Released: 01/09/23
London’s Hey Colossus, formed in 2003, are part of the enduring and elite subset of British bands who do metal/sludge/psych/stoner rock as good as anything from North America – Mogwai and the great Part Chimp also being members of this rarefied club. While musically, comparisons can be drawn with groups across the Atlantic, in particular True Widow, Melvins, and Low at their heaviest, what sets Hey Colossus apart is their fascination with British paganism and folk mythology, which not only informs the lyrics but also Paul Sykes’ often plaintive vocal melodies, which are redolent of Polly Harvey at her witchiest (see Let England Shake).
And so on In Blood, the follow-up to 2020’s excellent Dances / Curses, we get songs such ‘Perle’, which explores the mournful 14th-century Middle English ‘dream vision’ poem of the same name; the folkloric paean to nature ‘Over Cedar Limb’; and ‘Avalon’, with all its rich connections to King Arthur, Merlin, et al. In less capable hands, such mystical allusions can come across as lumpen and silly: see Led Zeppelin, who were mercilessly lampooned by Spinal Tap with ‘Stone Henge’ (‘Stone Henge, where the demons dwell, and the banshees live – and they do live well … '), but Hey Colossus are far too imaginative and smart for that, and so with In Blood we are treated to one of the best sludge/noise rock albums of recent years, by one of our most consistently excellent groups.