The Grey on "Kodok"
"We Mix Heaviness with Melody, Light and Dark"
Some albums call out for attention. And then there are records like "Kodok" that reach you both gently and intensely at the same time. With their third studio album, The Grey created something truly outstanding: a monumental, emotionally raw, and yet elegantly organic sound journey. It hits hard and lingers on, echoing long after the final note has faded.
With "Kodok", the band reached new heights in their ability to communicate through tone, texture, and tension. Every track feels like a chapter in a gripping novel. The spectacular guest appearances enrich the dynamic sonic tapestry instead of distracting from it. Put simply, "Kodok" is an experience. One that builds, breaks down, heals, and stays with you long after listening—a masterpiece of modern instrumental music.
Every song unfolds with both care and chaos, guiding the listener through catharsis and composition. There's absolutely no filler to be found here. Instead, "Kodok" offers nothing but focus—the one that comes from three artists pouring everything into their work, with every riff, every beat, and every layer of bass becoming a confession.
There's a delightful intimacy to "Kodok", which may also have to do with the fact that The Grey once again largely forgoes vocals on their new album. They invite you into a storm that understands you: grief, rage, beauty, and kindness. With its haunting melodies and crushing passages, "Kodok" underscores the talent of each band member. This album demands to be experienced, not just listened to. I spoke with The Grey about their album, "Kodok", which they released on February 28 and are currently on tour with.
Anne: First off, congratulations on "Kodok"! It's an incredibly powerful record. Can you walk me through your emotional and creative headspace while writing and recording it?
"We write and rehearse in Cambridge"
All: Firstly, thank you so much for the incredibly kind words; they are truly appreciated!
We have an awesome Headquarters in Cambridge where we write and rehearse. All our equipment is set up, ready to capture the magic as it happens. In addition, mood lighting and projection run visuals while we write and rehearse. It's a really creative space.
Andy Bass: Our writing process is focused. We usually have a shape of what we want to achieve with a song, and then we set about getting to the core of that idea; we write and then edit and cut until we get down to exactly the parts that serve the song. It can be quite ruthless! But getting to that emotional and dynamic arc of the song is what we strive for. It needs to hit the right emotional peaks and troughs for us as a group, but it also needs to hit for the audience as well, and we feel the weight of that.
Anne: "Kodok" feels intensely personal and also widely cinematic. How important was it for you to create a record with a clearly noticeable narrative arc like this?
Andy Bass: Massively so. It's exactly what we were aiming for, I'm so glad that it landed for you! For me, the album is stories within stories; each individual song has its own narrative arc, its own beginning, middle, and end. The record as a whole has a similar, very intentional structure that reflects that as well. Personally, I love the little moments of calm and atmosphere before we build into a crushing crescendo. I think Charlie works some absolute magic with his tone and restraint. But I'm not very good at being objective on this!
Anne: The guest appearances on the album are absolutely wild. They are Will Haven, Ace from Skunk Anansie, and Ricky Warwick. How did those collaborations come about, and what did they bring to the songs?
Andy Bass: I can't take any credit for the guest appearances; that's all Charlie's hard work! Honestly, I'm just so excited every time I hear Grady from Will Haven smash out his vocals on Sharpen The Knife. Skunk Anansie's debut album is another huge influence. It blows my mind that these awesome people have collaborated with us to create something new and continue to expand on our sound.
Anne: With "Kodok", you've expanded your sound quite a bit, compared to "Dead Fire" and your debut, "The Grey". When writing these six songs, did you decide to push into new sonic territory?
Andy: This one is my first record with the guys, so I can't really comment too much on the first two records, other than in my capacity as a fan. I will say that one of the things that I love about working with Charlie and Steve is their commitment to stepping up with everything that we do. If it was a 9 before, then the next thing needs to be a 10, and the one after will step it up again, and I think Kodok is an excellent example of this ethos. The pretty bits are prettier, the riffs are heavier, and the crescendos are more crushing; that was definitely a purposeful decision.
Anne: I'm very much into instrumental music. This is why I adore your brilliant way of communicating so much emotion without relying on vocals. What's your approach to this?
Andy: It starts with how a song makes us feel, from the euphoria of a particular riff hitting to the more esoteric moments. "CHVRCH" has always been the song that has hit hardest for me. Charlie's guitar part is beautiful, and I love the way the progression lands at the end; it's always been a gut punch for me. It's so wonderful when people talk to us after the set and let us know that they connected with it. The audience response is a significant factor too; with Kodok, we were able to road-test the majority of the album extensively and feel how it connects with people. It's important that the music moves us, but more so that it lands for our audience, every individual in the room. That's the power of instrumental music, in a way; the lack of lyrics means that everyone builds their own story and their own meaning. And that's a brilliant thing.
