[METAL HAMMER] 4 brilliant new metal bands you need to hear this month

‘Dream’ and ‘metal’ aren’t two words usually heard side by side in heavy music. LA-based doomgazers Iress, however, are proud to be the first band to officially represent the subcategory. 

“Some songs of ours are really dream-like and pretty, whereas others are heavy and dark,” says frontwoman Michelle Malley, speaking of their new album, Sleep Now, In Reverse. “It’s two completely different sides of music coming together.” 

Recorded at Pale Moon Ranch, a studio in the Californian desert, Sleep Now, In Reverse marries the lush, shadowy soundscapes of dream pop bands Beach House and Cocteau Twins with the weightier and more ‘sensual’ end of metal as represented by the likes of Deftones. It’s an album of oppositional forces and transitions; from light to dark, loud to quiet, from feelings of euphoria to melancholy. 

“A lot of this album is like a tug of war,” Michelle says, noting how the songs cover the unstable nature of relationships. “People hurt you, betray you and wrong you. Maybe I don’t express my anger in the moment, but in my songs I let it out freely.” 

In response to her tender untangling of relationships, the frontwoman has been dubbed ‘the Adele of Doom’. 

“People can’t stop saying it,” she says with a chuckle, thinking the moniker over. “I love Adele, and I have a similar kind of soulfulness in my voice, so it’s fitting.” 

Looking forward, Michelle hopes that Iress will one day support their favourite bands from both sides of the musical spectrum, including Radiohead, Deafheaven and Beach House. 

“Do we want to be the heavier band on the bill, or do we want to open for somebody heavier than us? I’m still finding that sweet spot.” Liz Scarlett

Sleep Now, In Reverse is out now via Church Road

Sounds Like: Listening to crashing waves with a lovelorn, heavy heart
For Fans Of: Chelsea Wolfe, Beach House, Deafheaven
Listen To: The Remains