Greet - I Know How To Die

Labels: Dry Cough Records/Fiadh Productions

Formats: Vinyl/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 17 Oct 2025

Tracklist:

1. Keening

2. No More

3. Revelry

4. The Leather Knight

5. May

6. The Mire

7. The Seer

8. The Dig

9. The Battle

10. Eulogy

There's a part of me that felt like this blog had run its course over the last twelve months. It's grown bigger than I could've imagined over the last fifteen years, yet I've held back from allowing it to grow even more, which is my own failing I guess. With all that said though, I'm wanting to give it another proper push. Let's see...

October saw the release of the newest album I Know How To Die from Leeds, UK dark folk act Greet. Greet's sole-member and songwriter Matthew Broadley gathers together all manner of instruments from guitars and percussion, to flutes, synthesisers and a harmonium to create drone-laden folk music that befits the act's surroundings. It was released on tape via US label Fiadh Productions and on vinyl, also via Fiadh Prods and one of my favourite UK labels Dry Cough Records.

Beginning with the teasing opener ‘Keening’, Greet is joined by Steve Von Till, who provides spoken-word lyrics to a backdrop of choral vocals and droning synth/harmonium. It’s eerily soothing, especially when set against the swirling winds of Storm Bram outside. It’s also surprisingly full of volume, as ‘No More’ shows. There are so many elements at play here, so many different instruments, all led by the harmonium. I’ve never been drawn to folk music before but Greet’s association with Dry Cough/Fiadh and bands that shall remain nameless here drew me in.

The upbeat Celtic influence that flows through ‘Revelry’ could make it the perfect song to see in the New Year. Please excuse the tweeness of that last sentence but ‘Revelry’ reminds me of how the Scots celebrate Hogmanay, to name but one example. As the album progresses, you begin to notice that Greet’s other instrumental elements come to the fore over and above the harmonium. ‘The Leather Knight’ sees the vocals sitting in a more prevalent spot, alongside layered choir-like backing singing and the medieval tones added by a flute.

‘May’ is initially mournful in tone but it’s mood is lifted by vocal melodies that sound way jollier than they should. It’s not a lengthy song and it goes by fairly quickly. It is engrossing though and I’m really warming to this album. Folk is such a broad term when it comes to music and even dark folk seems to have a spectrum all of its own. ‘The Mire’ feels like an interlude at just over a minute in length, but it’s one that’s filled with the haunting voices of those who have walked the moors and valleys where Greet calls home.

As ‘The Mire’ fades and flows into ‘The Seer’, there’s a feeling of unease and tension as rhythmic percussion beats beneath the characteristic melody of Greet. It has its own persona amongst the more upbeat songs on this album, making it standout somewhat. The beautiful birdsong and almost rhythmically ambient sounds of ‘The Dig’ make up the album’s final interlude and lead to ‘The Battle’, which is ominous in its title.

Again, authoritative percussion joins the musical fray, helping to keep the rhythm alongside the harmonium. It’s solely instrumental and as it finishes with a trance-like passage, it leads into album closer ‘Eulogy’. A fitting title perhaps, as it’s where Greet delivers a more expansive sound with guitar melodies and glorious violin provided by Simon Barr. The vocals draw you in one last time, hypnotically so. 

As a music listener, I have often stuck to my own stubborn tastes; moving from the immediacy of hardcore and extreme metal, to post-rock/metal and experimental heaviness with the odd pop record infiltrating my listening habits as years have passed. I Know How To Die left me with such a sense of calm this evening that I think I might be moving into another phase of that musical journey. This album is fantastic and I’m so glad I took a chance on it.

You can stream and purchase the album digitally below, where it's also available on physical formats (albeit they're running low!):-

You can also buy the album on physical formats from the labels below:-

Dry Cough Records - https://www.drycoughrecords.com/product/greet-i-know-how-to-die

Fiadh Productions - https://fiadh.bandcamp.com/album/i-know-how-to-die

Dry Cough Records - https://www.facebook.com/DryCoughRecords

Fiadh Productions - https://www.facebook.com/fiadhproductions