Ivory Spider is a largely unknown band from Pennsylvania, made
up of members of Kidd Nasty. Now, I’ve never listened to any of Kidd Nasty’s
work and until stumbling across this 3 song EP, didn’t even know they existed. Other
than basic information, I really couldn’t find much about either band. So, going into this was going to be a completely
blind experience for me. The music on Ivory Spider, although released in 2002,
is heavily rooted in classic 80’s hard rock/ heavy metal. In fact, if you didn’t
know the resale year, you would more than likely have suspected it was released
15 years earlier than it actually was.
In keeping with the spirit of the 80’s, there are some
simple, yet groovy riffs to be heard as well as some melodic leads. The rhythms
are quite powerful and create a fun, hard rocking atmosphere successfully capturing
the 80’s sound (The opening of “We All Need Rock & Roll” for example). In
addition, they add an extra dose of heaviness to the mix, with some well-timed,
very talented solos on each of the three tracks. The twin guitar combo
harmonizes very nicely throughout the three songs, which in my opinion, quickly
become the standout of this EP.
The bass is another sound that really stood out to my ears, particularly
on the track “Voodoo Man”. The heavy chords strumming along the guitars and
drum patterns helped give this song some extra bounce, that had it been omitted,
I feel would have just been an average sounding rocker. I don’t want to write
off the drums, even if they didn’t exactly wow me. Nothing against them, it’s
just their sound is not unlike many of the 80’s hair metal bands that simply
created a simplistic beat in the background to allow the guitars and vocals to
take center stage. As for the vocals, Chuck Tofsted’s voice carries a
particular tone, one that I can only associate with early US power metal acts.
They are clean, but not soaring, while at times they can be gruff (see “Voodoo
Man”), but not harsh. He has a nice range, one that I would have enjoyed
hearing full potential of, had there been more than 3 tracks.
To sum up, “Ivory Spider” may not offer much in the way of
groundbreaking material, but what they lack in originality, they more than made
up in fun and catchy 80’s inspired metal. I was happy with result of my listen
and I think I may try and track down some of their Kidd Nasty material to see
what else these musicians have to offer. Perhaps not a home run with the
ratings, but given that this is yet another one of the many demos and EPs that have
been washed into metal obscurity, Ivory Spider’s self-titled EP joins the
hidden gem club.
Highlights: “Voodoo Man” “We All Need Rock & Roll”
Rating: 3.5
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