Deadly Circus Fire: The Hydra's Tailor

London’s progressive metallers sharpen up their act

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That it only took them two albums to reach a point of such accomplished ambition is testament to Deadly Circus Fire’s grit and tenacity, propelled from London’s fickle trend-following scene by their devotion to creating something earnest, intelligent and arresting.

If you’ve heard their 2012 debut The King And The Bishop, The Hydra’s Tailor will surprise you.

No longer reliant on the suits-and-facepaint theatrical shtick to get them noticed, their maturity speaks volumes. The Hydra’s Tailor is thick, pulsating melodic progressive metal. It plunges into moments of gothic-tinged post-metal, is as playful as Haken and discordant like Mastodon while hooking into melodies that expound the confidence and subtle anguish of Adam Grant’s vocals. The emotive potency of songs like Where It Lies, House Of Plagues and Universe are the icing on the cake from a band who have finally arrived.

Holly Wright

With over 10 years’ experience writing for Metal Hammer and Prog, Holly has reviewed and interviewed a wealth of progressively-inclined noise mongers from around the world. A fearless voyager to the far sides of metal Holly loves nothing more than to check out London’s gig scene, from power to folk and a lot in between. When she’s not rocking out Holly enjoys being a mum to her daughter Violet and working as a high-flying marketer in the Big Smoke.