Album · 2026

Brass Key, Red String

An entire record of slow, heavy ballads: fathers, empty classrooms, church doors and a coat that finally fits.

Tracks

1. Pull Into the Vacancy, Neon Still OnA motel, a highway and a neon sign still on. A gentle way in, and a nod to where we started.power ballad, road metal4:40
2. Empty Desks, Chalk Dust in the LightThe hallway is quiet, the lockers are bare and chalk dust floats in the light. We wrote this on a school visit and could not stop.power ballad, doom metal4:07
3. Mixtape from the Old Machine ShopA tape in a drawer at the old machine shop with a faded label on top. Maybe it was one of ours.power ballad, gothic metal4:04
4. First Light on the Water TowerWe climbed the rusty ladder before the town woke up. Gentle verses and a chorus that lifts like sunrise.power ballad, melodic metal5:13
5. Brass Key on a Red String, Little HeartI made a copy of the key and hung it on a red string. A song to a kid, and the title track in spirit.power ballad, gothic metal4:07
6. Soft Hands Before the Curtain RisesBackstage the air is thick and the curtain is a heavy wall. Soft hands before the noise.power ballad, doom metal4:48
7. Chairs in a Row, Hold My HandThe clock on the wall is slow tonight and the chairs are all in a row. A waiting-room song with a big harmonised lead.power ballad, doom metal3:58
8. Home Is Where the Doors Slide OpenThe old house is sold and the keys are gone. I fly back one more time to hold the door.power ballad, gothic metal4:30
9. Walk Me Down the Hall, Heart Like a DrumDad takes my arm at the church hall door and he is shaking more than I am. A wedding song, heavy and shy.power ballad, romantic metal4:11
10. Hold the Rail, I've Got You, DadYou taught me to ride a bike, and you held the seat and ran beside. We play this one softly for a reason.power ballad, heartland metal3:51
11. Dad's Old Coat Fits Me NowI found it in the closet, brown and worn and soft, and it fits me now. It is the last thing on the record because it is the last thing I could say.power ballad, doom metal, gothic metal3:59

Liner notes

We always said we would write a slow, heavy ballad for every record, and eventually the ballads outnumbered everything else. This is the record where we let them. Dad's coat, a church hall door, a brass key on a red string. We turned the distortion down a notch and the harmonies up a few, and we cried a little in the control room, which we will deny.

Iron Marrow