Pijn & Conjurer join forces for 'High Spirits', taken from new collab LP

'High Spirits' is a new meeting between two modern heavy giants.

Formed in early 2018 after being specially commissioned by that year's ArcTanGent festival, Curse These Metal Hands was made up of members from Holy Roar Records artists, Conjurer and Pijn, with the collaborating group being tasked with creating a suite of original live compositions for the fest. It was so well received by the audience that it turned into a studio project, with the pairing bands reworking their original performance into a new self-titled studio LP of four mighty tracks. (They'll be performing their new LP in-full at this year's ArcTanGent, as well.) And now we've got the first recorded taste with the brilliant new single, 'High Spirits'.

Conjurer and Pijn bring their own skills to the table; the former's heavy, growling post-metal sounds merge with the darkened, experimental post-rock of the latter, with stunning results. Pulling ideas from both bands and sprinkling in some added Baroness and TORCHE influences for good measure, 'High Spirits' is an astonishing merging of minds and might between Conjurer and Pijn. Equal parts heavy, melodic and dynamic, this nine-minute behemoth is a brutal polymerisation of post-rock, post-metal, hardcore, and sheer euphoria. It leaves me in awe, quite frankly.

It definitely sounds like it's these two specific bands pooling their songwriting resources, yet that's what's so captivating about this original piece of music. This is the kind of collab that I never knew I wanted until right now. (I also wouldn't pass up a Rolo Tomassi/Throes collaboration either, just sayin'. Someone make it happen!)

The pair's new collaborative record, 'Curse These Metal Hands', is out August 12th via Holy Roar Records.