Spear Of Destiny - Grapes Of Wrath

Year zero for perhaps the most underrated but nevertheless truly great British band of the 1980s. Particularly across their first three albums, Spear of Destiny did absolutely everything you could have asked of them beyond one. They didn't sell records in the quantities that they deserved, and while countless lesser lights streaked past them to fame, glory, and The Joshua Tree, Spear foundered in the lower reaches of the Top 50, then faded away. This, their debut album, reminds listeners of precisely how unjust that fate was. Although much of Grapes of Wrath was demoed (in none too dissimilar form) during the last days of Theatre of Hate, and subsequently released as that band's Ten Years After archive collection, still there is no doubt that this is a new birth in every sense. The opening "The Wheel" is everything that Theatre of Hate aimed at but always fell just a little short of delivering, a rousing rallying call that lifted roofs on the far side of the town. It was a trick that Kirk Brandon would perfect on Spear's second album, but even in embryonic form, it startles. "Flying Scotsman," "Solution," "The Murder of Love," "Grapes of Wrath" -- each track slips perfectly formed from the vinyl, a throbbing wall of clattering drums, inspirational sax, throbbing rhythms, and maddening war whoops. And on vinyl, they were the greatest visitors, transforming the drabbest one-room apartment into a seething, soaring celebration of anything -- absolutely anything -- that you thought was worth celebrating. And, again, this was only the beginning. A year of solid gigging would bring the band back even bigger and better than ever, and the only question is...how was that even possible?

Released in 1983, Spear of Destiny’s debut album, Grapes of Wrath, stands as a fascinating, transitional monument in British post-punk. Rising from the immediate ashes of Theatre of Hate, frontman Kirk Brandon and bassist Stan Stammers used this record to forge a bridge between the jagged, raw angst of their past and a grander, more melodic alternative rock landscape. While some contemporary critics at the time struggled with its theatrical scale, history has been far kinder. Retrospectively, it is celebrated as the bold "year zero" for one of the most criminally underrated live and studio acts of the 1980s.

The record immediately sets itself apart through its highly unique, space-heavy arrangements. Instead of conforming to the frantic, buzzsaw guitar attacks dominating the second wave of punk in 1983, producer Nick Launay lets the tracks breathe over a formidable, bass-led foundation. Chris Bell’s rumbling, tribal drum patterns and Stammers’ driving basslines provide a hypnotic canvas. This rhythm section allows Lascelles James’ prominent, soaring saxophone to step into the spotlight, serving as a primary lead instrument—a daring stylistic choice that defied the unwritten rules of the post-punk era.

Musically, the tracklist moves fluidly between anthemic rallies and brooding, dark experimentation. The opening track, "The Wheel," serves as a thunderous statement of intent, delivering a rousing call-to-arms that perfectly showcases Brandon's trademark vocal control. Further into the record, pieces like "Solution" evoke a tense, spaghetti-western atmosphere driven by tribal percussive weight. Meanwhile, the closing title track anchors the album with a deliberate, slow-building tempo and a prominent bass groove that directly anticipated the emerging gothic rock and rock noir movements.

At the center of it all is Brandon’s operatic, tremulous vocal delivery and dense lyrical mysticism. His performance infuses songs like "Omen of the Times" and "Aria" with an immense sense of dramatic weight and cinematic scale. While the production occasionally feels sparse compared to the stadium-sized polish of the band's sophomore album, One Eyed Jacks, it is precisely this raw blueprint that makes the record so compelling. Ultimately, Grapes of Wrath remains a powerful debut that captured a band masterfully reconfiguring its identity on the cusp of alternative rock greatness.

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Spear Of Destiny; Grapes Of Wrath

A1.  The Wheel

A2.  Flying Scotsman

A3.  Roof Of The World

A4.  Aira

A5.  Solution

B1.  The Murder Of Love

B2.  The Preacher

B3.  Omen Of The Times

B4.  The Man Who Tunes The Drums

B5.  Grapes Of Wrath