NEWS: Birmingham prog/alt metallers Netherhall announce 'Process', share lead single


Press release:
"We live, we die" is the theme that Birmingham progressive rockers Netherhall have chosen to discuss for their first new piece of music since 2020. ‘Process’ was released on Friday 24th March 2023 and is accompanied by a picturesque music video shot in the Peak District.

Formed in late 2015, Netherhall are a Midlands-based alternative metal band who draw influence from multiple genres; notable influences include Karnivool, Deftones & Toska. As the band began searching for their sound, they debuted their first EP ‘Imacular’ in 2017 and in the same year entered the Metal 2 The Masses competition to play at Bloodstock Festival, winning the competition. Netherhall spent 2018 as an instrumental 3-piece, highlighted with supporting The Contortionist. 2018 also saw Netherhall perform at a private function at Aston Villa FC for Tony Iommi & Geezer Butler honouring Butler’s induction into the Birmingham Walk of Stars.

In 2019, Netherhall released their first material in 3 years with vocalist Matt. ‘No Looking Down’ featured the group's debut music video with a notably darker, heavier tone to previous material, quickly followed up with the single 'Distant'.

Netherhall are:
Matthew Preston - Vocals
Tom Bushell - Bass Guitar
Lewis Ward - Guitars / Backing Vox
Jake Raybould - Drums



Netherhall - Process - music video

Netherhall has said that "Process stems from a roundabout circle that is life and death. In life, there is death and in death, there is life." 
The single, Process, is the realisation of all that we, as human beings know. That is, we breathe, we live, we die. Tom, the bassist from Netherhall, has said "anything around that is purely conceptual and Process explores those thoughts."

Process was recorded, produced and engineered by Owen Davies of Loud Noises Productions and Peter Miles of Middle Farm Studios. The single was mixed by Peter Miles and mastered by Lewis Hopkins of Star Delta Mastering. Artwork by Kevin Saint Grey. 

The single Process, comes alongside a beautifully shot music video that was directed by Jay Hillyer, the sublime imagery of the Peak District encapsulates the emotion and ambience of the music.

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This is a really interesting single from the lads, with more of an uplifting quality than what we've come to expect from Netherhall by now. Their first couple of tracks with Matt were definitely a bit darker, but this is like a breath of fresh air - but I remember them playing this song as early as their Bloodstock set in 2021, and it did introduce a nice feeling of light and shade into the performance. Still, I caught them live at the end of last year and there were definitely some new ones that I hadn't heard before that had some serious grit to them.

The track definitely has that atmospheric, shoegazey style to it that you'd find in a band like Deftones, but in a context much more of modern progressive rock, with a few Tool-style licks from Tom and Lewis. I find the 'journey itself goes on and on...' line pretty effective in the way that listening to Netherhall - especially live - tends to put me in a trance-like state of mind, as if they are directing a listening experience in the truest sense of the word for me. The screamed vocals when the song heavies up in the middle are quite low in the mix, but I think this is intentional, to keep the song a little bit lighter and brighter even at its dirtiest moments. If you pay attention to some of the rhythmic patterns, Netherhall really dictate the pulse of the track with a lot of control and expertise, considering how deliberately off-time some of their beats are.

'Process' (the record) drops on 16th June 2023.



MN

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