Norwegian extreme metal formation GAAHLS WYRD, fronted by renowned vocalist Gaahl (GORGOROTH, WARDRUNA), will release its debut album, "GastiR - Ghosts Invited", on May 31 via Season Of Mist. The album was recorded last year at Solslottet Studios in Norway with Iver Sandøy (ENSLAVED). The word "Gastir" means visitor. The record is shaping up to be a decidedly not-so-black metal affair, though the singles thus far have proven Gaahl is far more talented than relying on his reputation and excellent musicianship.
Gaahl is known as one of Norway's most-talked-about and respected extreme metal musicians. His work with TRELLDOM, GORGOROTH, WARDRUNA and GOD SEED has been widely regarded as some of the best the black metal scene has had to offer.
GAAHLS WYRD conists of:
Vocals - Gaahl (Kristian Espedal) (GORGOROTH, WARDRUNA, GOD SEED),
Guitar - Lust Kilman (Ole Walaunet) (THE BATALLION, GOD SEED, GRIMFIST),
Bass - Eld (Frode Kilvik) (KRAKOW, AETERNUS) and on
Drums - Spektre (Kevin Kvåle) (HORIZON ABLAZE).
GAAHLS WYRD have just finish of the European tour with TRIBULATION, UADA and IDLE HANDS.
Today's tune "From The Spear" is taken from the upcoming album "Gastir – Ghosts Invited" will be released may 31st through Seasons of Mist.
New week, time to introduce "The Record Of The Week".
Today, we travel across the strait to Denmark where we find the five-piece band shoegaze/metal band MØL hailing from Aarhus, Denmark and their latest effort "Jord" (Danish for "Soil"). This is a band that combines its multiple influences into a unique blackened shoegaze sound in that has gained my attention. The boundaries of modern Black Metal have been pushed beyond the purists, and MØL is proving themselves as a masterful contribution and deliver the absolute finest Denmark can offer at present.
MØL consists of:
Nicolai - Guitar,
Ken - Drums,
Frederik - Guitar,
Holger - Bass,
Kim Song - Vocals.
"Jord" is a very creative 8 piece album, 40 minutes of atmospheric and dreamy Blackgaze with soaring and drenched guitars and wheezing vocals with a brilliant composition of soundscapes, melodies, and emotions. But despite all the aggression, it is very accessible to listen to. They are inspired by bands like DEAFHEAVEN, LANTLÔS and ALCEST.
With "Jord" it's easy to get lost in its own beauty like the opening cut "Storm", with a picking intro, soft layback guitar until it burst out like a volcano on viagra, heavy riffing, pulsating drumming and wheezing vocals and you are hooked. "Penumbra" were we get a wall of sounds hitting you like a tsunami, slower reflective intermissions were we can get a bit air before it comes again. Or the softer parts like the melancholy "Bruma", shows a half-paced face until you will feel your soul fights with the blackened screams or in the real beauty is "Lambda", close your eyes and let the atmosphere sweep you slowly toward your dreams. In the more aggressive and extreme tunes as "Vakuum", "Ligament", "Virga" and the title track, atmospheric with clever hardened riffs and black metal ferocity with Scandinavian roots flowing in the veins. This is one of those albums, that will leave you totally blown away after the first spin and hey, it's only getting better the next spin. It gives a first love rush, a true beauty.
Sum: Absolutely brilliant blackgaze album, an exploding danish debut record.
Today's tune is the title track from "Jord", the album was released April 13th, 2018, enjoy!
The British Metal band CARCASS takes us inside an autopsy for this gnarly song. Lead singer Jeff Walker wrote the lyrics, which incorporate many pathology terms: deviscerated, imbrued, chondrin.
Today's tune "Corporal Jigsore Quandary" is taken from the third album "Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious". It was released on October 30, 1991, through Earache Records. This album is the first to feature guitarist Michael Amott. Many of the tracks describe economical ways to dispose of dead bodies. "Necroticism" continues the move towards a predominant death metal sound which was started in "Symphonies Of Sickness", featuring songs with longer sections and complex structures more akin to the then-burgeoning technical death metal subgenre.
This focus on the post-mortem is a common theme in Walker's lyrics. He researched the medical terms but says that they are not entirely accurate. Medical students, however, seem to appreciate it. Said Walker: "We've met people who have become doctors or nurses or pathologists or meds as a result of listening to our band, which is really cool. It's really awoken an interest in people, these subjects." (Here's our full Jeff Walker interview.)
A track from the third CARCASS album, the lineup was Jeff Walker on bass and lead vocals, Bill Steer and Michael Amott on guitars, and Ken Owen on drums. Walker says that this track came out of their determination to do something different. He explained in our interview:
"With some riffs it's simple: you know where the words are going to fall. It's just a matter of filling in the gaps, the blanks, put them down. With 'Corporal,' even though it's got a kind of chorus riff, there is no real chorus, because the words in there are repeated. That's something that was deliberate back then because my attitude as a 19 or 20-year-old was that chorus of being lazy - just repeating the same thing. That just illustrates how awkward we were when we were young. In fact, we were fighting against just being obvious."
Bass interlace and mangle sounds in a sonic homage to both the innate warmth of human magnetism and the cold realities of corrupted love—jealousy, obsession, perversion, addiction. That is what describes the American/Canadian post-metal band SUMAC.
The band was formed in 2014. It features the Vancouver, British Columbia-based Nick Yacyshyn (BAPTISTS), Brooklyn, NYC-based Brian Cook (RUSSIAN CIRCLES, ex-THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES, ex-BOTCH) and Vashon, Washington-based Aaron Turner (MAMIFFER, OLD MAN GLOOM, ex-ISIS). SUMAC released its debut album The Deal through Profound Lore Records in 2015.
Love is what makes us human. It guides our decisions, shapes our worldview, and defines our experiences. Its absence equates to tragedy while its presence gives our lives meaning. “Love has been well-worn theme throughout a lot of rock music, but most commonly in terms of love-lost, overly romanticized versions of new love, or as a veil for sexual conquest,” says SUMAC guitarist and vocalist Aaron Turner (OLD MAN GLOOM, MAMIFFER, ISIS). “It is rarely addressed in its more spiritual and vulnerable aspects.” Those less-traversed territories of humankind’s connective bond became the central theme SUMAC’s third full-length album, "Love In Shadow"
Today's tune "The Task" gives us a meticulous bombardment of heavy riffage and dexterous drumming. The tune is taken from the third studio album "Love In Shadow". It was released on September 21, 2018 through Thrill Jockey. Like the band's experimental collaboration with Keiji Haino earlier in 2018, much of the album was recorded improvisationally.
Sumac performing the first 6+ minutes of the 21-minute new song "The Task" live on September 12, 2018, at Strange Matter in Richmond, VA. Enjoy!
