Eight Bells was forged in 2010 in Portland, Oregon by Melynda Jackson as a collaborative experimental metal songwriting project and continuation of her previous dark psych act, Subarachnoid Space. Though band members have shifted, Eight Bells’ unique sound—a fusion of progressive rock, doom and post-black metal combined with powerful ambient atmospheres—has continued to evolve, with Jackson as the sole constant. The band’s first two records, 2013’s The Captain’s Daughter (The Flenser/Seventh Rule/Tartarus Tapes) and the much evolved 2016 follow-up Landless (Battleground/Tartarus Tapes), conjure emotive and often bleakly atmospheric soundscapes. With The Captain’s Daughter and Landless, Eight Bells take a thematic approach that results in powerful and deeply evocative music. By exploring the natural tones and grand visions of the 1970s and combining them with contemporary metal, haunting female vocals, and a 19th-century ghostliness, they’ve created a sound that transcends genre and time entirely. 2022 Saw the release of a third album, Legacy of Ruin on the Prophecy Productions imprint followed by a handful of live performances on the West Coast and Canada late in the Pandemic.
In early spring 2024, Eight Bells resumes work with the addition of Andrew Eguchi on Drums, and Evelyn Holland on Bass Guitar rounding out the lineup with their added vigilance and vision for the process ahead; to utilize sound as expression.