Spades GT - "United" CD Review!!

It's now time for our 197th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and as our new album release backlog continues being cleared out, we're taking a look at local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT's new album "United"! Independently released via the Sewer City Records imprint on July 5th, "United" is the follow-up to their first GT-era album (2023's "Sewer City Radio"), and is their fourth album total when counting their two releases as Jack Spades before they relocated from the Soo in 2021. Like on the prior album, the guys recorded this one in February at Room 21 in Toronto with producer Kyle Marchant. "United" features Spades founder & lead singer J.D. "Johnny Pints" Pearce, guitarist Daniel Horton, and drummer Tyler "Jeeb" Reiner once again, and they are now joined by rhythm guitarist Matthew "Fang" Voros, who sings on a track here as well.

"United" was recorded in between bassist changes, as James Roy Daley left the band last summer, and Sean MacNab didn't join Spades until shortly after the sessions wrapped up (though he is pictured and thanked in the liner notes). Daniel was shown tracking bass in teaser videos from the sessions, but I have not seen a public reference as to if he played bass on all eight songs. Former Spades guitarist Jay Sarrazin and Daniel's Fast Life bandmate Andrew Moorehouse return as guest performers for a track each on "United", while rapper Julien "Mersinary" Dos Santos also guests on a song here. Physical copies of the album are on sale at concerts (alas, Spades haven't played a local date since June 2023), while "United" can be streamed on YouTube Music, Apple Music (it costs $7.92 on iTunes), Amazon Music, and Spotify. Song names below are linked to their YouTube copies. With eight songs running for about 27 minutes, let's begin this review!

The album opens with its shortest song "Anthem", which is a hard driving rocker with a really catchy lead guitar line, plus a solid guitar solo that lets Dan show off well! I was going to compliment the backing vocals, but the shouted chorus (which opens the song right off before the opening verse too) got really overdone after a little while. To me, it seems forced and monotone, and eats up too much time for a song that doesn't even crack 3 minutes. If you're going to commit to the "bashers, misfits, et al." thing, I'd have had J.D. actually sing it. Solid opener that Spades fans will enjoy musically, but I'd have rethought the choruses. Next up is the CD's title track (and the longest song on offer) "United", which was the lead advance single for the album as well. This song leans more into J.D.'s past punk music work with a more melodic rhythm and vocal style that calls to mind his Graves-era Misfits fandom, which will be nice to see for fans of his 100% local output!

Unlike on "Anthem", the backing vocals aren't overdone on repeated shouting choruses, and while your mileage may vary on that, this one seems like a much better candidate to sing along with at concerts (just need to get a new local one already). Strong drumming from Tyler and another good (if shorter) solo helps make this an early highlight, especially if you were following Fitswitch and Frightlight prior! Third is "Demons", which has another punk influence to it but it a touch slower and darker, with J.D. singing in a slightly lower register without backing vocals. There's an intensity here from the lyrical content that would actually call for a heavier or thrashier sound, but the contrast isn't badly done, and there's a strong groove to the guitar and bass here, and Tyler beats the hell out of the kit even when the song is more measured around him. Not uniformly intense and dark but I do like it!

The first half of the album is capped off with "Filthy Lie", which uniquely has J.D. sharing vocal duties with a bandmate, as Matthew (who fronts the psychobilly band The House Of Haunt) sings the choruses and bridge here with J.D. handling verses. The bouncy and upbeat riff is well placed here, and Matt more than holds his own vocally on the choruses with a distinct but natural range, so if there was ever an emergency where J.D. couldn't sing live, he could easily fill in! Of the songs so far, this changes tempo and pace the most in its runtime, so there's a little for many tastes. Not the best overall song here, but a fun shake-up of formula! Song #5 is the last one without guests, namely "Game For Two", which isn't as in your face vocally but it has a really strong instrumental structure, and I wish the vocals were more upbeat and intense to match. Dan & Matt deliver some of their best co-op riffs here, and we get another quality solo too, so guitar fans won't be thrown off at all!

As a pure song, this is an album highlight with some of the heaviest music yet from Spades GT on this album, but the vocals are too low and reserved by comparison. The three songs with guest performers are backloaded on "United", with Fast Life frontman Andrew Moorehouse (who sang guest vocals on "XS" from the last album) doing so again here on the sixth song, "Wrecked".  This song has one of the best intros on the album for its galloping and freewheeling instrumental performance, which is cool to see! Andrew's role on this song is bigger than on "XS", as he and J.D. trade lines during verses and share vocals on the choruses. A fast moving song with a punk influence, this is a fun one with some bouncy lead guitar, and while I'm not sure that the vocals gel as well on the chorus, it's a welcome diversion for fans who like Spades' punkier side, and Andrew acquits himself well!

The penultimate track on offer is "Strong", which features Reel Wolf Productions rapper Mersinary on guest vocals, and who has done this song live with Spades at least once. This song has a full and intense riff and full-band performance that doesn't let up, including really good bass work, and J.D. sings in a more melodic full voice on the verses, so that lines up well with the music! Mersinary crops up at 2:24 to drop bars in the bridge, and while a solid rapper whose delivery wasn't out of line with the music, he's only there for about 20 seconds and he didn't feel integral to the existing structure. He certainly didn't hurt it though, and "Strong" one of the better full songs here! "United" ends with "Die On Our Feet", featuring the return of 2022-2023 rhythm guitarist (and Tyler's old Caym bandmate) Jay Sarrazin, who played on two songs on "Sewer City Radio" (namely "Final Girl" & "Red").

Fans of guitar solos will be rewarded early as well as before the last chorus, and while this song doesn't reinvent the wheel from what works from the Spades camp, it has a hard driving riff, strong melodic vocals from J.D., and a better use of backing gang vocals on the choruses. Anyone else get a "Hallowed Be Thy Name" vibe from the guitar line in the bridge? What really hurts "Die On Our Feet" is a fifteen seconds-long fade-out during the second guitar solo, and is that really how they wanted to end the album? The solo was really cooking, why not actually write a proper ending to a quality song?

So, how do I grade "United" overall? There are things that I would address, but it's a fun sophomore effort for the Spades GT era of the band! It feels like the guys were experimenting a little more musically, with songs leaning into punk moreso, having J.D. experiment more in terms of his vocal range, and having three songs were someone else hops on vocals too. No matter what, they were in strong form as a full band, and the fuller sound from having two guitarists on every track shouldn't be overlooked either! Their fast and freewheeling brand of crossover thrash will still appeal to Jack Spades-era fans while benefitting from the production and networking upgrades since they moved south, with everyone performing to their musical strengths, including steadily great drumming from Tyler! The title track was probably my favourite song front-to-back on the album, and nothing here was bad, but I did notice a lot of little things I'd have changed.

Specifically, the overdone shouted choruses on "Anthem", an uneven contrast of vocals and instrumentation on some songs, Mersinary's verse on "Wrecked" feeling dropped in, and the way-too-long fade-out ending of "Die On Our Feet" could all have been adjusted to tighten up this album. Regardless, this is a fun and hard hitting collection of new songs that any era of Spades fan will take to, so buy or stream "United" at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! We'll end 2025 by looking at defunct local grunge band No Arrow's belated CD "Souls For Sale", so watch for that next month! Thanks everyone, raise 'em up, and cause a scene!