Hey Colossus — Four Bibles (May 17th, 2019) 
★ Hey Colossus is not just one of the finest in their genre but deserve to be considered one of the finest alternative bands out there period. The levels of creativity they bring with each and every album and how they with sometimes subtlety and other times with sheer surprise, take their music in any damn direction they want to, should be good cause to dive into their body of work. Clearly, The Guillotine is one of the finest albums released in 2017.
Location: London, UK
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
Album release: May 17th, 2019
Record Label: ALTER
Duration: 48:35
Tracks:
01 Bees Around the Lime Tree 1:36
02 Memory Gore 4:14
03 Confession Bay 3:47
04 It’s a Low 5:01
05 (Decompression) 2:34
06 Carcass 4:44
07 The Golden Bough 11:00
08 Palm Hex/Arndale Chins 2:26
09 Babes of the Plague 5:38
10 Four Bibles 7:25
Description:
• Coming out of London and the South West of England, Hey Colossus are one of Europe’s great live bands. Since 2003 the 6~piece has been driving around the continent with their “pirate ship” backline of broken amps and triple~guitar drang, elevating audiences in every type of venue imaginable; a doctor’s waiting room in Salford, an industrial unit in Liege and a vast field next to a river in Portugal. Wherever they may roam.
• Four Bibles is their twelfth studio album and the first to be released by London label ALTER, whose sole proprietor (the electronic producer Helm) encountered the group at their first gig in 2003. Recorded by Ben Turner at Space Wolf Studios in Somerset, it’s their most direct album yet and follows a well~documented trajectory of evolution that began (in the truest sense) with 2011’s RRR for Riot Season and continued across three albums for Rocket Recordings. Lead vocalist Paul Sykes sounds more in focus than before, dialling down the effects and using reverb / delay to carry his lyrics rather than smother. The band has also fine~tuned to leave some room for extra depth. Piano, electronics and violin (by Daniel O’Sullivan of This is not This Heat / Grumbling Fur) all find a way in amongst a familiar mesh of interlacing guitars, wrapped round a taut rhythm section. Like every other Hey Colossus record before, the line~up has altered and the sounds reflect this.
• From the weight of “Memory Gore”, to the subtlety and swag of “It’s a Low”, via the sonic extremes of “Palm Hex/Arndale Chins” this is exactly as the band are live; raging & rail~roading but somehow in control. Grooves for those who want to dance or for those who want to hug a wall and nod...bleak dystopian imagery submerged in relentless rhythms and low~end rattle. The songs breath life and soul — Hey Colossus have never sounded fresher or more on point.
• There is a book release to coincide with the album written by bass player (and founding member) Joe Thompson. It’s part of a new series called “Sleevenotes” by Pomona Publishing and the first four are out this year. Joe’s book sits alongside other contributions by Bob Stanley (St Etienne), Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees/Solo), David Gedge (The Wedding Present) and contains a diary of the years leading up to the release of this record. Touring with bands Sumac and Grey Hairs through Europe, recording the album, line~up changes, the band's history and the big question is answered: Why?
Review
by Sean Hewson; Rating: 9
• Having been going since 2003 Hey Colossus have, over their last three or four releases, become the most exciting proper Rock band around. By that I mean proper, stadium~filling Rock. The fact that they’re unassuming chaps with wide~ranging tastes and DIY/Punk beliefs possibly gets in the way of this actually happening. But, they deserve a place up there with the other huge, weird Rock bands like System Of A Down or Faith No More. Their twelfth album, Four Bible, brings the usual flurry of line~up changes (the Farthing brothers have left and been replaced by Chris Summerlin and Will Pearce), but the core remains strong.
