Instrumental rock project, Spiderweb is helmed by D.R Webster. The band's latest release, "Bionic" brings together a slew of internationally known artists in support of Hungry for Music, a non-profit that provides instruments to children in need.
The track starts with a short drum intro before introducing classic hard rock guitar as multiple technical guitar leads bounce around the mix, quickly creating a progressive showcase of guitar instrumentation. Thumping bass lines from Tye Zamora (Alien Art Farm) and groovy drum patterns from Gordon McNeil (Gun) complement the vast guitarscapes that are created.
The track is fully instrumental, and the guitar-driven sound lets each of the guest soloists deliver their unique sound. "Bionic" showcases its biggest influence to me as a 80s era hard rock song booming with energy. While the classic rock sound is built and maintained throughout the song's 7 minute length, clear progressive and technical guitar shines, and there is even a section that reminded me of doom metal like Black Sabbath.
From start to finish, "Bionic" feels like a showcase of talent and comes across like one huge guitar solo. Fans of instrumental music, hard rock, and prog genres will enjoy Spiderweb.
You can stream "Bionic" available everywhere now or buy on BandCamp here.
Stay tuned below to read an official interview with the band and read the full list of contributing musicians.
Interview with Spiderweb
1: How would you describe your music?
Heavy, energetic, riff-based hard rock with a technical edge and undercurrent of groove to it.
2: What are the band's biggest influences?
For this particular project, a lot of instrumental rock obviously, the usual big hitters like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, along with others like Buckethead, Neal Schon, Ronnie Montrose, Steve Morse etc. Aside from that a good mixture of classic bands like Deep Purple, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Guns N’Roses and countless others.
3: What is "Bionic" about/what does it mean to you?
"Bionic" is a showcase for guitar playing more than anything, it moves through several different sections, each with it’s own vibe and builds up ultimately to a big solo section at the end. This part of the song is all about highlighting the skills and unique qualities of each player as they are giving their personal take on what the solo should be in that section.
Interestingly enough, a lot of them hadn’t heard each other’s solos when they went to record their own parts, but they still all ended up in a similar vein in the end. It was surprising how well they all fit together, actually. That was one of the main inspirations behind the song in the first place, to bring together a variety of top musical talent within the same space to see what that would sound like, and of course, to put something significant together to help benefit the great cause of Hungry for Music, which I believe we have certainly achieved with this track in the end. Getting the likes of Steve Hackett, Kee Marcello, Marcelo Barbosa, and John Wesley, all these top high-level musicians to play on the track, is a pretty big deal in my opinion, especially being a new, unsigned artist without any industry backing.
4: How did Spiderweb form?
The origins of this project go back several years and started out as an Instagram channel actually, just me doing riffs and solos of songs that I liked or had written, mainly as a hobby during the lockdown in 2020 for about a year. I decided to revisit it last Summer and really try to do something special with it this time. I didn’t want to just release something for the sake of it, which led to the idea of pairing up with a music charity to release a single that would help contribute to a worthy cause.
5: What is the story behind the band name Spiderweb?
It’s inspired by my surname, and I felt it fit the overall vibe of what I was going for. It also gives me enough creative freedom to branch out musically in the future if I want to take the project in different directions.
6: What is one band/artist you hope to collaborate/perform with in the future?
I have a long list of artists that I would love to work with, of cours,e but for this project, at the moment I would have to say Buckethead. I’ve been a big fan since first discovering him during the Chinese Democracy era of Guns N’Roses. From that point, I delved deeper into his vast–to say the least–catalogue, and when it comes to my playing and some of the parts I played on Bionic, there are definitely some nods to Bucket in there.
7: What’s next for the band?
Right now, the focus is on promoting "Bionic" over the next few months and getting as many people as possible to hear the song and support the cause that inspired it. After that, I’d definitely be interested in putting together a full Spiderweb EP or album, if the right circumstances come together.
Contributing Musicians:
- D.R Webster — Guitars, Keys
- Gordon McNeil — Drums (Gun)
- Tye Zamora — Bass (Alien Ant Farm)
- Dylan Tann — Keys
Guest Guitar Soloists
- Steve Hackett (Genesis)
- Kee Marcello (Europe)
- John Wesley (Porcupine Tree)
- Marcelo Barbosa (Angra)
- Vanny Tonon
- Gus Barros
- Maria Barbieri
Artwork
Cover Art Guest: Gene Snisky (ex-WWE professional wrestler)
Charity
Created in support of Hungry for Music, a nonprofit providing musical instruments to children in need.
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