Exclusive: Spider Premiere Title Track From Upcoming “Death Match” EP

Fiercely independent DIY Long Beach, California, punk collective Spider have announced the release of the title track to their upcoming EP, Death Match, and have given The Punk Site an exclusive early preview of the accompanying video.

Death Match is a hat tip to the cause-and-effect invisible hand that connects us all. The idea is that what we do in our day-to-day life has implications beyond our immediate goals and that “death” has met its match (if only for a moment) with “resilience” and “life.” 

The song includes metaphors, snapshots of life, dark vignettes and the inner thoughts of a protagonist’s conversation with themselves.

“The idea for the lyrics originally came together when I was on a walk with my dog Rocky.

A few years ago Rocky was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor on his spine that eventually made it difficult for him to walk and greatly reduced his mobility. So I got him a doggy wheelchair that helped him get around which allowed us to still go on our daily walks in the morning and evenings around the neighborhood.

One day as I was walking Rocky a car pulled over to the side of the road and a stranger got out and walked towards me saying he wanted to thank me. I asked him “Why?”, he told me he was going to kill himself the prior week but he changed his mind because he remembered every morning he’d see Rocky in his wheelchair persevering through life and the cards that were dealt to him. 

He said, the image of Rocky not giving up and moving forward inspired him to not give up on himself. I was taken aback, emotionally jolted, and I asked him what his name was, he said his name was Henry/Hank, he gave Rocky a hug and I told him thank you for reaching out and taking the time to meet us, I said I’m glad he changed his mind and told him to take care of himself. I waved as he drove off, a few months later I moved out of that neighborhood, I haven’t seen him since. 

The thing that gave me pause and made me really think about our interaction was the thought that we can make a real difference in the world and not even know we are doing it. I was just taking care of my buddy Rocky, and in turn, Rocky saved someone’s life. Amazing right?” (vocalist Hector Martinez)

Death Match will be released on all digital streaming platforms on August 25th via Cpyrt Cntrl Rcrds and co-produced by the band and Dave Klein (Agent Orange), this is Spider’s first new music since their 2019 EP, Energy Gone Wrong.

Reviewing a recent live show, The Punk Site reported the performance was “a relentless barrage of skilled sonic power that rides the thin line between chaos and order”. This sentiment is echoed by these parting words from Spider “we thrive in a live environment, we live to perform and make sure whoever comes to a show, feels like it’s time well spent”.

Spider will be playing a release show on the 26th August alongside Guttermouth & The Line at Crestline, CA’s World Famous Stockade, the following month the band will be playing a brace of California shows at Hermosa Beach’s Saint Rocke on the 10th September and San Diego’s The Casbah on the 17th September.