Godthrymm: On Reflection

Throughout music history there has been a sense of import, of confluence around certain locations. The fecund ground of industrial Birmingham spawned not only BLACK SABBATH and heavy metal as a genre, but acts like JUDAS PRIEST, NAPALM DEATH and GODFLESH. In the states, Atlanta and its Georgian surroundings gave birth to a clutch of genre defining sludge-prog acts including KYLESA, BARONESS, and MASTODON.

While Halifax might not be lauded as a spawning ground for greatness in the same way that other locales are, something about its West Yorkshire surrounds provided a groundswell of the miserable and the melancholic – in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, funeral and gothic doom pioneers including MY DYING BRIDE and PARADISE LOST sprung forth, leaving an imprint on the doom scene that is still resonating thirty years later.

For acolytes of this era of British heavy metal, the name Hamish Glencross will no doubt ring a funeral bell for many. As part of both MY DYING BRIDE and VALLENFYRE he put a sonic stamp on British doom across two decades. And, if the debut full-length from three-man epic doom wrecking crew GODTHRYMM is anything to go by, he’s not finished yet.

“Reflections is in part a loving tribute to the doom scene and its glorious history, and what inspired me so much when hearing those great records for the first time thirty years ago”, says Glencross of the band’s first full-length release and its influences. “Some of the stylings and sounds hark back to that scene, but interpreted in a way utilising evolved sounds and production techniques, and the gathered experience of having been writing, recording and performing in bands for a number of years. In truth, it is simply the sound of exactly what we want to write and play – unashamedly wearing our hearts on our sleeves in regards to influence; we’re not trying to create something new and different – we just want to create the music we love which is heavy, crushing, melancholic and dark doom metal.”

Does Glencross see Reflections as a continuation of the band’s work on their previous EP’s, 2018’s A Grand Reclamation and 2019’s Dead In The Studio, or does he see the record as an evolution or even departure? “Each release marks a profound step in the evolution of the band, each moving closer to this point,” he explains. “At first, our passion was simply enjoying reconnecting to the music we had been a part of before, but as we started creating more new music, the focus and delivery became more refined, focused, and singular in vision.”

Reflections is a classic metal album title, evoking many different readings and interpretations. What reflections does Glencross believe the album explores? “Musically, it reflects our past works with other bands and musicians that brought us up to this point, as well as acknowledging our inspirations and influence’, he says. ‘Lyrically, some of the songs look at snapshots of personal events, and the feelings and emotional growth of strength that such experiences lead to. We wear our scars proud, as reflecting on past trials and tribulations can shape and mould us to be better people.”

Speaking of trials and tribulations, GODTHRYMM have had their share since their inception in 2017, going through several line up alterations. Band members aside, how does Glencross think the band has changed over the last three years? “We’ve become more focused and driven in what we do. We started off doing this just as fun, something for old friends to enjoy reconnecting with. But as the songwriting developed, it became clear that this was going to demand much more of our time and devotion,” he explains. “As such, we went through a couple of lineup changes, but now the band is incredibly solid and completely inspired. The total constant is the love for this style of music, and the friendship at the centre of this band.”

At a towering 54 minutes and 30 seconds long, Reflections might present a daunting first listen for the doom initiate. Is there anywhere that Glencross believes a more casual observer may be able to dip their toe in the inky black waters? “Personally, I think The Sea as my Grave is the best song I have written to date – it has huge riffs, beautiful lead tone and harmonies, and a surprisingly big vocal chorus. I am immensely proud of my vocals on that song, as I am still rather much inexperienced as a singer compared to as a guitarist,” he says. “I think it’s a very immediate song, and perfectly encapsulates our whole essence as a band. That’s why I very keen to use that song as an introduction to the band.”

Doom has become somewhat of a catch-all term for a broad spectrum of artists and sounds over the last decade. Having been involved in the scene for nearly three decades, does Glencross think doom has ventured too far from its origins? “I think it has become very broad-reaching – there are a lot of bands (good bands too) who are more interested in creating tones via amplifier worship and creating sound as a physical force rather than creating riffs in the way that we do. That’s fine, but is just very different to what is important to us, which is creating songs,” he says. “The RIFF is of upmost important to us rather than simply volume. Sure, we use some damn nice loud amps and have incorporated some of those tones, but ultimately they’re tools to help create the songs and sound rather than just BE the whole song and sound.”

While he identifies differences between GODTHRYMM’s approach to doom and the work of others, Glencross sees the current variety in the doom scene as a positive. “I actually think it’s pretty great that there’s so much action and diversity in the scene now. It’s a fascinating age of being so easy to discover new and interesting bands. I’ve recently been discovering a world of newer music that I hadn’t been exposed to as I had lost touch a bit with ‘the scene’ but I’m so glad to be right back in it now.”

With the release of Reflections, can we expect to see the trio out on the road in support of the record? “We want to play as many live shows as possible in support of this album – we love playing live and have got a great chemistry. We work incredibly well putting the POWER into the power trio format!” Glencross laughs. Are GODTHRYMM putting this power into working on any follow up material as yet? “I’ve got ideas flying around for new songs. Performing with these guys is very inspiring and I’m already itching to get on writing and recording,” Glencross explains. “I am very much looking forward to writing more new stuff at the earliest opportunity. We feel very inspired at present! I can’t wait to hear what we do next!”

Reflections is out now via Profound Lore.

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