Bossk make wide-frame metal, the type of music that brings to mind vast mountain ranges and endless stretches of desert sky. Next month, the British quintet will unleash their long-awaited sophomore album, Migration, via Deathwish Inc., and today (May 25th) they're previewing it with another piece of sonic scenery called "HTV-3."
With their own vocalist out of commission due to some medical issues, the band enlisted Cult of Luna frontman Johannes Persson and Palm Reader vocalist Josh McKeown to sing on two of Migration's seven songs. "Menhir" features Persson's crushing screams over trudging sludge instrumentals, but McKeown's parts on "HTV-3" have a much different effect.
As the song jerks between soaring, atmospheric post-metal and flattening post-hardcore, McKeown alternates between a dreamy croon and a menacing growl that's unlike any of Bossk's previous songs. The raging sections are considerably faster and more hardcore-adjacent than what they've done in the past, and McKeown is the perfect guy for the job. Check it out above via YouTube.
"We found out that our vocalist Sam [Marsh] wasn't going to be able to be on the album fairly last minute," bassist Tom Begley tells us. "He relocated to L.A. a couple of years ago and has run into some medical issues that prevented him from being able to commit to recording or even coming over for rehearsals. Johannes [Persson] was the first person we thought of to sing on a track, and it was something we all instantly agreed on and that made immediate sense to all of us."
"'HTV-3'" was a tricky one, though," Begley continues. "The song needed vocals, but we were all very undecided on what kind — and who [would sing them]. I have always been a huge fan of Josh's vocals in Palm Reader; they're very versatile and unique sounding. I asked him to listen to the track and our conversations ended up with me pretty much telling him to do what he felt the song needed ... Sometimes, the best results can be when you feel like you've got no idea what you meant to do."
Migration is due out June 18th via Deathwish Inc. CD and digital copies are available to pre-order here, while vinyl variants will follow later this year.
