The Sound of Death

They're a band of bad intentions, a fusillade of meaty thrash riffs and guttural death threats that'll leave a mushroom cloud above your iPod. They call themselves Spun In Darkness, we call them one of Vegas' best metal acts. Guitarist Rene Hanpft spills the beans -- and plenty of entrails -- on his band's bloody reason for being.

What does Spun In Darkness sound like?

"We try to keep it in the old-school death metal genre. Mixing a little American death with some European death and a touch of thrash. You can still understand the vocals and it scares little children."

Having a killer band name is a must for a death metal band. So what goes into a proper death metal handle? You know, aside from a logo that no one can read?

"I guess we're weird since you can actually read ours and you don't have to get a dictionary to figure out what it means. At this point, I want to clear up that (the band's name) has nothing to do with doing speed in a dark room. People have been asking me about that. It just has to sound dark and make people think a bit.

You've got a new tune, "Autopsy Alive" -- that sounds like a pretty bad way to go out. Do you spend a lot of time coming up with creative ways for people to die?

"Not a lot of the time, just every time we get a bad review."

What are some of the CDs in your collection that people would least expect from a death metal dude?

"I like classical guitar (Christopher Parkening), Middle Eastern-influenced music with mandolins and bouzouki, like Greek and Bulgarian music. Of course, that doesn't go for all of us. I'm just the weird one in the band."

See Spun In Darkness at 8 p.m. Friday at 4 Aces, 5866 S. Boulder Highway. Call 456-2777 for details.

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.