• Bees Around The Lime Tree is a short, atmospheric opener before Memory Gore bursts in carried by the power of the Rhys Llewellyn/Joe Thompson rhythm section. Paul Sykes’ reverbed vocal comes in but is almost drowned out by the three guitarists (Pearce, Summerlin, and Robert Davis). It’s an explosive entrance and has one of those weird riffs that make Hey Colossus such an odd Rock band. More atmospherics start Confession Bay. This time Sykes’ strong vocal is relatively unopposed. The rhythm section plays hard, as usual. But the guitarists are picking out awkward arpeggios. The chorus, however, is huge. The loud~quiet~loud dynamics make the song particularly powerful, there’s even a middle eight. There is more spidery guitar picking at the start of It’s A Low and, again, there’s more space for Sykes’ odd, intriguing lyrics and equally beguiling vocal melodies. Daniel O’Sullivan of Grumbling Fur adds some piano towards the end. He appears throughout the album, adding bits of colour on piano, violin, and electronics. (Decompression) is similarly slow but is a huge, fuzzy beast. There is no vocal but it is full of odd riffs and some splendid drumming from Llewellyn. It serves as a mid~point in the album. Occasionally Hey Colossus remind me of Jethro Tull or Family — it’s the strangeness of the riffs and songs whilst they still remain somehow catchy and engaging. Sykes is back for Carcass. His voice seems more exposed and confident than on previous albums, more like the towering presence you encounter when you see the band live. At 11 minutes, The Golden Bough is almost as long as the book it takes its name from. Hey Colossus start out slowly with the combination of rhythmic power and spidery arpeggios that have become something of a trademark. This would be approaching Space Rock if Llewellyn wasn’t hitting so hard. Fragments of tremolo and wah~wah come and go whilst Hey Colossus slowly wind their way through either space or a dark, pagan forest. They could almost be a mid~point between Hawkwind and Jethro Tull but also come across quite like Levitation. The Golden Bough is adventurous and also provides an answer for why they’re not a stadium~filling Rock band. There’s no disgrace in that, just keep pushing further out. At this moment I can’t really think of another band that would put out a song like this — and I mean that as praise. Usual service resumes with the powerful and slightly odd riffs of Palm Hex/Arndale Chins (add that to the list of unused Fall song~titles). It’s actually a bit of a belter and comes in under three minutes. It reminds me a bit of Killing Joke, another band that can combine a scary, occult feeling with powerful playing. The Killing Joke feeling continues with Babes Of The Plague which is another banger with a 70s Punk chord progression. This is exactly what I mean when I say that Hey Colossus are a huge, weird, Rock band. The album finishes with the title track. The band create a strong but dark feel but also manage to make the song into a suitably epic album closer that still manages to confound expectations by playing out with a three minute HC/DOS noise session.
• Hey Colossus cover a lot of ground on this album. Some songs are immediate, some songs are harder work. It’s actually quite hard to rate it for this reason. But, sod it, I’ll come down on the side of ambition and give it a 9. They’ve probably blown their chances of the stadium tour (Pigs x 7 will do it instead) but they’re still the most interesting band making this kind of music. • https://soundblab.com/
Bandcamp: https://heycolossus.bandcamp.com/album/four-bibles
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heycolossus
______________________________________________
Location: London, UK
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
Album release: May 17th, 2019
Record Label: ALTER
Duration: 48:35
Tracks:
01 Bees Around the Lime Tree 1:36
02 Memory Gore 4:14
03 Confession Bay 3:47
04 It’s a Low 5:01
05 (Decompression) 2:34
06 Carcass 4:44
07 The Golden Bough 11:00
08 Palm Hex/Arndale Chins 2:26
09 Babes of the Plague 5:38
10 Four Bibles 7:25
Description:
• Coming out of London and the South West of England, Hey Colossus are one of Europe’s great live bands. Since 2003 the 6~piece has been driving around the continent with their “pirate ship” backline of broken amps and triple~guitar drang, elevating audiences in every type of venue imaginable; a doctor’s waiting room in Salford, an industrial unit in Liege and a vast field next to a river in Portugal. Wherever they may roam.
• Four Bibles is their twelfth studio album and the first to be released by London label ALTER, whose sole proprietor (the electronic producer Helm) encountered the group at their first gig in 2003. Recorded by Ben Turner at Space Wolf Studios in Somerset, it’s their most direct album yet and follows a well~documented trajectory of evolution that began (in the truest sense) with 2011’s RRR for Riot Season and continued across three albums for Rocket Recordings. Lead vocalist Paul Sykes sounds more in focus than before, dialling down the effects and using reverb / delay to carry his lyrics rather than smother. The band has also fine~tuned to leave some room for extra depth. Piano, electronics and violin (by Daniel O’Sullivan of This is not This Heat / Grumbling Fur) all find a way in amongst a familiar mesh of interlacing guitars, wrapped round a taut rhythm section. Like every other Hey Colossus record before, the line~up has altered and the sounds reflect this.
• From the weight of “Memory Gore”, to the subtlety and swag of “It’s a Low”, via the sonic extremes of “Palm Hex/Arndale Chins” this is exactly as the band are live; raging & rail~roading but somehow in control. Grooves for those who want to dance or for those who want to hug a wall and nod...bleak dystopian imagery submerged in relentless rhythms and low~end rattle. The songs breath life and soul — Hey Colossus have never sounded fresher or more on point.
