UK post-black metal force Ba’al announce new album and share intense new single

Less than a year after the release of their critically acclaimed EP Soft Eyes, Sheffield post-black metal quintet Ba’al return with their most ambitious work to date.

Their forthcoming second full-length album, The Fine Line Between Heaven and Here, was produced, engineered, and mixed by Joe Clayton at No Studio, mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, and is set to be released on July 18th via Road To Masochist.

In the meantime, the lead single “Floral Cairn” — an absorbing, emotionally charged, and sonically weighty track that perfectly encapsulates the depth and magnitude of the record — is now streaming everywhere. Check it out here.

Vocalist Joe had this to say on the lyrics of “Floral Cairn”: 

“The lyrics to Floral Cairn reflect the frustration surrounding society’s attitude towards mental health and, quite specifically, suicide. From those frequently of an older generation who have a ‘man up’ approach and feel that anything resembling compassionate discussion or recognising mental health issues is a display of weakness, to the media that so often oversimplifies the topic just enough to tick a few boxes in the hope it will amount to meaningful impact.”

Recorded during the same sessions as the Soft Eyes EP, the album shares both sonic and thematic threads, with the addition of synths and strings further enhancing the band’s expansive and captivating sound.

Bassist Richard reflects on the overall album: 

“We’ve learned and grown a lot as a band in the years since our first album was released, and The Fine Line… really feels like an important milestone in that process. We poured a lot of ourselves into this, both musically and lyrically, and really pushed ourselves to both try some new things and refine the best of what has already made Ba’al what it is. This album has been a very long time in the making and we’re extremely proud of all the work we put into it. We can’t wait for people to hear it.”

Formed in 2016, Ba’al quickly became a cornerstone of Sheffield’s heavy music scene, winning the Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses competition on their first attempt. Their standout performance at Bloodstock Festival led to an invitation from legendary producer Russ Russell (At The Gates, Dimmu Borgir, Napalm Death) to record the crushing single Thy Sorrow at Parlour Studios.

Following two EPs and their 2020 debut album Ellipsism (Clobber Records), Ba’al embarked on UK tours with Gozer and Ofnus, earning a reputation for emotionally intense, genre-blurring live shows.

Meanwhile, the band is preparing a UK tour and has been confirmed to perform at this year’s Bloodstock Festival at the Sophie Lancaster Stage.