GODTHRYMM Is One Of The Best Things To Happen To British Doom Metal Since The 1990s

By David E. Gehlke

Hamish Glencross has the perfect British doom metal pedigree. The guitarist is from West Yorkshire, the same dark, overcast and self-deprecating place that gave birth to PARADISE LOST and MY DYING BRIDE. Glencross got his first break with fellow West Yorkshire doomsters SOLSTICE in 1996, then moved over to the aforementioned MY DYING BRIDE, where he remained until 2014. His next stop was with VALLENFYRE, the crusty death metal project of PARADISE LOST's Greg Mackintosh, before starting GODTHRYMM in 2017 with drummer Shaun Taylor-Steels, who also played with MY DYING BRIDE and ANATHEMA. Given Glencross's background and experience, GODTHRYMM was almost assured to be of quality. Three full-length studio albums and four EPs in, it's without question that the band is the most exciting British doom entry since the fabled 1990s.

"Projections", GODTHRYMM's newest studio foray, completes the band's "Visions" trilogy, which started with 2020's uncompromisingly bleak "Reflections" and 2023's more expansive and melodic "Distortions". Glencross, in addition to guitar duties, serves as the band's lead vocalist. For the second consecutive album, he is joined on vocals by his wife Catherine, providing GODTHRYMM with an ethereal edge that serves as a counterweight to the band's otherwise crushing brand of doom. "Projections" also features a guest vocal spot from now former MY DYING BRIDE frontman Aaron Stainthorpe, which was just one of the many topics when BLABBERMOUTH.NET caught up with Glencross.

Blabbermouth: You were in SOLSTICE, then MY DYING BRIDE for a while. When you started GODTHRYMM, what was the intention?

Hamish: "The impetus for it was the [2015] Decibel [magazine] tour. I was with VALLENFYRE at the time, and I was having a blast playing crusty death metal with Greg. It was a blast doing something different. Yeah, we were mixing in some doomy tones and passages, but most of it was up-tempo and nastier kind of stuff. It was great fun; I really enjoyed it. Then, touring with PALLBEARER and listening to them, just absolutely loving what they were doing. It reignited my passion for that style of music. They had asked me about the bands I had been in, and then we talked about the old ones. I came off that tour and talked with some more friends, like Shaun, the drummer and [and first GODTHRYMM guitarist] Chaz [Netherwood], with whom I was in SOLSTICE, saying, 'What these guys are doing is amazing [PALLBEARER]. Have a listen. They really liked what we did in the past.' I fancied having a bit of a jam, getting some old friends together. We had a few nights of jamming on music and enjoying each other's company, then we started jamming on some new music. At that point, it was about rekindling old friendships, reconnecting with our passion for this style of music, and then starting to write some new music. I thought, 'Right, we'll get a studio booked with [producer/engineer] Dan Mullins and Academy Studios.' I had been out there before. As it went on, we had the chance to come up with a name, and I didn't think too much of it other than, 'Has the name been used before?' 'No.' 'Is the domain available?' 'Yes.' Fine! That will do! I wasn't thinking we'll get loads of people calling it 'God-rhythm' or tripping up the pronunciation. It became a part of the process. We had recorded and done some shows, then the focus kind of shifted as the band started evolving. It went on from there. It was great playing with Shaun again. We had been playing on and off in bands for about 30 years."

Blabbermouth: It's nice that you and Shaun are both MY DYING BRIDE alumni.

Hamish: "We go back. We just talked about this; it's funny that back in the 90s, we talked about forming a band with Catherine on vocals. It didn't happen at the time. As we've gone on, she did guest spots on our first album that grew into a greater presence on the second, and now she's taking the lead. [Laughs]"

Blabbermouth: You are a little younger than the PARADISE LOST and MY DYING BRIDE guys. Is this kind of music in your blood?

