Arkive

The debut album from this Scottish power trio is a majestic statement of intent combining extreme aggression with achingly tender guitar pickings and passionately lovelorn lyricism.

Lead singer Simon Neil had this to say about it to Vice: "There’s definitely a split in our fans. There’s ones who love the first three [Blackened Sky, Vertigo Of Bliss, Infinity Land], then a lot that found us after. Whatever album you discover a band on is the one you will always hold dearest, and we’ve definitely got some old school fans who’ve seen us playing to nobody. It means a lot to us that this album has managed to become a part of people’s lives and memories."

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Blackened Sky, we are releasing a limited edition cassette of the album. This cassette is the same as the one the band had up for pre-order in March. The final 100 copies are available exclusively from the Beggars Archive store in the UK, shipping worldwide.

Biffy Clyro came together in 1995 in a school in Kilmarnock, just outside of Glasgow, when childhood friends Simon Neil (vocals/guitar) and twins James (bass/vocals) and Ben Johnston (drums/vocals) started playing music together. United by a love of underground, experimental rock and post-hardcore bands such as Braid and Karate, along with the starrier likes of Guns N’Roses and Metallica, they quickly honed their own unique sound, a mind boggling mix of off-kilter tempos, itchy, unpredictable guitars, soulful choruses and feral screams, sewn together into a strange tapestry of sound that sat resolutely apart anything else being made at the time, both in spirit and - thanks to their admirable refusal to uproot from their hometown for the dog eat dog music community of London - geographically too.