Suffolk choir and death metal band Ghosts of Atlantis team up on album

Two musical worlds collided when a death metal band collaborated with a pop choir after a response to a social media appeal.

Yula Andrews offered up her choir, based in Framlingham, Suffolk, to the Ghosts of Atlantis band to help them on their second album.

They recorded three tracks together in a village hall in the county.

Band member Colin Parks said the recording process was more "tea and Hobnobs" than rock 'n' roll.

In a Facebook post asking for women collaborators last year, lead singer Mr Parks said: "I need some of your higher note goddess powers."

He added: "You will be on the next record, if you are up for it, let me know."

Ms Andrews, who started the Pop Chorus in Framlingham in 2012, replied to the message and plans were made to meet at Burstall Village Hall.

Speaking about the recording process, she said: "It was just fabulous. We were singing this stuff but we were in a village hall in Suffolk on a Sunday morning, all in our jumpers. You couldn't get less death metal but then you would hear it in context and it worked."

She added: "We were just bringing our music together, it was a really nice experience, everyone was really friendly and very welcoming, the choir loved it."

Forty members of the choir joined the band and recorded backing vocals on new tunes for the Riddles of the Sycophants album.

Mr Parks, who is also a guitarist, said: "You think death metal and stuff, you think maybe some alcohol, but it was tea and hobnobs."

In the past, the metal band had used virtual orchestras, played on the piano, which replicated the harmonies and sounds of a typical choir.

Mr Parks said it was "nicer" that the choir collaborated in person.

"They are a community choir, and we are obviously from Suffolk as well, and it was nice that two worlds collided to do something a bit unique that no-one else was really doing," he said.

"It has given fans a chance to listen to something that our fans wouldn't [have normally experienced] and vice versa and I think we have seen quite a nice crossover which breaks down barriers and that was important."

The band launched their debut album in 2021 and have taken their symphonic music across Europe with live performances in France, Switzerland, Germany and Finland.

Ghosts of Atlantis have more than 6,000 fans on Instagram and their second album, accompanied by the Pop Chorus, was released last week.

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