Hamish: "Definitely. I was always the 'younger' guy, and I knew the PARADISE LOST guys first. [Original PARADISE LOST drummer] 'Tuds' [Matthew Archer] and his family lived over the road when I was a kid. We were at the same school. He was a bit older, so I always looked up to him, and he recommended music and comics. Then, when PARADISE LOST was starting, it was like, 'Whoa! This is amazing.' I was always the young guy and hanging around, wanting to catch up with the rest. Hearing those bands and being there at the time when the scene was just really defining itself was amazing. I wanted to be a part of that. Then, I spent time trying those different things and coming back to where I feel most authentic and natural. This is what comes most naturally. There is a spot in the early days of GODTHRYMM, when I was trying to do a just-single-guitar lineup with a big, loud bass guitar and big, loud amps, really enjoying moving some air with fuzzy tones, distortion and feedback. It was good fun, but when it came to composing and recording, I had to acknowledge that I really feel most comfortable doing guitar harmonies. Layering the guitars. That's the stuff that I'm really passionate about. Then, I had to go back into that, all the things again. Then, the band has evolved, and it's readily apparent when you listen to our progression. It's a band that has evolved, grown in confidence to acknowledge all of the different influences and mix things up appropriately."

Blabbermouth: While on the subject of evolution, the band is still doing doom, but the guitars are heavier. There's more straight metal muscle on "Projections".

Hamish: "That's a lovely way of putting it: 'The straight metal muscle.' [Laughs] 'Reflections' was very much a loving tribute to the music and the innovators of that scene, and the music I was so passionate about. It was very much looking at the past. 'Distortions' was mixing things up a bit more in the present, and then the idea of 'Projections' was looking to the future, 'Where can we go? Where can the band evolve?' If that means bringing in extra instrumentation, different influences and sounds, then fantastic! We don't want to have restrictions. If we want to go off on a thrash metal section, because we love doing it. Okay, cool. Why not? It's the natural step. It's then going to be counted against some weighty, crushing, epic doom riffs. I think there are lighter moments on the album, too. 'Reflections' is bleak. It's a bleak-sounding album. The production is very ominous. It's a dark album, but with this, there's a lot more contrast, and I kind of feel that to truly have pitch-black, it's going to need to go against the light. Then, if you're going to have some real sorrowful sections, they will be fueled by knowing what love feels like and by the hope of moving out of the darker sides. That's conveyed lyrically quite a bit as well. A lot of stuff is about acknowledging personal loss and tragedy, but it's also wanting to kind of have the strength to work through it and come out at the other end and look to the future and appreciate everything that's made us who we are."

Blabbermouth: Nick Holmes (PARADISE LOST) always jokes about how he can "grunt in key," and you have somewhat of the same approach. Do you enjoy doing it? Or was it out of necessity?

Hamish: "I enjoy it a lot more now. I started with singing in GODTHRYMM because Mark [Stoisavlevic, ex-SOLSTICE] didn't want to pursue it, so we had to carry on. I had a very definite idea of the kind of vocal on the song 'A Grand Reclamation'. Not having really written lyrics much before, I've written a few things, but it's never been the main focus. I had a bit of an idea of these lyrics, and they were coming out quite easily. Sometimes it's more like kind of picking at a splinter in your hand, but writing those lyrics, it was like, 'Oh yeah!' They came out easily. I had a very definite idea of what I wanted to do vocally. Even though I've never done much singing, to do the first kind of song, being just quite stark, bass guitar and drums backing with a loud vocal over the top, that was really something inside of me that I felt inspired to go for it. [Laughs] Yeah, I'm confined to a bit of self-doubt, like, 'Oh, this feels quite vulnerable.' With guitars, you've got volume and distortion, and that's great, that's fine, but vocally, just a voice, it was like, 'Crikey, that's quite something.' I had the desire to go and do it, but I was lacking in experience. I'm a bit wobbly on confidence, which is why I'm quite keen to have another voice in the band. You can hear on the first album that I was trying to find different voices and trying different styles. You mention Nick Holmes. There's a song on there called 'Among The Exalted'. I recorded a cleaner vocal in the studio, then I said to the engineer, 'I want to do it again, but I want to do an 'Old Nick.'' I was very clear that it was going for the Nick Holmes early album style. The engineer was like, 'Oh, okay. That seems to work!' Another song where I tried a bit of a Tom Waits style, but it kind of felt like trying different voices and needing to find a bit more comfortable voice of my own. Then, the more shows we did, the more recording we did and recording at home, again, just having the opportunities to try different styles and approaches, and working more with Catherine. She's amazing in that regard. Simultaneously, it took a bit of the pressure off me, thinking, 'I'm not the only voice here.' She can do some heavy lifting. It lifted the pressure, but also put a different kind of pressure on me because I wanted to do more; I wanted to up my game to match what she's doing. We tried some different things and pushed boundaries a bit more, with the knowledge of, 'If I'm trying to do something that's clearly too much, then ask her to do it.'"

