Hand of Kalliach

Edinburgh-based Hand of Kalliach have developed a distinctive blend of melodic death metal melded with Scottish folk music since forming in late 2020. Originally a studio project comprised of husband and wife John and Sophie, their live line up now includes drummer Tom and lead guitarist DeHaan. Their debut album ‘Samhainn’ was released in 2021 through Trepanation recordings, followed by their signing with Prosthetic Records in 2024 to release their Sophomore album ‘Corryvreckan’.

The band’s name is borrowed from the legend of the Cailleach, the ancient witch god of winter from Scottish Celtic mythology. One tale holds that she lives at the bottom of an enormous whirlpool, Corryvreckan, which lies between some of the western isles of Scotland. As the herald of winter, she rises from the depths to wash her plaid (cloak) in the waters of the whirlpool. Once washed and restored to a bright white, she casts it across the earth where it lands as snow. This is done at the start of Samhainn (beginning on 31st October, which was the Celtic precursor to Halloween). Her reign ends as spring arrives with the festival of Bealltainn in May, and she turns to stone to await the next winter.

The Cailleach is depicted in various, contradictory ways – both as a symbol of death, loss and despair, as well as a source of nurturing and protection. Taking inspiration from all this, the music that Hand of Kalliach create is centred around these dual concepts of benevolence and malevolence, all against the backdrop of the history, mythology and land/seascapes of the Scottish islands.

The threads of Celtic and Gaelic folk music and folklore weave throughout Hand of Kalliach’s releases against a backdrop of spectral, melodic death metal, blending robust brutality with the ethereal wisps of folk in an intoxicating brew.