Anne: I saw you're playing ArcTanGent this year—which is fantastic. That festival holds such a special place in my heart; it's one of the most beautiful and unique festivals I've ever attended. How does it feel to be part of that impressive lineup?
The peak of UK festivals
Andy: It's ridiculously exciting! It's been a goal of ours to play for a very long time, and pretty much the peak of UK festivals in this style of music. The bill this year is spectacular as well, such a brilliant combination of heavy and post, and it will be awesome to see some of our friends in bands like Hundred-Year-Old Man and Codespeaker absolutely own the place.
Anne: ArcTanGent is known for its love of post-rock, math-rock, and experimental music—basically tailor-made for your sound. What does playing that festival mean to you as a band?
Andy: It's absolutely massive. We're so excited for ATG. There are many great bands and awesome people. The feel of the festival is so supportive and engaging, it's going to be a brilliant, inspiring weekend of amazing music and probably a complete lack of sleep.
We're looking forward to meeting some people we know virtually via email, as well as meeting a bunch of new people, hearing inspiring music, and, of course, playing.
Anne: Let's talk about the artwork. Kodok's cover is stunning. How did the collaboration with True Spilt Milk come together, and how does the visual tie into the music?
Andy: It's beautiful, isn't it? It looks amazing on the gatefold cover of the vinyl. We knew Paul from friends who had worked with him, especially our close friends—well, family, really—in Hundred Year Old Man. Paul really embraced the cover concept that Charlie and Steve came up with, especially in tying together the combination of the meditative, peaceful spiritual concept of Kodok, as well as the palindromic nature of the word. The front and back covers of the gatefold effectively reversed images and themes. There are layers upon layers in the artwork, and we love his use of detail; it is stunning. He's a lovely guy and his work is incredible.
Anne: You worked with Matty Moon and Dick Beetham again—what is it about that production team that clicks so well with your sound?
Andy: Matty Moon is basically the fourth member of the band at this point! This was my first experience of recording with him. It was a wonderfully collaborative and supportive experience. He brings out the best in all of us and intuitively knows the band and the feeling we're going for, as if he's tuned into our frequency. Plus, his studio has cats, so that made me super happy. Dick Beetham works on some massive records in all walks of music and brings a level of clarity to our sound that really elevates it, for which we're hugely grateful.
Anne: With three albums under your belt now, what do you feel is the biggest lesson you've learned as a band, creatively or personally?
Andy: For me, it's probably that less is more, and to focus on doing what the song needs. There's lots of space to do clever stuff in these songs, but it's absolutely not needed. My biggest learning has been to serve the song, and to serve the audience, and not to serve my own ego. Massive credit goes to Charlie and Steve for guiding me through that. I'm grateful to them for their patience!
Anne: What track on Kodok hits do you love most when playing live—and why?
Andy: It depends on the day, really. My stock answer to this would be "CHVRCH", as it's the emotional crescendo of the set and it's the point at which we empty the tank and leave everything on the stage. We played last night, and there was a bit where I wasn't playing anything, and I took the opportunity to look about. Seeing Charlie headbang and Steve smash the hell out of his kit massively pumped me up; it pushed me to go harder onstage. Plus, Charlie's guitar lines are beautiful, even more so when massively amplified! I love playing Painted Lady as well, though; I guess it's a bit more conventionally riffy, at least in the beginning, and I love seeing the crowd's collective heads bob with the first riff.
Anne: What does your band name mean, and where does it come from?
"Our band name is a juxtaposition of our music"
Steve: The name symbolises the juxtaposition in the music we make.
We mix heaviness with melody, light and dark—The Grey represents this.
Anne: Which genre do you feel most connected to and why?
Andy: The stock answer is probably "instrumental post metal", but there are elements of alt-metal, prog metal and post-rock in there. The key ingredients are a sense of scale and a cinematic scope to the sound, as well as a narrative flow to both the individual songs. But also, the album as a whole. We put a lot of time and focus into ambience and feel, which is strongly associated with "post" genres, so it's probably a good fit for us.
Anne: What brought you together?
Charlie: The aim has always been to make the most exciting, honest music we possibly can, drawing influence from our favourite elements of all genres. As time went on, we found our own path, and this is where it's led, which is pretty crazy to look back on everything we have already accomplished.
Original bassist James, Stevo and I formed the band around ten years ago, having all connected through previous musical projects on the local circuit, and we released our debut "The Grey" in 2017.
By the time Andy joined the fold, The Grey was really gathering momentum and had built a solid reputation in the underground scene, and the rest, so they say, is history!
Anne: What drew you to music?
