Godthrymm, the British epic doom metal outfit featuring members once involved in such luminaries as My Dying Bride, Anathema, Vallenfyre, and Solstice, today unveil their latest single “Devils” and its accompanying video. The track comes by way of the band’s new album, Distortions, set for release on August 18th via Profound Lore Records.
The follow-up to 2020’s widely lauded Reflections shows the Halifax-based quartet of Hamish Glencross (guitars, vocals), Catherine Glencross (keyboards, vocals), “Sasquatch” Bob Crolla (bass), and Shaun “Winter” Taylor-Steels (drums) elegantly expanding upon their sound and vision. With tracks like “Follow Me”, featuring former My Dying Bride compatriot Aaron Stainthorpe, “Echoes”, and “Devils”, Distortions advances Godthrymm into the hallowed halls of the genre they adore to death.
Comments Hamish of “Devils”, “Yes, we’ve got a video! So this gives the opportunity to showcase a riff heavy stomper from the new album, with the live lineup heads down in the studio where we recorded Distortions. Whereas ‘Echoes’ finds us in a more melancholic, somber mood, this rocks in a heavier metal fashion. Look, listen, and loud!”
Distortions will be released on CD, LP, cassette, and digital formats. Find pre-orders here.
Distortions is the second part of Hamish Glencross’ Visions trilogy — the third part, Projections, is already in the works. Throughout its seven-track, hour-long expanse, Godthrymm’s sophomore effort delves deeper into the despondent march of post-pandemic singles “Chasm” and “In Perpetuum”. Glencross’ emotionally-charged vocals pair perfectly with his towering riffs and thoughtful, crestfallen harmonies. The rhythmic foundation of Crolla and Taylor-Steels is absolutely critical to Glencross’ woebegone éclat. With Catherine Glencross’ angelic vocals and atmospheric keyboards stitched into the monumental “As Titans,” the granite-hard “Obsess And Regress”, and the stirring “Pictures Remain”, Distortions has it all.
“The songwriting for Distortions began during the first lockdown,” Hamish says. “That 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, ‘Devils’, was written in the rehearsal room before the rest of the album.”
For an album centered lyrically on grief, loss, regret, resolve, love, and determination, it’s 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 (“Unseen Unheard”) and vulnerable (“Follow Me”). The tones he extracted from Glencross, Crolla, and Taylor-Steels absolutely crush, while the brighter moments (like Catherine Glencross’ spell-binding vocals on “Obsess and Regress”) splinter Godthrymm’s disheartened darkness in two. Distortions was mastered by Mark Midgley (Doom, Hellkrusher) for Northern Mastering Co.
For a band that formed in 2017, Godthrymm are on an impressive run. Not only have they proven to be a formidable live act—invites to Bloodstock Open Air, In Flammen Open Air, and Tomorrow’s Ghost Festival are but the beginning—but the group’s prolific output of three EPs, two singles, and two full-length albums have also repositioned England as the epicenter of high-quality, epic-sounding doom metal. The cover art by Andy Green (My Dying Bride, Strangeways) is simply a force multiplier. All eyes are on Godthrymm with Distortions.
Distortions tracklisting:
"As Titans"
"Devils"
"Echoes"
"Obsess And Regress"
"Unseen Unheard"
"Follow Me"
"Pictures Remain"
"Echoes":
(Photo - Frank Ralph)
