Post Mortem - Deadwing

Ooh we do love a good, old-fashioned goth band, don’t we? While this statement is meant to be mildly humorous, I do have to touch on what it actually means to be ‘goth’ in the wider scene. There are so many aural avenues that you can go down if you want to adopt the image of the dark side, and as much as I love the relative physical symbolism I have to admit that it’s rare for me to find gothic music that fits into my taste. Somewhere between the church-burning black metal mobs and fictitious ‘Halloween-is-the-only-holiday-that-counts’ disco lies the shadowed sweet-spot that maintains that dark imagery, but dodges the blows that aim to push it into cheese-dom.

With that in mind I would like to introduce Deadwing – the culmination of four technical masters with the influences and skills strong enough to bring about the modern progression of gothic music, drawing the best parts of the creepy scene together to form Post Mortem – a track that makes its home in said sweet-spot. The single is already available on streaming sites so if you haven’t already listened to it do so before continuing.

Modern Progression

Guitarist Dragos Colceriu leads the track in with heavy chorus and overhead feedback swells to create an atmosphere of airiness and tension. Arpeggiated chords do well to keep the feel chilled out and loose, joined by vocalist Ellis's haunting tones. She has a unique vocal style that fits the mood and genre, rationing reverb to keep the dynamics set, ready for the crash into a big rock chorus. I can’t ignore Colceriu and bassist Jack Stanley’s Tool influences as the chorus builds and the guitar tone rises from a harmless rumble to an attacking crunch. The band are very aware of each other’s movements: dancing between sweeping melodies and rhythms played in unison brings the ensemble together in a fluid motion. Every instrumental decision can be felt and the attention to detail accentuates Ellis's vocals at every turn. It is clear that time has been spent honing the written aspect of this track, and Deadwing work together all the better for it. I’ve always known drummer Jake Lafferty to be conscious of making sure his groove doesn’t overstep, but simultaneously brings every transition and embellishment up, working tightly with Stanley to fill the low end, allowing Colcieru and Ellis to own the highs.

Post Mortem is aggressive and percussive when it needs to be, yet floaty and ambient too, combining the best of both. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any classier, Colceriu rips out the most satisfying and well-placed solo I could have asked for, before a strong build to finish.

A Beautiful Frankenstein

My previous rant about gothic sub-genres comes from a place of frustration. We usually associate the term ‘prog’ with complex rock or metal, but its actual musical definition means to create a progressive, new genre by combining sounds and styles from already existing genres. Often I find that a lot of areas of gothic music focus more on the dark, antagonistic vibes, neglecting what is actually at the heart of a lot of gothic literature and culture: soulful emotion and a struggle with hopelessness. Deadwing brand themselves as ‘gothic psyche-rock’ on social media, which isn’t a combination I have seen very often, but I realise it is a genius way of bringing the essential iconography of both cultures. The ambience, ‘floatiness’ and use of reverb symbolise the contemplation of dark thoughts and a loss of emotional control.

When Deadwing drop their dynamics back it is a show of feeling and, equally, when they slam the pedal down and hit us with a huge, ascending chorus it does the same; as Bronte’s Heathcliffe snapped and dug up his late lover’s grave, Ellis lets her rage go. Though in Wuthering Heights, Heathcliffe’s breakdown did also lead to him hanging a dog, which is a minor detail of gothic literature we should maybe leave to one side. As a footnote, Lafferty uses the same pre-chorus fill as in The Cranberries’ 'Zombie', which is likely a point that has no bearing on the creative decisions made in the track, but it made me chuckle when I realised and it’s another parallel I can draw to an artistic commentary on modern tragedy.

The Manchester Connection

The Manchester music scene is often saturated by a very specific off-shoot of indie music with a sprinkle of tech-metal here and there, so it always makes for a more interesting written piece when the track subverts the trends and goes in its own direction. I’ve covered a variety of different genres now, and I think my favourite bands have to be the ones that can create something unique and thought provoking. Deadwing do exactly this and I hope they continue in this direction and develop it further. Between Ellis's vocals and the classy, well thought-out instrumentals they have nailed their own sound and they’re not messing around. Watch and learn, Manchester.

Photography by Piran Aston and Thea Brooks