• There is a book release to coincide with the album written by bass player (and founding member) Joe Thompson. It’s part of a new series called “Sleevenotes” by Pomona Publishing and the first four are out this year. Joe’s book sits alongside other contributions by Bob Stanley (St Etienne), Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees/Solo), David Gedge (The Wedding Present) and contains a diary of the years leading up to the release of this record. Touring with bands Sumac and Grey Hairs through Europe, recording the album, line~up changes, the band's history and the big question is answered: Why?
Review
by Sean Hewson; Rating: 9
• Having been going since 2003 Hey Colossus have, over their last three or four releases, become the most exciting proper Rock band around. By that I mean proper, stadium~filling Rock. The fact that they’re unassuming chaps with wide~ranging tastes and DIY/Punk beliefs possibly gets in the way of this actually happening. But, they deserve a place up there with the other huge, weird Rock bands like System Of A Down or Faith No More. Their twelfth album, Four Bible, brings the usual flurry of line~up changes (the Farthing brothers have left and been replaced by Chris Summerlin and Will Pearce), but the core remains strong.
• Bees Around The Lime Tree is a short, atmospheric opener before Memory Gore bursts in carried by the power of the Rhys Llewellyn/Joe Thompson rhythm section. Paul Sykes’ reverbed vocal comes in but is almost drowned out by the three guitarists (Pearce, Summerlin, and Robert Davis). It’s an explosive entrance and has one of those weird riffs that make Hey Colossus such an odd Rock band. More atmospherics start Confession Bay. This time Sykes’ strong vocal is relatively unopposed. The rhythm section plays hard, as usual. But the guitarists are picking out awkward arpeggios. The chorus, however, is huge. The loud~quiet~loud dynamics make the song particularly powerful, there’s even a middle eight. There is more spidery guitar picking at the start of It’s A Low and, again, there’s more space for Sykes’ odd, intriguing lyrics and equally beguiling vocal melodies. Daniel O’Sullivan of Grumbling Fur adds some piano towards the end. He appears throughout the album, adding bits of colour on piano, violin, and electronics. (Decompression) is similarly slow but is a huge, fuzzy beast. There is no vocal but it is full of odd riffs and some splendid drumming from Llewellyn. It serves as a mid~point in the album. Occasionally Hey Colossus remind me of Jethro Tull or Family — it’s the strangeness of the riffs and songs whilst they still remain somehow catchy and engaging. Sykes is back for Carcass. His voice seems more exposed and confident than on previous albums, more like the towering presence you encounter when you see the band live. At 11 minutes, The Golden Bough is almost as long as the book it takes its name from. Hey Colossus start out slowly with the combination of rhythmic power and spidery arpeggios that have become something of a trademark. This would be approaching Space Rock if Llewellyn wasn’t hitting so hard. Fragments of tremolo and wah~wah come and go whilst Hey Colossus slowly wind their way through either space or a dark, pagan forest. They could almost be a mid~point between Hawkwind and Jethro Tull but also come across quite like Levitation. The Golden Bough is adventurous and also provides an answer for why they’re not a stadium~filling Rock band. There’s no disgrace in that, just keep pushing further out. At this moment I can’t really think of another band that would put out a song like this — and I mean that as praise. Usual service resumes with the powerful and slightly odd riffs of Palm Hex/Arndale Chins (add that to the list of unused Fall song~titles). It’s actually a bit of a belter and comes in under three minutes. It reminds me a bit of Killing Joke, another band that can combine a scary, occult feeling with powerful playing. The Killing Joke feeling continues with Babes Of The Plague which is another banger with a 70s Punk chord progression. This is exactly what I mean when I say that Hey Colossus are a huge, weird, Rock band. The album finishes with the title track. The band create a strong but dark feel but also manage to make the song into a suitably epic album closer that still manages to confound expectations by playing out with a three minute HC/DOS noise session.
• Hey Colossus cover a lot of ground on this album. Some songs are immediate, some songs are harder work. It’s actually quite hard to rate it for this reason. But, sod it, I’ll come down on the side of ambition and give it a 9. They’ve probably blown their chances of the stadium tour (Pigs x 7 will do it instead) but they’re still the most interesting band making this kind of music. • https://soundblab.com/
Bandcamp: https://heycolossus.bandcamp.com/album/four-bibles
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heycolossus
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