Dan Spencer With Wizards Is Crazy and Drown

If you were to combine the lyrical stylings of Jason Molina (of Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. fame), the melancholic country spirit of Blaze Foley, the folky absurdity of Dan Reeder, and a healthy one-two punch of black metal, you’d come close to capturing Dan Spencer’s musical essence. Half tongue-in-cheek, half gut-wrenchingly authentic, it’s clear why a chameleon artist like rapper-turned-country star Post Malone would’ve taken notice.

A Country Goth Metalhead with a Penchant for Wordsmithing

A self-described “morbid weirdo,” Dan Spencer somehow manages to make music that appeals to the masses while decidedly not trying to appeal to the masses. His latest release, Return to Your Dark Master, opens with a fat, fuzzy guitar tone that offers a laughably stark contrast to the saccharine opening lines of “Cult Leader”: You like teddy bears and poetry; you live inside a china doll. The next track, “Fat Vampire,” opens with four seconds of death metal wails just begging to blow out your speakers before making a breakneck transition to beautifully serene guitar and synth.