Northwest-based purveyors of all things petrifying and phantasmagorical, Flange Circus, follow up their recent It's a Tree single with something equally devilish and delightful in the form of new track Diabolical Bird.

While the previous single looked to British folk horror for its theme, Diabolical Bird takes inspiration from the religious scarefests of Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. That European influence also plays out in the sound of the song, with echoes of Can and early Kraftwerk and the motorik rock stylings of Neu! all firmly on display

Though an instrumental, words and pictures had a great part to play in the creation of the track. In fact, it was one particular image and its name that sent the band down the path that led to the creation of Diabolical Bird. Says Bon Holloway:

'We have always been fascinated by The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch. As a religious-bizarre-psychedelic-horrifying triptych it is edifyingly impossible to decode. On a visit to the multimedia exhibition Hieronymus Bosch - Visions Alive in Berlin in 2016, we were enveloped by The Garden of Earthly Delights animated and projected on huge screens. Our attention was directed to the figures and scenes of the right panel: Hell. Of course.

'Amongst the scenes of tortured souls, dismemberment, and sinful vice, one figure stood out: a giant figure atop a throne (or potty chair - we couldn't decide), resplendent with a cauldron crown, devouring a victim. The figure is a bird. More precisely it is Lucifer with the head of a nightjar - whose disturbing call figured on our last album Rural Eerie. We wanted to write a song about it.'

That led the band to expand from that single image to looking at the representation of the bird within European cultures, especially its association with things folkloric and frightening.

Bon continues: 'Diabolical Bird is about this nocturnal creature and its satanic transformation through the eyes of Bosch. And of course, we love the idea that nightjars are renowned in folklore and myth for stealing goats' milk. Which makes them goatsuckers. The nightjar's Latin name is Caprimulgus europaeus, with Caprimulgus Latin for Goatsucker - Caper is goat, Mulego is to milk. Goatsucking Satan on a (potty) chair. That is very Flange Circus.'

While that may create an expectation in the listener that the track is a doom-laden, eldritch affair, the truth is something more surprising:

'Despite this demonic and hellish inspiration, Diabolical Bird is one of the most uplifting tracks we have ever written. It's just how it goes with us. Perhaps we find joy and enchantment in such images of the abyss. Or is it uplifting? We don't know. Amongst the swirling synths lie two devilish bass lines and punishing analogues that temper this Edenic vision. Perhaps it's a sonic triptych.

'One thing we do know: Diabolical Bird our rave anthem to the Prince of Darkness in goatsucking avian form.'

Diabolical Bird is released on the 2nd of December via AnalogueTrash and will be available to stream and download on all major stores and platforms. The track will also feature on the band's Katabasis album, which is due for release on the label in early 2023. The single and album were recorded and mixed at High Peak Recordings.