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Five Essential Records of the Skyhammer Studio Era

Posted in Features on July 15th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

skyhammer studio chris fielding feet

Skyhammer Studio operated between August 2013 and February 2019, and in that five-plus-year period, became the essential recording space of UK heavy. Founded in the village of Childer Thornton by Conan guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis and producer and Conan bassist/vocalist Chris Fielding — who had already made a name for himself at Foel Studios, working with Electric Wizard, Primordial, and others — it marked a moment of arrival and self-sufficiency for the UK underground that was already booming with homegrown acts before and since the advent of Desertfest in 2012.

In more extreme fare, one hears about Sunlight Studio as an anchor of the Swedish death metal sound. I firmly believe that in the years the come, the ‘Skyhammer Sound’ — a particular blend of tectonic tonal weight and spaciousness — will be viewed in much the same way, and that Fielding‘s work behind the board for a wide swath of bands has helped define the current generation of UK-based heavy bands as much as any band’s influence newer groups might be working under.

Since Skyhammer closed, Fielding has continued his work back at Foel — one very much looks forward to the next LP from Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, which he’ll produce there — but with the easy encapsulation that considering a Skyhammer-era makes, it seems only appropriate now that it’s been more than year since it ended to take a look at some of the most essential albums that came out of that place and that time.

It’s not an easy list to choose from, and I admit, part of the impetus behind doing this was to get a complete (or as complete as possible) list of the releases that came out of Skyhammer. You’ll note the headline doesn’t say “The Five Essential…” and that’s for good reason. The list Fielding was kind enough to send over when I asked for it is staggering, and from Coltsblood and The Wounded Kings to Alunah and Stubb and Pist to Bismarck, it shows not only how Skyhammer became a defining point for UK heavy, but reached beyond those borders as well.

I’m not going to tell you not to chase down anything you see below — or even to catch ’em all, Pokemon-style — but I’ve set the goal for myself to pick five, so that’s what I’m sticking to.

Here goes, alphabetized by year:

Serpent Venom, Of Things Seen and Unseen (2014)

serpent venom of things seen and unseen

I mean, how do you say no to this? Serpent Venom, along with fellow Skyhammer vets Iron Void, connect the studio right into the mainline vein of classic British doom. Serpent Venom‘s 2014 outing, Of Things Seen and Unseen (review here) gracefully blends those stylistic impulses with a richness to tone that gives the vocals a genuine space in which to reside, and though relatively speaking it was earlier days for Skyhammer, Fielding had already long since proved the room could capture a huge sound. Serpent Venom made the most of it. Now if only they might be somehow convinced to do a follow-up.

Undersmile, Anhedonia (2015)

undersmile anhedonia

Yeah, okay. I’ll admit that Oxfordshire four-piece Undersmile are somewhat on the brain after their late-2019 reunion, but with their 2015 album, Anhedonia (review here) — released on Jon DavisBlack Bow Records, in addition to being recorded at Skyhammer — the band demonstrated that not only could gargantuan, tidal-proportioned riffs find their way to tape at the studio, but also that a corresponding melodic resonance could take place. Listen to the vocal harmonies. And listen to the open-feeling space in which they reside, even early in album-opener “Labyrinths.” The point is made quickly through genuine immersion, and while of course the band’s songwriting has to get a massive credit for that, their choice of producer and studio definitely plays in as well.

Conan, Revengeance (2016)

conan revengeance

Obviously a Conan record needs to be on this list, and really, take your pick from among the three they recorded there. There’s no wrong answer. Fielding had produced Conan at Foel since their first EP, but 2016’s Revengeance (review here) marked his first appearance in the band as bassist/vocalist, so that’s why I chose it. Of course that and it’s fucking crushing, but again, Conan did 2014’s Blood Eagle (review here) and 2018’s Existential Void Guardian (review here) at Skyhammer too. They all bear the mark of records made in a studio built to suit the band’s express purposes. In fact, screw keeping the list to five. Just listen to all three.

Slomatics, Future Echo Returns (2016)

slomatics future echo returns

Another Black Bow release, and god damn, I love this record. Future Echo Returns (review here) was the last installment of a trilogy for Belfast, Northern Ireland’s Slomatics, and they could hardly have brought that particular storyline to a close in grander fashion. The sheer plod of the riffs and the reaches that their synth and melodies covered seemed to show the best of what Skyhammer could do with something truly bone-shakingly loud. From the depths of its somehow-bassless low end to the effects spreading out across the 10-minute closer “Into the Eternal,” Future Echo Returns, like Revengeance earlier that year, was just a case of the absolute right band with the absolute right producer. Slomatics also did songs for two splits at Skyhammer, with Holly Hunt and Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, which brings me to…

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, Yn Ol I Annwn (2019)

mammoth weed wizard bastard yn ol i annwn

Issued through New Heavy Sounds, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard‘s 2019 third full-length, Yn Ol I Annwn (review here), is a cosmic sci-fi doom masterstroke. Part of what it emphasizes is similar to Slomatics — the blend of space and weight — but especially in the case of Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard‘s latest offering, it’s right down to the sheer impact of the drums. Yeah, the tones are there, and of course Jessica Ball‘s vocals add a lushness that plays to the otherworldly themes around which the album is based, but hell’s bells, those drums sound incredible. How many snare sounds can you really call “thick?” Yn Ol I Annwn seemed to find new depths and new reaches alike for Skyhammer, affirming the studio’s strengths and pushing its limits beyond where they’d gone before.

