Pyroclasm

Pyroclasm starts at the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, where enormous natural forces formed columns of basalt. From there it leaps across the sea to the shipyards of the Clyde, where people brought comparable force to bear on building iron ships.

The name means 'broken by fire'. The idea is the heat and pressure that made the causeway's basalt 'rivets', and the similar force used to fasten a ship's hull. Rust and saffron collide with black pepper and grapefruit at the top: metallic, hot and sharp, with a bitter citrus edge.

Frankincense and elemi carry smoky resin through the heart, widened by mineral notes. Underneath, tarry cade, styrax and cistus give it weight, while sandalwood, Atlas cedar absolute and ambergris add a salty, oceanic resonance.