Spesimin - Spesimin (SM065)

Spesimin is a Philadelphia-based Metal band. Blending monstrous riffs and horrific imagery, they concoct a sprawling realm that viscerally explores moral ills and the macabre mysteries of the mind. Equally heavy and infectious, Spesimin provides the cathartic soundtrack necessary for our uncompromising modern hellscape.

Spesimin came into being in 2019, when Punk-rooted Ian (Vocals/Drums) and Jazz inflected Alejandro (Guitar) bonded over their shared appreciation for old-school Thrash and Death Metal. Ian’s former bandmate Jeff (Bass) joined in 2020, bringing his love of Florida Death Metal and New York Hardcore to perfectly round out the band’s unique brand of melodic evil Metalpunk.

While fusing elements of Punk, Hardcore, Thrash and Death Metal, Spesimin often defers to Rock grooves and melody over blasts and brutality. The musically adventurous trio has recently refined their approach, transporting their precision riffing and primitive rhythms into slightly Doomier territory, incorporating its long-form technical elements, while continuing to explore deadly serious subjects. They are an anthemic anomaly of their own extreme genre.

The songs are personal and political, probing subjects like addiction, religious mania, the insidious violence of capitalism, and genocide. The result is something cerebral and classic, with gore-soaked imagery that grabs the senses, confronting the darker side of the human experience and evoking a story to be experienced by both musician and listener. The love of horror brings in the right touch of fun, a flagrant indulgence never shying away from the grotesque. Inspiration from horror literature such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau fuel tracks of existential dread and bloodthirsty cravings.

From 2020’s Born In The Crypt and 2022’s Rotting In The Vine, Spesimin’s path of evolution has been clear, but 2025 holds a new chapter with a self-titled discography LP, which compiles their previous releases with their newest EP, entitled Skull Worship. Spesimin generates a pivotal new incarnation as the band’s first vinyl release. Engineer/ album cover artist Dan Angel created unique setups for the band to experiment like mad scientists, their operations polished with mastering by producer Arthur Rizk. Present all along, but fully realized by one of Dan’s drawings, the mascot in their mind was “Spesi”--a primordial fiend without a face, a disembodied brain with diabolical powers, ravenous for revenge against an uncaring world.

While writing and recording has always been their focus, Spesimin does not exist in a vacuum of studio time like samples in a laboratory. On stage, they embody the form of an unnerving and monstrous persona, a destructive unit harnessing punishing riffs and guttural vocals as vehicles for a deeper understanding of the many facets of the mind.

Proceeds from everything sold through us benefit Juntos.
Juntos is a community-led, Latine immigrant organization in South Philadelphia fighting for our human rights as workers, parents, youth, and immigrants.
www.vamosjuntos.org
credits
released January 31, 2025