ALBUM REVIEW: The Punishment Of Life – Ghost Horizon
The past decade has seen black metal undergo something of maturation. Whilst its underground and somewhat sinister roots are still a hot topic of discussion in 2021, it has grown and spread its creative net far wider than one could have foreseen. With groups such as ALCEST, DEAFHEAVEN and WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM taking the genre to new shimmering creative heights, this once murky and obscure genre has left the dark basements it once frequented. For GHOST HORIZON, now is as good a time as any to make their mark on the scene.
Following on from their 2017 EP The Erotics Of Disgust, GHOST HORIZON have spent the past four years pouring time and effort into their debut album, The Punishment Of Life. The brainchild of multi instrumentalist and vocalist Dan Stollings, this album is the first of all the band’s releases to be recorded on a real guitar amplifier and microphone, as the imperfections were seen to have a place amongst the music. For the most part, this works, as Stollings‘ wretched black metal scream suits the lo-fi tone of the record. Opening number Sunrise & Sorrow (Morning Air) has a contemplative air, before kicking into gear with the signature blasts of noise that are so prevalent in black metal.
Oozaru follows, which wends it’s way through major and minor tonalities, giving the song a far more interesting nuance than if it had purely been minor. The title track to The Punishment Of Life follows a similar structure, with its opening invoking the shimmering tone of blackgaze bands such as DEAFHEAVEN. Unholy Conjuration is the dark centrepiece of the record, with the tremolo guitars and blast beats on the drums at their most ferocious, and features a truly maniacal and blasphemous laugh from the frontman. The start of Finality In Brilliance brings the tone back down again, before the tremolo guitars kick off again, almost sounding positive after the savagery that has come before. Album closer Wretched Fiend (The Haunting) again lulls us as listeners into a calm headspace, before the black metal elements return as Stollings screams into the ether.
Whilst not the most original record, there are signs on The Punishment Of Life that Dan Stollings and GHOST HORIZON clearly have an ear for dynamics in their music. What this record would really benefit from would be a more organic sounding production, especially on the drums. A deepening of the production would allow for more colours in the sound, and would allow GHOST HORIZON to explore more varied and contrasting sonic horizons.
Rating: 7/10
The Punishment Of Life is out now via self-release.
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