One more monthly playlist for the year from us (before our dalliance with the beast that is AOTY lists). Read on to find out what the Ba’al stringsmen have been listening to this month.
Nick – Guitar
Hamferð – Marrusorg
Mighty melodic sludgy doom from the Faroe Islands. Myself and Richard got to see 90% of their set when they opened for Solstafir after we battled through arctic conditions over snake pass and rapidly inhaled sandwiches outside the venue in order to maximise Hamferð time. They were everything we hoped for, especially the vocals which were absolutely o n p o i n t.
The Intersphere – Who Likes To Deal With Death?
Been listening to these German proggers for quite a while and was dead pleased to see their set supporting VOLA the other week. Their blend of soaring choruses, tight grooves and the occasional chonky riff lended themselves well to a night of bands that would get progressively heavier. A phenomenally tight band on the night.
One Leg One Eye – Bold and Undaunted Youth
A dark folk/drone/noise project featuring Ian Lynch of Lankum (the coolest band in the world). In the space of 12 hours I found out OLOE were playing the Samuel Worth Chapel in Sheffield (a 50 cap venue in the middle of the vastly overgrown old general cemetery), and that show had sold out. Thankfully a few days ago someone must have cancelled and a ticket became available which I snapped up quicker than you can say Ken Dodd’s dad’s dog’s dead.
Saor – Forgotten Paths
The king(s) of melody in the worlds of folk and black metal. Not many bands capture the essence of Celtic mythology with such beauty, aggression and faith. The new album due next year is already one of my most anticipated.
Oranssi Pazuzu – Kuulen ääniä maan alta
Probably the highlight of my recent gig surge. Good as every band I’ve seen over the past few weeks were, it’s near enough an impossibility to match their overwhelming energy and all-out bizarreness. Imagine going to watch a truly brilliant Oscar winning movie, then outside the cinema you witness a kangaroo parallel parking a Fiat Seicento. You’re only talking about one of those things when you get home aren’t you.
Chris – Guitar
Morpholith – Psychosphere
“Big funeral space doom” is so definitely one of my genres par excellence that I might as well get it tattooed on my forehead. This ticks all the boxes, with big slabs of riff floating on a bed of atmosphere. It’s a kind of cosmic gumbo, y’know?
Harvestman – The Falconer
I didn’t realise this was Steve von Till’s (of Neurosis) side project until Richard pointed out, because it sounds nothing like Neurosis and more like a trippy psychedelic wander through a 70s British folk horror movie. Plus I have to applaud the ambition of doing three entire albums, each between 38 and 44 minutes long, and calling the whole thing Triptych. At this point he’s just showing off.
Gaerea – Coma
I know Richard and Nick probably rinsed this album when it came out earlier in the year (when they weren’t just listening to brat) but I am great at waiting until a moment has passed before jumping on the train myself – which is a long-winded way of saying this new Gaerea album’s a bit good, innit? If you’re going to do atmospheric black metal this is the epitome of what it should sound like!
Anaal Nathrakh – Thus, Always, to Tyrants
Mad to think that it’s been 4 years since this album came out and yet it remains both incredibly timely and utterly savage. In an honestly stacked discography, I think Endarkenment still stands out as one of the Brum grind legends’ best efforts – the melody is dialed up, the aggression is even more aggressive, and the vocals are in fine, vitriolic form. Sic semper tyrannis, indeed.
Lola Kirke – All My Exes Live in L.A
I’ve enjoyed Lola Kirke’s previous releases (not to mention her role in the show Mozart in the Jungle, which gave me an absolutely hopeless crush on her), and I would probably categorise them as lush and dreamy pop. This new EP leans fully into country territory with a knack for very catchy choruses, and there’s no better example of that than this single.
Richard – Bass
Bohren & der Club of Gore – Prowler
Last month I went to see the German dark jazz masters in Birmingham, and it was just as atmospheric and sultry an occasion as you would expect, in the concert hall of the Royal Conservatoire. What I didn’t expect was the incredibly dry humour in between tracks, and just how many people would knock over their plastic glasses really loudly in the darkness throughout the show.
Kelly Lee Owens – Love You Got
Honestly the new KLO album has yet to fully grab me, but this lead single is an undeniable tune. Big beats, big hook, good time.
Linkin Park – Two Faced
Like many my age, Linkin Park were instrumental in my getting into heavy music as a teenager. As such, the tracks on their comeback album From Zero that successfully capture the Hybrid Theory/Meteora-era sound but with an updated production and the new, stellar pipes of Emily Armstrong up front really strike a chord with me. Musically, this track is basically ‘One Step Closer pt. 2’, and I mean that as a good thing. Of course we all miss Chester, but tracks like this make me happy that the rest of the band felt able to return.
Pijn – Our Endless Hours
Obviously we’re predisposed to enjoy the works of our producer bae Joe Clayton, but the new Pijn album has been a real grower for me since they headlined Tall Order Fest that we played back in September. Post rock of top drawer calibre, with a really specific, open feel to the heavy riffs that feels somehow very distinctive whilst being very straightforward, amongst the numerous other textures both organic and electronic.
A Swarm of the Sun – Heathen
Keeping with expansive, post-leaning things, on their new album A Swarm of the Sun have evolved from a solid, crushing post metal band into something more all-encompassing, depressive, patient and vast. Every track is a slow, absorbing, drone-laden lament and when the big releases of heaviness do come they are devastating.
Ba'al 