Description
British epic doom metallers Godthrymm (featuring members once involved in such luminaries as My
Dying Bride, Anathema, Vallenfyre, and Solstice) return with their new album, Distortions. The
follow-up to 2020âs widely-lauded Reflections shows the Halifax-based quartet of Hamish Glencross
(guitars/vocals), Catherine Glencross (keyboards/vocals), âSasquatchâ Bob Crolla (bass), and Shaun
âWinterâ Taylor-Steels (drums) elegantly expanding upon their sound and vision. With tracks like
âFollow Me,â featuring former My Dying Bride compatriot Aaron Stainthorpe, âEchoes,â and
âDevils,â Distortions advances Godthrymm into the hallowed halls of the genre they adore to death.
âI absolutely wanted to create a much more layered and complex arrangement in the sound,â says
Godthrymmâs Hamish Glencross. âTotally amping up the contrasts to the extremeâthe light shines
brighter, and the darker depths are vast trenches. There is a lot more harmony and melancholy for
much of it, but also some slab-heavy riffing, too. We wanted a total progression in the production and
more class and clarity in the sound, as opposed to Reflections, which could get quite dense in tone.â
Distortions is the second part of Glencrossâ Visions trilogyâthe third part, Projections, is already in
the works. Throughout its seven-track, hour-long expanse, Godthrymmâs sophomore effort delves
deeper into the despondent march of post-pandemic singles âChasmâ and âIn Perpetuum,â the latter
released exclusively on Decibel Magazineâs Decibel Flexi Series in 2022. Glencrossâ emotionallycharged
vocals pair perfectly with his towering riffs and thoughtful, crestfallen harmonies.
The rhythmic foundation of Crolla and Taylor-Steels is absolutely critical to Glencrossâ woebegone ĂŠclat. With Catherine Glencrossâ angelic vocals and atmospheric keyboards stitched into the monumental âAs Titans,â the granite-hard âObsess and Regress,â and the stirring âPictures Remain,â Distortions has it all. âThe songwriting for Distortions began during the first lockdown,â Glencross says. âThat inspired me to start writing and recording at home, and that structure helped define how we would ultimately write the album. It was very much isolated for the most part, though. I would write and record the first arrangement of a song and then send it through to the others, who would record their parts and send them back. Then, it would be a case of refining and rewriting as inspired by the contributions of everyone. Only one song, âDevils,â was written in the rehearsal room before the rest of the album.â
For an album centered lyrically on grief, loss, regret, resolve, love, and determination, itâs hard to
imagine something inexplicably heavy yet remarkably beautiful. Producer Andy Hawkins (Hark,
Grave Lines) was the perfect man for the job. Spread across The Nave Studio in Leeds and Sasquatch
Music Studio in Huddersfield, he captured Godthrymm at their most menacing (âUnseen Unheardâ)
and vulnerable (âFollow Meâ). The tones he extracted from Glencross, Crolla, and Taylor-Steels
absolutely crush, while the brighter moments (like Catherine Glencrossâ spell-binding vocals on
âObsess and Regressâ) splinter Godthrymmâs disheartened darkness in two. Distortions was mastered
by Mark Midgley (Doom, Hellkrusher) for Northern Mastering Co.
1. As Titans, 2. Devils, 3. Echoes, 4. Obsess and Regress, 5. Unseen, Unheard, 6. Follow Me, 7.
Pictures Remain, 8. In Perpetuum Eternal (CD Bonus Track)
GENRE: Doom Metal
BARCODE: 843563165027
RELEASE DATE: 18/08/2023