(written by Islander)
The British metal band Ba’al picked a name for their new album that will make most people’s scanning eyes stop in their tracks when they see it: The Fine Line Between Heaven and Here. Your hurrying brain might quickly interpret it one way (the wrong way) and then pause (if it’s not rushing too fast) to realize it says “Here“, not “Hell“.
The title is clever, but it’s also meaningful. The band explain:
“The Fine Line Between Heaven And Here reflects on growing up in a city like our home of Sheffield; the contrast between bleak, grey industrial sprawl and the beauty of nature that surrounds and often overlaps with it. It touches on mental health, substance abuse, suicide, grief and existential dread.”
“Here“, where we are, can be hellish. Human beings have always imagined the torments of Hell based on what they know and have seen of ourselves and our fellow travelers on our spinning orb. It may be that we have also imagined the glories of Heaven based on the glories of Here too.
How Ba’al have used their music to render the grey and the green, the scars and the sublime, will be revealed in full today through our premiere of their new album. Continue reading »
