VÖLUR & CARES release first single 'Breathless Spirit' ahead of new album • GRIMM Gent

Toronto-based doom trio VÖLUR unveil “Breathless Spirit,” the first single from their forthcoming collaborative album with producer and sound artist CARES. The track previews the full-length Breathless Spirit, arriving August 8 via Batke Records, and introduces the record’s central themes of isolation, fear, and breath through a sound that merges doom metal, folk, and experimental production.

“Breathless Spirit” begins with massive, distorted low-end weight and thundering drums, immediately immersing the listener in the heaviest territory VÖLUR has explored to date. As the track progresses, it unravels into layers of chaos and fragmentation before reforming into a luminous, almost pastoral folk-rock ballad reminiscent of FAIRPORT CONVENTION. At its heart is a transformation, moving from darkness and density into clarity, melody, and open space.

The song reflects the album’s interest in psychological and narrative transitions, drawing from The Saga of Grettir the Strong, a 13th-century Icelandic tale of a cursed outlaw. Rather than offering a linear retelling, VÖLUR use the saga as a framework for exploring internal collapse and rebirth. CARES (James Beardmore) expands the band’s sonic palette with synthesizers, theremin, piano, and custom processing that bends and reshapes the acoustic core of violin, bass, and drums.

The full album Breathless Spirit will be released August 8 on Batke Records. Physical editions include a standard 12-inch vinyl and a limited Diehard Edition featuring a 7-inch bonus record and a specially crafted herbal tea designed to accompany the listening experience. The artwork features the Breathless Spirit stone cut print by Inuit artist Saimaiyu Akesuk, used with permission from Dorset Fine Arts.

Breathless Spirit Track Listing:

Hearth
Windbourne Sorcery I
Windbourne Sorcery II
Breathless Spirit
On Drangey
Death in Solitude
Glamr
Flutterby Numbers

VÖLUR is a Toronto-based experimental doom metal trio composed of Laura C. Bates (violin, vocals), Lucas Gadke (bass, vocals), and Justin Ruppel (drums). Known for their unorthodox instrumentation and boundary-pushing compositions, VÖLUR draws from a wide range of influences including doom metal, European folk, free improvisation, classical music, and Persian/Kurdish traditions. Their sound, often described as haunting and cinematic, blends thunderous low-end weight with fragile melodic tension. Since forming in 2014, they have released multiple albums and EPs, performed at festivals such as ProphecyFest and Sled Island, and collaborated with artists from around the world as part of their Die Sprachen der Vögel series.

CARES is the project of James Beardmore, a UK-born, Ontario-based musician and producer. Known for his experimental production methods and emotional sonic textures, Beardmore integrates analog synthesizers, hacked hardware, custom Max/MSP instruments, and field recordings into compositions that are as tactile as they are atmospheric. His work with VÖLUR on Breathless Spirit is a seamless collaboration that expands the band’s sonic universe, elevating their music into a richly layered fusion of organic and electronic sound.

Together, VÖLUR & CARES create immersive, mythically charged music that resists categorization, rooted in story and sound, breath and ritual.

VÖLUR is:

Laura C. Bates – violin, electric violin, viola, cymbals, vocals
Lucas Gadke – electric bass, double bass, harmonium, keyboards, tanbur, clarinet, bass clarinet, vocals
Justin Ruppel – drums, percussion