Blabbermouth: Aaron Stainthorpe does a guest spot on "Endure My Skin". Did you stay on good terms after you left MY DYING BRIDE?

Hamish: "After I left, we didn't see each other for a while. We were both very busy in our respective areas, but whenever we'd see each other, it was always very friendly, like we were picking up where we left off. It's amazing whenever we get to see each other now. It's great spending time with an old friend. We spent an awful lot of time together. Certainly, with the song in question, I very much knew what it would sound like with these vocals."

Blabbermouth: It has Aaron Stainthorpe written all over it.

Hamish: "I originally wanted to have that song have more of a death metal vocal presence on it. Then, we tried different layered clean vocals, but I still wanted that death metal growling. I knew exactly how Aaron would sound. I asked him, and he said, 'Yeah! Absolutely, that would be great.' I came around, gave him the lyrics, told him where I wanted the death metal vocals, and he just went for it. It was like, 'Wow! It sounds amazing.' It went so well. I felt so good doing something creative with him. He said, 'Oh, if you want more, I'm up for doing it.' I was like, 'Okay!' As he was leaving that evening, I was thinking, 'Right, yeah, where else in the song can he be?' I was looking and thought, 'We've got more lines he can use.' Pretty much was onto it the next day, where we said, 'If you're up for some clean vocals, they'd be really cool here.' He did and enjoyed it, but he said, 'We need to do a reprise after the death metal vocals.' It kept growing. It was a wonderful process."

Blabbermouth: Do you have a take on him not being in MY DYING BRIDE? It's weird not seeing him fronting the band.

Hamish: "I wish them all the best. After so many years of putting so much into that band, it's got to be hard for Aaron. Being in a band, it's different than friendships; it's like being in a relationship. The highs are amazing, and the lows are pretty heavy. You've invested so much into it. I don't know the ins and outs of the whole thing, but it's a band with an incredible history and a body of work. They're still making great music. I don't know. I look forward to what everyone is going to do in the future."

Blabbermouth: It's not very often that a musician can leave a successful band and then start a new one and actually get it off the ground as you have with GODTHRYMM. Do you feel like you've always been building to this moment, or did it just happen naturally?

Hamish: "I just feel fortunate to be in the position where we're able to create the albums and share this music with people as much as possible. And having the support of a label such as Profound Lore. Chris [Bruni, owner] is just fantastic. The support has been amazing. I am just so thankful to him because, as I go on, I know the real passion is writing, creating, recording, and, as we've gone on, getting more involved in the recording process and learning more about that world as well, which is just fantastic. Having the support of a label like Profound Lore just means we can do things in the best possible way, using fantastic facilities like The Nave Studios, which has an amazing live room. Also, having built our own studio, we can record things at the level we can, spend more time and have the opportunity to tweak and refine songs and try different ideas. That's kind of amazing. And, then, to be able to get such an incredible job with the cover art as Mitchell Nolte has done for us. It's a phenomenal cover. It's all made possible through the support of Chris Bruni and Profound Lore. It's amazing. We've been asked a few times, 'Would you want to carry on with the traditional route of having a record label?' I've said, 'Absolutely.' From having the support of a label like theirs, I think it's worth so much. It inspires you to consider what you can do and hope to achieve with the music."

Photo by Frank Ralph