on offer, "Succubus", which is arguably the most punk-centric song on the album as pure music, but J.D. does sing about the title demon in an exaggerated, Michale Graves-esque tone throughout.

Misfits fans will definitely appreciate this song, especially given J.D.'s affinity for that band over the years, but it still has that rawer, thrashy tone to the music that existing Spades fans will appreciate, and Daniel's solo is effective! A low-key highlight on the album so far! Seventh is "XS", which opens with a (likely) beer can being opened, and is basically about living to excess (hence the name) while in a band. This song more than any feels like something you'd crank on a summer road trip, and it has a nice melodic, full band sensibility and carefree attitude with strong vocals! Fast Life singer Andrew Moorhouse actually sings lead on the bridge here, and he fits right into the song's existing vibes, no doubt helped by Daniel being on the track. Definitely one of my favourite songs on the album, abrupt ending aside!

"Sewer City Radio" closes with "Black On Black", and despite this song's lyric video focusing on military exercises, the song is largely about alcohol abuse and trying to characterize it as the only remedy against suicidal thoughts. J.D.'s vocals are way too exaggerated here, to a point where the chorus shouts of the title don't even sound like he's saying "Black On Black"! Musically, this has one of the most thrash-based sounds on the album, with a quality bass line from James throughout, but the vocals do kinda detract from the song based on how they're done here (perhaps they're sung like that on purpose to represent the addiction?)

So, what are my final thoughts on the first new (Jack) Spades release in eight years? While I won't compare wholesale to their mid-2010s output (especially as only J.D. is left from then), this is a fun slice of crossover thrash that more or less picks up where Jack Spades left off as they headed south and, in many ways, upgraded what they were doing! The recording quality, guest appearances, and slate of high profile GTA concerts points to a band on a mission, and while these aren't entirely my favourite studio songs from their two dozen-or-so originals to date, many stand right up there with their best songs! While deeper vocally than we last heard him, J.D. is in his usual form here, Daniel shines on riffs and solos as you'd expect, and them snagging James Roy and Tyler was a savvy move to get some very experienced names from their new home area, and they more than hold up their end of the bargain!

Assuming that Jay is 100% still a band member and is just more limited for availability, it would have been nice to have heard him on more than two songs, but this solos (especially on "Red") were nicely implemented! I liked "Hands", "Red", and "XS" the most of the songs on this album, and Jack Spades fans will have nothing to worry about musically, but there are a few things I'd address. Some of the singing is just a little too exaggerated outside of what works best for J.D.'s studio material, I don't think "Cenobites" had a firm singular theme in mind, and some of the choruses could be a little repetitive for my liking, but given all of the changes that (Jack) Spades and the world have had since 2015, this album coming out as well as it did was certainly no accident. Definitely buy or stream it for yourself at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! What are reviewing on the site next?

Given our lengthy backlog, it's looking likely that our next review will be of local progressive metal duo Convergence's debut EP "One", which also came out in June 2023, so look for that at some point next month, and for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!