Balaam & The Angel Return With “Forces Of Evil” EP

Balaam And The Angel are a trio of brothers who were born in Scotland and grew up on a council estate in Staffordshire, UK. They played music together as teenagers but finally formed Balaam And The Angel in the early 80’s inspired at that time by the new scene that was developing around the likes of Bauhaus, The Sisters Of Mercy, Southern Death Cult, Theatre Of Hate and a collective experience at the legendary Futurama Festival in Bingley Hall, Stafford in 1981. The band achieved great success in the 80s alternative and rock scenes, signing to Virgin Records for their debut album, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and touring the world with the likes of The Mission, Kiss, The Cult, Aerosmith and Iggy Pop until the release of their last album, Prime Time, in 1993.

That period up to the present day has seen some intermittent activity from the band. All three of the brothers have taken time out to explore and develop successful careers outside of the music industry, have families etc, whilst at the same time maintaining some visibility with their very loyal UK fan base through social media and carefully selected performances and tours. The level of interest in Balaam And The Angel and the early 80s alternative scene has increased considerably in the last decade making the purpose of a new release seem much more relevant. Today Balaam And The Angel have released the Forces Of Evil EP on vinyl via Darklands Recordings, with a digital release set to follow on the 1st November. The EP represents the band’s first new material in over thirty years and coincides with the 40th anniversary of the band’s debut EP, World Of Light.

The Forces Of Evil EP was recorded in Oxygene Studios in Manchester with Christoph Bride, marries the feel of the bands darker past with the punchier edge of their later releases. The four tracks on the EP have been written by the band and demonstrate a more developed approach to the lyrical content which embraces some of the bands more common themes about how we navigate our daily lives alongside some more provocative themes such as mental health and the contradiction between religious belief vs religious intolerance and the way in which this is used as one of the reasons for the persecution of others. The band are also heading out on tour in the UK in November to support the release of the EP taking in 8 cities throughout the UK, their first major outing since the 1984 – 1988 Singles And More tour in April 2018.

“The process of creating this collection of songs has been incredibly unique and has prompted us to revisit some previously overlooked ideas. The track ‘Forces Of Evil’ had its origins way back in the start of our musical journey. It was a song that we had set aside because the lyrics seemed too naïve and simplistic however fast forward four decades and we have a set of lyrics and sentiment that could not be more current and universally appropriate.” (guitarist Jim Morris)