ALBUM REVIEW: Self Loather – Ghost Bath

For quite some time now, GHOST BATH appear to have been operating in undiscovered areas of the map, embarking on a voyage of newfound discovery instead of following the proven path trodden into the grass by their peers. Their craft is one of catharsis and darkness, personifying such methodology and transcending the boundaries of black metal. Since their inception their spotlight has been firmly fixed on the bleak, angled with a profuse determination to craft some of the finest music that extreme metal has ever known.

They are set to release Self Loather, the third in a trilogy of records that began with 2015’s critically acclaimed Moonlover. As much as it is a conclusion by definition, the reality is that it feels more like a starting point, featuring some of the best music that GHOST BATH have released (and let’s face it, they’ve never done things by halves). All the raw ingredients of black metal are there – distraught vocals, harrowing riffs, thunderous kicks – but they are applied via a whole other formula, managing to feel as hauntingly melodic as they do desolate and dark. It’s an assured album that oozes technical skill and emotional outpouring, a recipe for success in any genre of music, and one perfectly weighted in this instance.

Opener Convince Me To Bleed gets us started with fast riffs. Guitars wail and bleak vocals rush throughout the mix, before we jump into Hide From The Sun which features samples of crying voices adding to the sonic despair as a delicate section of guitar grows into another blistering track. Shrines Of Bone and Sanguine Mask provide more of the same. Crushingly heavy, yet with an air of melodicism that dials up the catharsis and makes the record an utterly harrowing listen. As drums pull the record along with a metallic clatter, high-noted guitar adds a torrent of sorrow. The result is a listening experience that is engulfing, drowning us with powerfully emotive sound.

A sound that is thickly applied and unrelenting. I Hope Death Finds Me Well contributes via a swell of gorgeous piano, seemingly ripped directly from the neo-classical world yet perfectly at home amidst black metal soundscape. It’s tear-inducing heartache, and we can be forgiven for becoming entwined within its grip. For It Is A Veil follows to provide another inspired passage of audible grief, perfectly accentuating the sense of tragedy that GHOST BATH want to convey within their music.

Looking at the bigger picture, Self Loather has a lot of bases covered, spanning from intricate melody to wholehearted black metal battery, vocals that howl and wane, and all along a sense of uncomfortable dread. GHOST BATH define the very essence of depressive metal, but they do it with finesse and a real sense of identity. They have closed this trilogy emphatically, and will leave us reeling in floods of our own despair, desperate to discover what the next chapter might hold in this band’s encapsulating story.

Rating: 9/10

Self Loather is set for release October 29th via Nuclear Blast Records.

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