Gaahls WYRD - GastiR - Ghosts Invited (Album Review)



Gaahls WYRD - GastiR - Ghosts Invited
Release date: 24/5/2019
Label: Season of Mist
By: J. C. Lerche


Gaahl is one of the most divisive persons in the Black Metal world and has been it for quite some time. The opinions about this man, whether about his skills as a vocalist, an artist, his personal life, public persona and his antics are divided, and everyone seems to have something to say about him. Today we, well, I, will attempt to judge his latest musical effort. Now, Gaahl is an experienced man, with 25 years worth of material to his credit, first featuring with Trelldom and Gaahlskaag, and later joining Gorgoroth. After a tumultuous exit and a few years with God Seed and Wardruna, he has now left that behind and established a band in his own name and image, Gaahls WYRD.


There is no way around it, for a band called Gaahls WYRD, his vocals are paramount and do dominate the soundscape. The Gaahl that we've come to know from Gorgoroth, with his high-pitched screams is gone. If you liked the few vocal experiments he did on God Seed's "I Begin", you'd like this. Combined with his deep baritone voice he utilized with Wardruna and throw in even more experiments, and you'd start to get a picture of what is happening here. Now I could go on and try and describe Gaahls vocals as "avantgarde", "daring" and "refreshing", and... yup, that's what they are... Alright, no more beating around the digital bush; I absolutely LOVE his vocal. From the light and high vocals on "Veiztu Hve" to the deep, monk-like chanting in "Ghosts Invited" and "Carving the Voices", and many styles in between; Gaahl takes them to perfection. I had a fun moment of déjà-vu with the chorus of "The Speech And The Self"; For a moment I thought Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode had taken the reins. If everything fails, Gaahl could swap places with Dave, and few would be any wiser. Indeed, the vocals are unique, and I struggle to find any comparison in any other black metal.


Gaahls WYRD


The instrumental part of the album is fortunately up to the task and manages to keep up with the phenomenal vocals. Or is it the other way around? Whatever the case, both compliments each other, although the instrumentals are more treated as the backbone of the songs. I'm always a great fan of the more atmospheric pieces with good riffs, well-structured and executed music. Add the vocals to deliver the gravy and I'm in no shortage of entertainment. Also, a good production and mastering helps, and GastiR - Ghosts Invited has that base covered with people, who helped delivering the current sounds of Wardruna, Enslaved and Skuggsjá, in the forms of Iver Sandøy and Tony Lindgren. Every instrument is present and accounted for, and not overdone or undercooked.


For the songs themselves there is still diversity between the songs. A song like "Carving the Voices" approaches Enslaved-territory in the guitar-work, and "Within The Voice Of Existence" is a well-deserved calm-down track to end the album on a more ominous note, at times reminding me of Agalloch. You have fast-paced tracks like "The Speech And The Self" and "Through And Past And Past" blasting ahead and you'll have ominous and hypnotic songs like the start-track "Ek Erilar" and "Carving the Voices", both monumental and haunting songs in their own right. All this just goes to show the variety of the music, which never feels disjointed or confused, but clearly directed and dynamic.


Another observation I've made is that this album seems more whole and complete, in comparison to God Seed's efforts a few years ago, which for numerous reasons came off as half-baked. Gaahls WYRD seems to be above and beyond that thankfully and delivers a unique piece of Atmospheric Black Metal, with it's own characteristics, namely the unique vocals.


To sum up this album; this is a very solid start to Gaahl's new project, and I'm curious to see where the road will go for them. Say what you will about the man himself, but his vocals are nothing to scuff at, and hopefully he will keep surprising us with this band, as he has a good thing going on here. You keep going Gaahl; You do you!


We give this album

Out of 6 





Favorite songs: Carving the Voices, The Speech And The Self

Tracklist:
1. Ek Erilar
2. From the Spear
3. Ghosts Invited
4. Carving the Voices
5. Veiztu Hve
6. The Speech And The Self
7. Through And Past And Past
8. Within The Voice Of Existence

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