From Beneath Billows is a 5-head piece from Oslo, Norway. The quintet has been writing music in this constellation since 2005 and has released 1 prior full-length album.
From Beneath Billows was founded in Oslo in 2005 by Oyvind Daaland Lesjo, Lars Kristian Jagtoyen, Lars Petter Strand, Kristian Malterud Moen and Lars Sundsbo. Bjornar Borja later joined to replace Kristian Malterud Moen who left the band in 2006 in pursuit of a different kind of leisure.
The founders, with exception of Lars Sundsbo, started out as a stoner band named The Goon Killing, back in 2003. Lots of songs were written, but without a vocalist and a clear vision of what they tried to achieve, the project became stale and got shelved.
From Beneath Billows was born out of the desire to advance the band's creative process. The band strove to make their music deeper, heavier and more visual.
While Evolve's tale was intimate, isolated and focused on man's inner struggles using maritime metaphors, Monolith is wider in its scope. Lyrical themes touch upon colonization, industrialization and the imminent gloom. Indeed not political, religious or preaching in any way - just an interesting framing for words and tones.
The essence, however, lie in the brush strokes and in the layers of the weave, in the delicate details and in the rich ambience that these aspects utter.
With Monolith, the canvas is bigger and the color palette more vibrant. The end result is sometimes brighter than Evolve, but at its core darker and more sinister.
Monolith is the natural progression for From Beneath Billows, stronger in its vision, while still hanging on to the characteristics of Evolve.
1. One Death and the Kings
2. Verity
3. Darkens the Will
4. Frontier
5. Enlivened and Swom
6. Monolith