Eight Bells

Originating from Portland, Oregon, the power trio Eight Bells labels its approach experimental metal, an apt designation. Yet the music’s fluctuating intensities and somber but fervent density also draw heavily from post-rock, psych, doom, and prog metal while incorporating blackened textures. Former SubArachnoid Space guitarist Melynda Jackson formed the group. After concluding that her prior neo-psychedelic instrumental rock outfit had reached a creative impasse with scant room for detailed narrative, she recruited bassist Haley Westeiner and SubArachnoid’s drummer Christopher Van Huffel in 2011 and assumed vocal duties herself.

The members compose collectively. Their debut release, the conceptual The Captain’s Daughter in 2013, recounted the story of a woman lost at sea, often from a first-person viewpoint. Billy Anderson recorded the album, which Seventh Rule issued that year. Eight Bells toured with Agalloch and SubRosa and performed on festival stages. Van Huffel departed after those outings. Drummer Rae Amitay, formerly of Immortal Bird and thereby making Eight Bells an all-female trio, joined in time to track the follow-up, Landless. Anderson again handled production and engineering. Landless extended the narrative begun on The Captain’s Daughter and appeared in February 2016 shortly before a tour with Voivod and Vector.