When Reflections, the debut record from Halifax’s Godthrymm, was released, it was an immediate stunner. Led by Hamish Glencross (ex-My Dying Bride/Solstice), Godthrymm found themselves between two parallel UK traditions, the sorrow-laden doom/death of the Peaceville Three, and the more weight-driven, epic doom of Solstice. Distortions, the second part of the Visions trilogy, followed by refining rather than reshaping that foundation. Projections ultimately struggles to sustain the consistency, resulting in a record whose peaks rival its predecessors, but whose structure ultimately falters.
The first 30 minutes of the record are excellent. The legacy of New Dark Age lives on in “Trenches Deep”, tapping into the epic doom vein. The rhythmic patterns unfold with deliberate weight, each step stretched to maximise tension. Vocally, the track leans into a more traditional heavy metal register, its range extended to accommodate both the sorrowful passages and the more devastating moments. The second half of the track further dives into this heavy mode, as the pace quickens and the delivery turns harsher, driven by the pummelling rhythmic changes.
From there on, it is the Peaceville Three spirit that takes over. The sorrowful lead work here is key, and it channels the best that the tail end of the doom/death scene had to offer. “Truth in My Own” settles on an ethereal quality, passing from initial melancholy to deep sorrow. The heavier rhythm section reinforces this shift with a sense of momentum that heightens the emotive weight.
The descent deepens with “The Sun Never Fell”, with the melodies tracing back to the darkwave origins of Fields of the Nephilim, its second half unleashing some unexpectedly groove-laden yet still depressive passages. The transformation is truly complete with the highlight of Projections in “Endure My Skin”, where Aaron Stainthorpe’s presence pulls the track toward the glory days of A Line of Deathless Kings, his delivery carrying a sense of perseverance amid deep struggle.
That’s where the record runs a bit out of steam. “Jewels” is an interesting track, more detached and elusive than the heavy hitters expected from Godthrymm. Instead, there is a strange 1970s prog tone that defines the progression, and Catherine Glencross’s vocal delivery is excellent. The main issue here is that the softer repetition of the main themes does not build toward a clear structural or emotional resolution. In turn, this disrupts the album’s momentum, as its softer sound struggles to follow the devastation of “Endure My Skin”.
“Hope Is Eternal” returns to the heavier sound but struggles to re-establish direction. Its evocation of the Peaceville Three is still excellent, the lead work and vocal delivery oozing with sentiment, but it ultimately falls short of the record’s first half.
Placed alongside Reflections and Distortions, Projections feels less consistent. Godthrymm’s willingness to expand their palette, particularly through the more ethereal and progressive leanings of “Jewels”, suggests new directions. Still, these ideas are not yet fully formed within the record’s structure. Even so, its opening stretch stands among the strongest material Godthrymm have produced, capturing a form of UK doom that few bands still articulate with such conviction.