Andy: I didn't really engage with music at all as a kid. My mum has tinnitus, and it meant we really didn't have music in the house at all. MTV changed all that—I saw a video for "Trigger Inside" by Therapy? and it was like a switch went in my head. From there, I moved into listening to more and more heavy music, and then doing other music adjacent stuff, like writing for zines, running club nights, running radio shows, promoting for bands and shows—basically all the things you do when you want to be in a band but aren't. Then, my housemate at the time decided he wanted to be in a band and that he wanted me to be part of it. He lent me a bass, and my life changed again. Music is a massive part of my life now; an enormous amount of my time is devoted to listening, making, or playing it. It's funny to reflect on my entirely music-free childhood through that lens!
Anne: What is your songwriting process?
Steve: We still write and jam as a band collectively. Typically, Charlie will bring a selection of riffs/passages to the table, which we then flesh out into full tracks. Being an instrumental band, we work more on feeling and are conscious of how any new material fits into our live set. We're still very much a live band, and therefore, we need our music to work together as a single entity.
Andy: It's a very purposeful process, and it takes a long time. There's a lot of focus on getting the "story" of the song right in terms of the build and release of intensity. There's a lot of feel in the room, and even when we get something we think is right and start playing it live, we still make changes depending on how crowds react. Charlie and Steve are both brilliant at ensuring that what we write serves the song, that we're doing what the song needs, and not doing too much. We can always count on Charlie to make the guitars do something absolutely amazing and sound beautiful. Lots of back and forth, and we're pretty ruthless—we leave way more on the cutting room floor than makes it into the final songs!
Anne: Which musicians would you describe as your biggest influences?
"Bands like Isis and Amenra are inspiring"
Andy: There's a mix. I listen to a bunch of different types of heavy music, and I'm pretty sure that influence seeps in. Brian Cook is an influence—his playing in Russian Circles and Botch is fantastic, obviously, it helps that both of those bands are phenomenal. Liam Wilson from Dillinger Escape Plan is brilliant too, I love the way he anchors some of the insanity of that band. I love the slow-burn writing of Amenra and Isis, but similarly, I'm a massive hardcore fan, so the pedal to the floor aggression of Strife really chimes with me, for example. Alice In Chains are a significant influence—they're hands down my favourite grunge band. I like when a band really brings groove to the front; this is something that Will Haven has done consistently throughout their career. They have the big riffs, the groove, the aggression, and they still absolutely kill the live show every night, so those guys have been and continue to be a massive influence on me.
Stevo: Having been a fan of Hardcore and Metal for many years. I found that after years of attending the same old shows, post-metal offered something different, with an intensity and atmosphere that you don't typically find in other genres.
Anne: What do you think of the current scene, and how, in your opinion, can fans help promote it?
Andy: In a way, it's extremely healthy; in other ways, it is struggling. There are more brilliant bands than ever out there, and we're lucky enough to share stages with plenty of them on a regular basis. The community is healthy too; everyone is talking to each other, collaborating, and supporting one another to move forward to the next step. I see an enormous amount of creativity out there, and there's brilliant music coming up wherever you look. It's staggering how good some of the music is that's coming out of the underground at the moment, be that in our space or in other genres like Hardcore.
I think where the rot starts to become apparent is the business side of the underground. Venues are struggling, promoters are struggling, everything costs more, and the money in the collective pot to support the whole ecosystem is not growing commensurate with costs. There are a lot of people—musicians, promoters, and venue owners—putting in inordinate effort for very little reward, financially speaking, and I wonder how sustainable it is.
What can fans do? Well, first off, we're all fans, so I guess the question is better phrased as 'what can people do to help'; just because I'm in a band doesn't mean I don't have the same responsibility as everyone else to lift up bands and scenes. In terms of supporting the scene it comes back to turning up to shows, buying records, talking about gigs and music, sharing on social media, taking pictures or videos at shows and popping them on Instagram, tagging in bands, recommending music to friends, balancing the big shows you see with little shows... there's all sorts that we can do together to keep the scene healthy and supported, from big to small. In terms of something specific, people can and should engage with the Music Venue Trust1—without small venues, there is no underground, and we're seeing them close at an alarming rate.
Anne: What's up next for The Grey?
"Within the next few months, everything will be about playing shows!"
Andy: Shows, writing and more shows. We're a couple of songs into writing the next record, but the next few months are really about playing Kodok at ridiculous volumes to as many people as possible. We have already played a bunch of UK shows through May, including Download Festival earlier this month, which was an awesome experience. We have some UK festival shows, including ArcTanGent and Bloodstock, which are going to be immense. Then a run of club shows before we kick off the Partholon and Codespeaker tour, both of which are phenomenal post-metal bands and brilliant humans.
Ireland and Europe will kick things off in the new year—we love playing Europe, and some of our most memorable shows have been in Germany, so we want to get out to see you as soon as possible.
All: Huge thanks to you and your readers!
