JO QUAIL

Exsolve

SELF-RELEASED Myrkur/Winterfylleth collaborator hits a richly resonant pitch

Virtuoso cellist Jo Quail has collaborated with the likes of Amenra, Myrkur and Winterfylleth, and here she imbues her unique, looping approach to the cello with a metallic imprint without ever forcing the influence. Forge Of Two Forms is a tempestuous introduction, the title a reference to its gradual evolution from cello-led, thrumming oppression to metallic guitar soloing. Mandrel Cantus is much more experimental, its sparse percussive thwacks and eerie strings blossoming into a compelling modern folk tale, replete with gnashing riffs as the cello is contorted into forms both familiarly cinematic and futuristically far-reaching. The fragility of Causleen’s Wheel is torn asunder by metal’s aggressive modernity. With Exsolve Jo Quail breathes new life into the cello, for the first time making classical music’s long-standing influence on metal a two-way street.

FOR FANS OF: Michael Brook, Wardruna, Darkher

TOM O’BOYLE