Official press release:
Argento Records confirms the March release of Irwell, the debut album from Manchester, UK-based black metal outfit, Cold Fell.
Named after a mountain in the Northern Pennines, Cold Fell‘s music reflects the outsider spirit and abrasive landscape which surrounds them. Aiming to reflect images of the crumbling provincial towns and hostile moors of the North of England, Cold Fell deliver these visions through heavy and ugly black metal, influenced as much by contemporary death metal as the black metal greats of old.
Irwell, the band’s first proper full-length recorded document, focuses on the grim truth of dead-end satellite towns and weekend violence. Over the course of seven tracks, the album paints a depressing picture of England in the modern age and explores how humanity’s baser instincts and neuroses manifest in this setting. Irwell was mixed and mastered by Tom Dring at Vagrant (Dragged Into Sunlight, Corrupt Moral Altar) and features artwork by Mark McCoy from Youth Attack.
Argento Records will release Cold Fell’s Irwell on March 3rd with digital and vinyl formats – with 150 copies on clear/black color-in-color, and 150 copies on solid black. Direct Argento pre-orders will come in a special wax-sealed edition with extra artwork created by Mark McCoy and wrapped in rusty metal wire, limited to only 50 copies. View pre-order options HERE. Argento titles will also now be distributed in the US by Deathwish.
Quoting Laurence Taylor, singer and lyricist of Cold Fell:
“Irwell is the result of almost four years’ work. As a band, we have strived to create black metal which is straightforward and aggressive but original without veering into self-indulgent ‘avant garde’ territory- the diverse range of influences should be evident to the seasoned listener of black metal and its surrounding genres. Conceptually, the album presents the listener with the unpleasant facts of life, set against the fume-choked backdrop of provincial Northern towns and decaying cities.”
Offers Mark McCoy about the artwork:
“When Laurence mentioned Irwell as the title, I was immediately struck by the horror of being swallowed up in the earth. By extension, the sinking figure looking up conveys an ultimate truth about death-that we go regardless. This is mirrored on the back with an aerial view of water depicting its ability to conceal. CCTV cameras entrenched in fog to convey the inevitability of violence. Not only is it somehow more disturbing to be murdered in broad daylight, but the fog suggests that, despite the attempts at vigilance, no one is safe.”
Irwell track listing:
1. “Skull Crushed Against Salford Cobblestones”
2. “Bone Ceiling”
3. “Folly (Health and Glory)”
4. “Spleen i. (In Vino Veritas)”
5. “Spleen ii. (Bruised Like Fruit)”
6. “The Whip (Armed To The Teeth)”
7. “Dream Of Seppuku”
Cold Fell is:
Karl Sveinsson – guitar
Giovanni Infantino – guitar
Callum Cox – drums
Oliver Edward Turner – bass
Laurence Taylor – vocals and lyrics