10 More for the Hell of It:

Coltsblood, Into the Unfathomable Abyss
Stubb, Cry of the Ocean
Hooded Menace, Darkness Drips Forth
The Wounded Kings, Visions in Bone
Alunah, Solennial
Boss Keloid, Melted on the Inch
Iron Void, Excalibur
Slomatics/Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, Totems
Bismuth, The Slow Dying of the Great Barrier Reef
Belzebong, Light the Dankness

Let’s be honest. They’re not all going to be gold, right? And I’m not going to sit here and tell you everything Fielding helmed at Skyhammer is a future classic your grandkids are going to ask you about. That’s just unrealistic. But Skyhammer became an epicenter for UK (and beyond) heavy, and whether it was a rock band like Stubb looking to draw out new soul in their sound or an absolute mauler like BongCauldron trying to maximize the onslaught of their sludge, Skyhammer was able to help make good bands better.

I said already that Fielding has continued and will continue to produce bands at Foel Studios, and I want to say it again, if only to point out that while the Skyhammer era may be over, both Fielding and the UK heavy underground continue to flourish and realize material of staggering quality and sonic variety.

Straight from Fielding‘s notes, here’s the Skyhammer discography:

Skyhammer Studio Discography:

Bast – Spectres
Throne – Where Tharsis Sleeps
Coltsblood – Into The Unfathomable Abyss
Nathicana – Dark Spirits And Violence
Serpent Venom – Of Things Seen And Unseen
Conan – Blood Eagle
Ageless Oblivion – Penthos
Mononoke – Tom Finigan
Jonny Keeley – Fallen Trees
Intensive Square – Anything That Moves
Green Horn – Doomhawk
Pist – Riffology
Stubb – Cry Of The Ocean
Northern Oak – Of Roots And Flesh
Abomnium – Solace For The Condemned
Electric Wizard – Time To Die
Kill All The Gentlemen – Rebellion
Masochist – Condemned To Grovel
Winterfylleth – The Divination Of Antiquity
Headless Kross – Volumes
Slomatics – Ulysses, My Father
Yanomamo – Minions
SSS – Limp. Gasp. Collapse
Mage – Last Orders
Nuclear Weasels – Bring To Mind
Greenhorn – Like Rows Of Crooked Teeth
Dead Existence – Endless Misery
Of Spire & Throne – Sanctum In The Light
Undersmile – Anhedonia
The Bendal Interlude – Reign Of The Unblinking Eye
Burning Flag S/T & Izabel
Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – Noeth Ac Anoeth
1968 – EP
Iron Void – Doomsday
Witchsorrow – No Light, Only Fire
Latitudes – Old Sunlight
Hooded Menace – A View From The Rope (Split Release w/Loss)
Hooded Menace – Darkness Drips Forth
Darkest Era – An Dagda
Bismuth – Unavailing
The Wounded Kings – Visions In Bone
Conan – Revengeance
Boss Keloid – Herb Your Enthusiasm
Garganjua – A Voyage In Solitude
Winterfylleth – The Dark Hereafter
Pist – Rhythm & Booxe
Mourning Beloveth – Rust & Bone
Kill All The Gentlemen – The Faustian Delusion
Hung On Horns – Slaves
Sons Of Balaur – Tenebris Deos
Battalions – Nothing To Lose
Warcrab – Scars Of Aeons
Slomatics – Future Echo Returns
XII Boar – Beyond The Valley Of The Triclops
Razor Sharp Death Blizzard – You Will Burn
1968 – Fortuna Havana
Tides Of Sulphur – Extinction Curse
Farseer – Fall Before The Dawn
Iron Witch – A Harrowed Dawn
DDENT – DDENT
Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – Y Proffwyd Dwyll
Dorre/Bethmoora – Split 12”
Widows – Oh Deer God
Coltsblood – Ascending Into Shimmering Darkness
Nine Covens – Single
Foetal Juice – Masters Of Absurdity
BongCauldron – Binge
Monolith Cult – Gospel Of Despair
Alunah – Solennial
Mage – Green
Bismuth – Split w/Gnaw Their Tongues & Split w/Legion Of Andromeda
Dirt Forge – Soothsayer
Burning Flag – Izabel
Grey Widow – II
Strangle Wire – The Dark Triad
Stubb – Burning Moon Single
Abomnium – A Hollow Path
Battalions – Moonburn
DDENT – Toro
Twelve Boar – No Forgiveness
Godeater – Outerstellar
Garganjua – Through The Void
Winterfylleth – The Hallowing Of Heirdom
Witchsorrow – Hexenhammer
Kill All The Gentlemen – The Loss And The Rapture
Boss Keloid – Melted On The Inch
Iron Void – Excalibur
Conan – Existential Void Guardian
Eliminator – Last Horizon
Celtachor – Fiannaiocht
Slomatics/Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – Totems
Bismuth – The Slow Dying Of The Great Barrier Reef
Indica Blues – Hymns For A Dying Realm
Bismarck – Urkraft
Bast – Nanoangstrom
Kurokuma – Dope Rider
Jo Quail – Exsolve
Necronautical – Apotheosis
Latitudes – Part Islands
Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – Yn Ol I Annwn
Barbarian Hermit – Solitude And Savagery
WarCrab – Damned In Endless Night
Orbital Junction – EP
Battalions – Forever Marching Backwards
NNRA – Incarne
Alunah – Amber & Gold
Ungraven – Language Of Longing
Dorre – Fall River
Belzebong – Light The Dankness
Mourning Beloveth – Split w/Ruins Of Beverast
Atavist – III: Absolution
Duskwood – The Long Dark
Mage – Key to the Universe
Bismarck – Oneiromancer
Madmess – ST

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