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Former Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris traffics in the isolationist ambiance of Lull; Martyn Bates is the emotive voice of literate cult-pop duo Eyeless in Gaza. The unlikely pair--one given to terminally frigid drone, the other to impassioned, bittersweet voicings--finds common ground in folk music"s most macabre tradition, the murder ballad. These ghoulish parables are awash in blood and tears, the strands of love, hate, birth, death, sin, and salvation entwined within like the roots of an ancient tree. Mothers callously kill their children, suitors slay their maidens without remorse, and fate exacts its cruel price from all. The three discs that make up THE MURDER BALLADS were originally released separately. Each album contains a set of four extended interpretations linked to a common theme. While such sinister songs as "The Cruel Mother," "Lucy Wan," and "The Bonny Hind" may be familiar to followers of traditional and revisionist folk, Harris and Bates" brilliant approach extracts every last drop of dread from the time-worn words. Harris" bleak backdrops slither, knell, and resonate while Bates sings in a mournful melodic whisper. On the third album, INCEST SONGS, Bates" vocals are subtly multi-tracked, sounding like the lament of a congregation of despairing angels.