Eight Bells' "The Well" Plays the Waiting Game (Early Video Debut)
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Portland-based experimental, psychedelic metal band Eight Bells. While six years isn’t necessarily the longest time in the universe, the simultaneous Internet-and-home-studio ages have made it so maybe waiting a year can feel like an eternity, let alone six eternities. This is not a good thing. We need to remember how to wait and digest what we already have (I know I have a backlog which could fill a library). The time spent waiting for new Eight Bells will, as evidenced by new song “The Well,” which can be streamed ahead of their new album Legacy of Ruin‘s February 25th release below, ultimately reveal itself as time well spent on the band’s behalf.
A slowly unfurling event of a song, “The Well” begins with softly plucked notes and keyboards, an introduction which belies the large dirge to come–the trio, led by former SubArachnoid Space guitarist Melynda Jackson, weaves their way through speedy double-bass-drum bolstered doom passages, ethereal, choral chanting, and funereal psychedelia across the song’s 11+ minute length. Such complexity and a cornucopia of musical elements such as these (when presented as a single song) can only be the result of time, time spent agonizing over composing, atmosphere, and intent. Eight Bells might not put out an album (or more) per year like some of their peers, but that is okay. The wait is worth it.
Watch an exclusively streaming video for new Eight Bells song “The Well” below.
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From the artist:
This song’s story is particularly personal for me. It explores the emotions and fears of pastoral ‘salt of the earth types’ looking over the land that no longer yields a good harvest as a metaphor describing their lives. Mourning the bountiful past and coming to realize that they themselves are responsible for a bleak future. Melynda Amann, who was a member during the writing of this track, is also singing with us, while Andrea Morgan adds haunting ambiance with her violin to the song.
–Melynda Jackson
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Legacy of Ruin releases February 25th, 2022, on Prophecy Productions.
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