Spread Eagle’s 2019 return wasn’t a patch on the 1990 debut, but it was missing the band’s guitarist, now 2026’s ‘The Brutal Divine’ features just two of the original 4 guys and is further removed from the acclaimed MCA release.
I’ll give them 10% for the opening track ‘Flat Earth Vultures’ and another 5% for at least coming close to holding the melody of UFO’s ‘Pushed To The Limit’ cover, but the rest is an absolute mess.
Heavily compressed, almost unlistenable in parts, the production for this album is just horrible and I can imagine the emails going back and forth between the band and label when this was delivered.
Sounding more like an indie garage band demo than a record made by a band previously on a major label, there is no excuse for this quality of sound in 2026.
That said, the songs aren’t much chop either. The opening track and a couple of others show promise, but stuff like ‘Ant Farm’ and ‘Jail Rat’ are just rubbish.
There are so many other releases to choose from, save your money.
Spread Eagle is back and will release their first album in over 26 years, "Subway To The Stars" on August 9th via Frontiers Music SRL.
Today, fans can check out the first single and video from the album, "Sound Of Speed”.
"Our primary intention was to go back to the egg. Not to the debut album, but even before then. When we were unsigned, rehearsing in the East Village NYC and just putting our first songs together. We worked every day and night on our dream. We were a gang and no one could tell us we couldn’t accomplish something. That’s when we were at our rawest and nastiest and the intensity was completely off the meter. Of course, you can never truly go back in time, everyone learns and evolves; however, I wanted to remember that feeling of writing razor riffs in those basement spaces in 1989, then add it to current experiences," says founder and bassist Rob De Luca on what fans can expect.
On first single "Sound of Speed", De Luca continues, "We wanted something that had a strong sense of propulsion. After that verse riff popped out, the chorus and other sections flowed effortlessly. From very early on in the writing process, I felt this should be the song to reintroduce Spread Eagle. I was happy that Frontiers had that exact same vision for it. As I said above, it invokes the spirit of our inception with some additional skills that we’ve learned."
Spread Eagle burst upon the hard rock scene of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s playing a brand of rock that hailed straight from the mean streets of New York City. When Paul DiBartolo (guitar), Rob De Luca (bass), and Tommi Gallo (drums) moved to New York City and met up with Ray West (vocals), East Coast Streetmetal was born. The group was quickly snatched up and signed to MCA/Universal Records, then sent straight into the legendary Record Plant studios to record their debut album. The self-titled debut was produced by Charlie Gambetta and featured a gritty and dangerous sound, wailing vocals and razor sharp guitar, demonstrated through songs such as "Switchblade Serenade", "Scratch Like A Cat", and "Broken City". Four years later, after the release and touring of their second album, "Open To The Public" (also produced by Gambetta), the band took an extended break and went about their own personal projects.
Spread Eagle reformed in 2006 under the direction of Ray West and Rob DeLuca (who has also worked with UFO and Sebastian Bach) along with two new members, Ziv Shalev (guitar) and Rik De Luca (drums). The band has been together ever since and decided to start production on a new album, scheduled for release in August 2019 on Frontiers. Songs for “Subway To The Stars” were put together in the Music Building in NYC, which is the exact same place where the songs for their debut album were rehearsed and written. Recording took place at Studio E in Brooklyn, NY with Grammy Award winning engineer Tom Camuso. The new album does not disappoint and picks off up where the band left off. Spread Eagle is a welcome addition to the Frontiers' family, where they will become yet another vital band from the '80s/'90s rock scene to release amazing new music in the 21st century!
