Final Coil
United Kingdom, Leicester
Albums
Songs
About Final Coil
Combining crushing riffs with ethereal, post-rock soundscapes, Final Coil offer up a quintessentially English take on alternative rock. Formed by frontman Phil Stiles, the Leicester-based band went through the usual trials and tribulations of finding a stable line-up with the one constant being lead guitarist Richard Awdry.
Initially rooted in the explosive experimentation of the US underground scene, early Final Coil shows were noisy, messy affairs with broken equipment scattered across the stage and waves of arcing feedback left echoing around dark venues with sticky floors. With time, the band evolved to take a more nuanced approach, weaving stately, Gilmour-esque solos into the dense, metallic riffs and experimenting with layers of vocal harmonies reminiscent of Alice in Chains and Anathema.
It was this more-evolved musical approach that attracted Jola Stiles; a Polish-born bassist with a jazz background, enabling the band to develop their sound yet further. With Jola in place, Final Coil recorded an acoustic EP that added flute, waves of synth and delicate piano to the mix. A major shift in the band’s sound, the Somnambulant EP demonstrated a newfound maturity of expression although live shows remained adrenalin-soaked examples of pure-rock fury.
At the end of 2014, Tony ‘Ches’ Hughes, a remarkably talented veteran of the Leicester music scene, was invited to join Final Coil. His arrival was a significant catalyst and new songs were written at a furious pace, the band recording and self-releasing the well-received Closed to the Light EP in 2015. This EP not only gained excellent reviews across the board (see Press Archive), it also attracted the attention of respected label WormHoleDeath and, throughout 2016, the band focused on writing and developing their debut album, Persistence of Memory.
A darkly compelling tour de force that combines crushing riffs with the sweeping, epic grandeur of progressive rock (not least on the album’s brooding centrepiece failed light); Persistence of Memory is an eclectic-yet-coherent album that paints a compelling portrait of modern-day dissociation, loss and regret over the course of its eleven tracks.
A genuine album in an era of soundbites, Persistence of memory is a record to savour, offering up visceral rock thrills with tracks like Corruption and Myopic and capturing the attention with slow-building numbers such as Spider Feet and Alienation. Recorded by Wahoomi Corvi (Way of purity, CreTura) at Real Sound Studio in Italy, mastered by Cult of Luna’s Magnus Lindberg and with stunning artwork courtesy of Andy Pilkington (Flotsam and Jetsam, Beholder), Persistence of Memory is a rare example of music and art coming together in perfect symbiosis and it looks set to bring Final Coil’s uniquely compelling music to a whole new audience.
A band for whom passion is everything, Final Coil offer an emotional voyage into a heart of darkness and Persistence of Memory looks set to be one of the year’s most adventurous releases.
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