{"id":99620,"date":"2025-07-17T20:30:32","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T19:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=99620"},"modified":"2025-07-17T20:30:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T19:30:32","slug":"review-baal-the-fine-line-between-heaven-and-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-baal-the-fine-line-between-heaven-and-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Ba\u2019al &#8211; The Fine Line Between Heaven and Here"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Steel City quintet\u00a0<strong>Ba&#8217;al<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>specialise in bleak, atmospheric post-black metal. Their second full-length,\u00a0<em>&#8216;The Fine Line Between Heaven and Here,&#8217;\u00a0<\/em>comes five years after their debut album, <em>&#8216;Ellipsism&#8217;<\/em>. It was also recorded during the same sessions that saw them record last year&#8217;s\u00a0<em>&#8216;Soft Eyes&#8217;<\/em> EP. Though only three tracks long, the EP gave <strong>Ba\u2019al<\/strong> room to experiment and explore their sound, adding post-rock to their palette. Its follow-up considerably continues this trend, allowing the Sheffield mob to showcase a textured and layered approach.<\/p>\n<p>Made up of six tracks stretched over 62 minutes,\u00a0<em>The Fine Line\u2026&#8217;<\/em> is made to be patiently consumed. However, it regularly rewards listeners. Take the opening track,\u00a0<em>&#8216;Mother&#8217;s Concrete Womb,&#8217;\u00a0<\/em>as an example. As it ebbs and flows through moments of tranquil poise and harsh brutality, the payoff comes through Nick Gosling and Chris Mole&#8217;s riveting guitars and Luke Rutter&#8217;s monolithic drumming.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"BA&#039;AL - WELL OF SORROWS (LYRIC VISUALISER)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/G478c-8mBOQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8216;Waxwork Gorgon&#8217;<\/em>s opens pensively before erupting into black metal ferocity, driven by Joe Stamps&#8217; fiery growl. As the guitars fall back into the shadows, Stamps&#8217; semi-sung vocals are delivered with trepidation, building a doom-laden conclusion. Alongside <em>&#8216;Floral Cairn,&#8217;<\/em> it takes the more direct approach yet remains as hellacious and efficacious. On the latter, Stamps&#8217; scorching, piercing screams battle panic-stricken riffs with Rutter and bassist Richard Spencer ramping up the chaos. This all unfolds against the backdrop of teasing, sweeping strings. Stamps then delivers a spoken word passage that offers a moment of reflective respite,\u00a0before one final destructive eruption.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8216;Well of Sorrows&#8217;<\/em> is the album&#8217;s centrepiece. Easing in with a gorgeous guitar melody,\u00a0<strong>Ba&#8217;al<\/strong>&#8216;s use of atmosphere and pacing is exquisite. As guitars rise, the intensity charges through, allowing the quintet&#8217;s layered sound (along with Joe Clayton&#8217;s production work) to shine. It&#8217;s complemented by <em>&#8216;The Ocean That Fills a Wound&#8217;<\/em>. As Stamps&#8217; clean vocals croon against a hypnotic backdrop, Gosling and Mole threaten to derail the train of its ethereal track. Sure enough, Rutter&#8217;s frenetic pounding and Joe&#8217;s sharp screams charge through. A blistering solo is even thrown in for good measure, all within the first five minutes of this 13-minute epic.\u00a0The remainder exemplifies <strong>Ba&#8217;al<\/strong>&#8216;s dynamism, throwing in elements of sludge and doom metal before atmospheric horns bring the track to an end.\u00a0However, this journey isn&#8217;t over yet, as <em>&#8216;Legasov&#8217;\u00a0<\/em>crawls out of the shadows. Brooding with intensity, Stamps&#8217; gnawing screams play over twisting guitars and impressive drumwork.<\/p>\n<p>While comparisons to names such as Deafheaven, Amenra, and M\u00d8L are inevitable, <strong>Ba&#8217;al<\/strong> shouldn&#8217;t be summed up as imitators. <em>&#8216;The Fine Line Between Heaven and Here&#8217;\u00a0<\/em>is a towering achievement &#8211;\u00a0 relentless, immersive, and richly textured. It is a ruthless feat of a record that allows the Sheffield band to carve their path within the post-black metal ranks.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8216;The Fine Line Between Heaven and Here&#8217;<\/em> by\u00a0<strong>Ba&#8217;al<\/strong> is released on July 18th on\u00a0<strong>Road To Masochist<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Find <strong>Ba&#8217;al<\/strong> on: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/baalbanduk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/baalbanduk\">X (Formerly Twitter)<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/baalbanduk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/0Xm65mpUkHOYOmeUWoq96Y?si=4RejvC4NTkiWoQOyZ5FxMA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/gb\/artist\/baal\/1438781602\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple Music<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/baalbanduk.bandcamp.com\/album\/the-fine-line-between-heaven-and-here\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bandcamp<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/linktr.ee\/baalbanduk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Linktr.ee<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/baalband.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Website<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blending atmosphere, ferocity, and layered textures into a compelling listen, the Sheffield quintet deliver a bleak, immersive post-black metal opus<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99621,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[17808],"class_list":["post-99620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-baal"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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