Every new Fierce And The Dead album is different from the one before. It’s what keeps the band vibrant and interesting. However, they’d never taken a musical leap quite as bold as on their 2023 album ‘News From An Invisible World’. A lot of the music felt more commercial – without being commercial – and a few of the riffs steered away from the heavier moments of the previous fan favourite ‘The Euphoric’. A much bigger change came with the addition of vocals. This new song-oriented Fierce/Dead could still summon the sound of a riff-based truck if and when required, but Kev Feazey’s voice brought a whole new dimension from which the band would surely grow further.

One of the first tastes of this “new” band came via the single ‘Golden Thread’ which mixed the stoner riffs of Toundra and Fog Giant with a heavily treated vocal creating some other-worldly oddness that further tapped into the band’s desire to not be easily pigeonholed. A more “traditional” musical lynchpin came via guitarist Matt Stevens, who managed to link all of the track’s elements with a clean, but unmistakable shimmering tone. Strangely, it wasn’t actually the album’s best number, but in sharing a new sound, it was a single that did a more than admirable job.

Fans can now experience a very different ‘Golden Thread’, thanks to a new “Colin Edwin” version. The sometime Porcupine Tree man guests on bass and electronics, and the recording has a heavier edge throughout. The earlier synth sounds are replaced with deep drones; the fuzzy bass now takes the mantle of a clean, fretless sound occasionally carrying hints of Mick Karn, and the chugging guitar riff that cuts through the centre of the intro of the rebuild has a genuine menace. It’s then all change for a slightly funky groove driven by bass and echoing guitars, under which a mechanised rhythm lends an unexpectedly danceable feel. With Kev’s vocals relegated to echoing sounds in the rear, that gives an even more striking quality to the music itself, at least until the mid point when the by now familiar hooks and riffs put in a belated appearance.

This is very different, but still incredibly enjoyable.

Take a listen below.