Since 2016 Sheffield’s Ba’al have been carving out some of the most emotionally intense blackened sludge from the shadows that permeate our lives. From our frailties, our failings and our fears they have invoked sounds of coruscating, cathartic power, sculpting sonic landscapes of awe-inspiring magnitude. A trilogy of EPs, including last year’s enthralling Soft Eyes and one full length album, 2020s imposing Ellipsism have established their reputation as one of the most challenging and intriguing bands that the UK underground has to offer. Now in 2025 Ba’al have redrawn the parameters of their possibilities and shattered the limits of their horizons with their second full length album. The Fine Line Between Heaven And Here is a work that redefines this remarkable band and you are cordially invited to join them as they begin a journey to the outer limits, by turning their gaze to home.The Fine Line Between Heaven And Here is an album that explores the intensely personal themes of grief and the soul crushing despair of depression, the fall into the dark pit of addiction, the stumbling steps along the lonely road to suicide, the gnawing, nameless fear that permeates modern society… In part this exploration of universal themes was inspired by the band’s own experiences in their home town of Sheffield – a city built upon an industrial past, upon forges and furnaces, yet surrounded by beautiful countryside. This juxtaposition of inner city steel and the natural world provides a disparate stage upon which the characters of The Fine Line Between Heaven And Here play out their stories, their dramas, struggles and tragedies, as they search for their paths through life. The songs are vast in their breadth and depth and each one possesses a myriad of moods and textures, colours and emotions. The Ba’al you know is here in the harrowing intensity, the blackened fury, the colossal riffs and unnerving darkness…but this creative entity has grown, expanding in every direction. There is beauty, there is majesty, there is dreaming melody, lyrical imagery, weight beyond bearing, tension and tranquillity…and together they form one of the most expressive and exhilarating albums you will ever discover. The strides that Ba’al have taken are immeasurable and every one has added so much to this staggering album, this pivotal point in their career.
With an array of guest musicians performing cello, brass and synths – including Hundred Year Old Man’s Tom Wright on French horn – the songs that form A Fine Line… are constructed from innumerable layers. To bring clarity to every element Ba’al worked, once more, with producer, engineer and mixer extraordinaire Joe Clayton (Conjurer, Dawn Walker, Ithaca etc) and mastering magician Brad Boatright (Kylesa, Vastum, Obituary etc) – the results are spectacular. With stunning artwork from True Spilt Milk Designs (Urne, Allfather, Ante-Inferno etc) completing the package, The Fine Line Between Heaven And Here will be released by Road To Masochist on CD digipack and on a deluxe double gatefold vinyl which features two exclusive bonus tracks, on July 18th. Don’t miss it.
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