Matador (Above, Below and So)

5 days ago
6 min read

Released: 2026

Genre: Post-metal

Sounds Like: The Ocean, Somali Yacht Club

Homeland: Brighton, UK

What makes Above, Below and So elite and sit atop OHMs Peak?

Matador has unveiled a classic post-metal album, seamlessly navigating through sludgy post-metal valleys and clean stoner sounds, providing an excellent fusion of metal styles.
The vocals transition smoothly between angst and clean tones, crafting a distinct and original balance that enhances their sound..
The production highlights each band member's unique style: intricate bass work, steady drumming, and intense rhythmic riffs.

Track Listing:

The House Always Wins 7:48
Glitter Skin 6:48
The Flood 6:41
O Suna 2:31
A Virus 10:17
Hooks 7:24

Dive deeper into Above, Below and So with our Q&A with Matador.

OHMs Peak: ‘Above, Below and So’ is such a tremendous continuation to as your third release. We loved ‘The Surge’ and ‘They Were Here Before Us’ but this just takes things to another level. We find it even more expansive and enthralling. As your third release, what creative breakthroughs or lessons from your earlier records shaped the writing and recording of this album?

Matador: On the last release we actually worked remotely. For various reasons the three of us ended up living on different continents, so the whole process was a lot of back and forth. But in a strange way that worked in our favour, because there wasn’t any pressure to write something that had to be performed live straight away. There were no real time constraints — we could just take our time with it.

I think having that space changed things creatively. Vocals started to appear, which hadn’t really been part of the band before. I was feeling inspired by things going on in my life and in the world at the time, and that started to translate into lyrics. Generally my feeling is that if I don’t have something important to say, I’d rather not say anything at all — which is probably why the first two releases ended up being instrumental. But this time it felt like there was actually something to say, and that ended up shifting the whole musical landscape of the record.

OHMs Peak: “Glitter Skin” is one of the album’s most arresting moments. We find it tense, and cathartic all at once. Can you take us through how that track came together and what sparked its emotional and sonic direction along with the unique title.

Matador: “Glitter Skin” was actually almost bolted onto the album at the end. We’d written everything — I think it was even recorded and mixed — and once that was done there was suddenly a bit of space to do something else. And weirdly, that track came together really quickly. We'd even agreed to sign the record to Church Road before writing Glitter Skin but as they had a release backlog it gave us the time to write and record this one.

Lyrically and emotionally it comes from the shock of suddenly becoming a father — not to one kid, but two at the same time. We had twins. And that all happened while we were living in a country that wasn’t our home country, in the middle of a global pandemic, when we couldn’t travel to see family. So it brought up a lot of pretty intense feelings.

The verse sections are really about that initial period — the stress, the overwhelm, the lack of sleep, trying to figure everything out. Then later on, when the music gets heavier and more aggressive, the lyrics are actually much more positive. They’re about adjusting to this new life and realising that you’ve got these two amazing kids. So even though it sounds more aggressive musically, it’s actually the point where things feel more hopeful.

The title itself came from when we were in the hospital after they were born. They arrived early and were tiny, so we were there for four nights while they were being monitored. We basically didn’t sleep the whole time. At one point my wife started hallucinating toy soldiers marching across the end of the hospital bed. I didn’t get hallucinations, but I remember thinking everyone’s skin looked like it had glitter all over it.

And then fast-forward four years, and the kids are coming home from nursery literally covered in glitter most days. So in a weird way the title ended up tying the whole thing together.

OHMs Peak: The album art is striking — those lonesome swans feel haunting, elegant, and strangely comforting. Who created the artwork, and what was the concept behind choosing such a minimal, evocative image for this record?

Matador: Yeah, the artwork is amazing — we’re really happy with how it turned out. It’s maybe a bit different from what you’d normally expect within this genre, which we liked.

A good friend of mine, Spike Johnson, created it. We’ve collaborated quite a few times before — he’s done artwork for other projects I’ve been involved in and various bits and pieces over the years. So I asked if he’d be up for doing something for this record and he was keen.

We basically went through his Instagram feed and pulled out a few images that we liked and the final piece actually ended up being a combination of two photographs. The bottom image — the one with the swans — is a river scene somewhere in the UK countryside. The top image is actually inverted, and that’s the reedy banks of a lake somewhere in Texas.

Conceptually we liked the idea of that kind of above-and-below relationship. The top layer feels darker and more ominous, and the bottom image is brighter and calmer, with these swans just totally content, going about their day without really worrying about anything. I guess that’s where the meaning comes in — whether things feel like heaven or hell, good times or bad times, positive or negative… life kind of keeps moving. The swans are just there, carrying on regardless.

After a bit of back and forth we landed on this final image, and yeah, we’re super stoked with it.

OHMs Peak: Brighton has a deep and eclectic music scene. Which local band outside your genre do you feel would complement your sound most powerfully in a live setting, and what makes that pairing feel so natural to you?

Matador: Yeah, Brighton definitely has a great scene. There are loads of cool bands on the south coast at the moment. But Matador actually started in Vancouver, Canada. Over time we’ve ended up based between Hastings and Brighton in the UK now with a line-up change. So we’re only just starting to properly reconnect with the UK scene and the Brighton scene in particular.

In terms of bands around here that we’d love to share a bill with, there are a few — not all strictly Brighton. Bands like Believe in Nothing and IAN. Like us they don’t seem too interested in sticking to any particular formula. There's no verse–chorus–verse kind of structure — the songs just go where they go. It feels quite similar to how we approach writing, where you just follow the idea and see where it leads.

And dynamically they’re great as well — really quiet, delicate passages that suddenly open up into something massive. Particularly with Believe in Nothing, some of the heavy sections are just absolutely crushing. So yeah, I think it’s that non-standard approach to songwriting that really stands out and resonates.

OHMs Peak: The album moves between post‑metal weight, post‑rock expansiveness, and moments of raw vulnerability without ever losing cohesion. We find the album title fits the sonic journey but also curious as to the story behind the title?

Matador: Yeah, I think it comes from life experience. Having been around a bit longer now, and you start to realise that life kind of moves in waves. There are good times, there are bad times, sometimes really bad times, and sometimes really great ones.

But whatever’s happening, time keeps moving forward. That’s reality.

So I think a lot of it is about accepting that — understanding that life has both light and dark or Above and Below moments. And the “and so” part of it is really about that acceptance. Things happen, things change, but you just keep going. You carry on.

OHMs Peak: If Matador were stranded on a desert island with only a solar‑powered record player and could collectively choose just one album to bring, which album would you agree on?

Matador: That’s a super hard question. We all come from different musical backgrounds, which is a good thing. If you drew a Venn diagram of it, it’d probably be something like punk, jazz, and metal all overlapping somewhere in the middle.

If we had to pick something though… we might have to cheat a little bit. On one side of the record it’d probably be some older Tool — maybe Lateralus or 10,000 Days. And then on the other side… I’m not totally sure. Probably something totally different. Let's say Rumors, Fleetwood Mac?!

But yeah, that kind of contrast probably sums up the band quite well — darker, heavier stuff on one side and then something a little more open or melodic on the other.

Matador are:

Mark Ainsworth - Bass

James Kirk - Guitar

Scott Stronach - Drums

Follow Matador: Instagram / Facebook. /. Linktree