Meet Wallowing: The mysterious beekeepers making devastating, dystopian sludgecore

How’s this for an irresistible pitch: ‘Rush’s 2112 in doom’. That’s how T, guitarist and mastermind behind Wallowing, introduced the sci-fi-inspired extreme metal he’d made to his soon-to-be bandmates. Naturally, their interest was piqued.

“The ambition came from the fact I could do whatever I wanted if it was just me doing it,” reveals T. “But that became an impossible task the more I dived into it, so I asked others to be involved.”

Inspired by retro prog-rock, dystopian comic books and the various noisy bands the five members cut their teeth in, Wallowing have made a name for themselves with two superb concept records – 2019’s Planet Loss and last year’s Earth Reaper – and a live show that initially saw them wearing dyed black beekeepers’ outfits onstage.

That get-up has evolved to become fully functioning gear – complete with hoods and body packs – which has several functions.

“When you put those suits on, you’re going into space, and it immediately puts you into that mindset,” explains bassist R. “Plus, nobody can see you, which takes the attention away from you as a performer and makes all of your movements larger than life and fully immersive.”

Wallowing’s dedication to making their world-building as realistic as possible extended to their work in the studio. During the making of second album Earth Reaper, for instance, vocalist M ground two cinder blocks together to capture a tangibly gnarly sound, causing producer Joe Clayton to put his head in his hands.

“When you’re making a record that’s all about someone in a crashed ship, crawling from the wreckage, surrounded by crunching earth, as a musician you want to work with something that puts you in that space,” is R’s justification.

This focus on the tactile has seen the band produce a great deal of physical products, from comic books to action figures, to deepen the relationship between fans and the concepts, even if that wasn’t necessarily the original impetus for doing so. “These were things we wanted for ourselves,” admits T.

Though they write about acid-ravaged cityscapes and skies blotted by skeletal spaceships, Wallowing’s music is inspired by challenging experiences on this planet, from political division to homophobia to mental health to the struggle to find work. Despite a small kernel of positivity, Wallowing’s music remains unremittingly heavy, which makes the fact they’re the first metal band to play in a Waterstones (twice, in fact) even more bizarre.

“They wanted a band who could tear it up,” says T of the Bristol branch of the high-street bookseller. “It wasn’t the sort of set-up we’re used to, but it was a lot of fun. The staff were up for it.”

Waterstones-approved astronauts that mine the misery of other worlds? Wallowing deliver. Take your protein pills and put your helmet on…

Wallowing’s album Earth Reaper is out now via Church Road. This article originally appeared in the winter 2023 issue of the magazine.

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