GosT: Riding The Crest of a Synthwave

The rise of synthwave over the latter half of the decade has been incredible, with names like PERTURBATOR, CARPENTER BRUT and THE MIDNIGHT becoming household across a multitude of fanbases, including the rock and metal scene. One of the other acts who has seen their stock rise is GOST, who has begun to expand his sound by adding extreme metal in amongst his electronics to ensure that things stayed fresh; not just for him, but for the genre in general.

“I just felt that synthwave or whatever everybody wants to call it was just starting to feel kind of stale,” he explains over the phone from his home of Texas. “There’s a lot of people doing that sound now and I certainly feel like the genre was becoming a bit over-saturated and I think it’s going to be a joke of itself, so I kind of wanted to separate myself a little bit. I think it’s important, to ensure this doesn’t happen, for the artists that are considered synthwave to take chances.”

And does he think that others are? Well, yes, as it turns out. “PERTURBATOR took some decent chances on his last record New Model and there was a bit of a different sound for him, and I think that’s what’s important too, to progress without just becoming something completely different to that genre name.”

Around from the initial explosion of synthwave, GOST – who also goes by the secondary stage name Baalberith – is considered one of the pioneers of the genre. However, he’s quick to play that notion down, especially when asked if that adds its own pressure. “I think it’s cool that people consider that, but I don’t necessarily feel pressure about that. I also consider PERTURBATOR, CARPENTER BRUT and even the guys who take a softer approach like MIAMI NIGHTS the pioneers; I never felt like that’s truly what I was trying to do with synthwave.”

So, what were you trying to do? Why decide to play synthwave in the first place? “I just got tired of the whole band setup, having to filter, you know, ideas through multiple people and make sure schedules lined up and everything. I just wanted to do something on my own; I honestly never planned on it being anything more, I just wanted something to do that I didn’t have to jump through hoops with other people, to create a finished product.”

Now five albums in, GOST’s latest effort is Valediction, which brings in more of the black metal influences that he introduced on previous album Possessor, to the point that the album actually opens with a sonic attack of blast beats and shrieked vocals. “I actually wanted to do that with Possessor, but the label that I was on previously was against the idea. So I had a little more freedom to bring around in. Honestly, with this release I thought people were gonna go both ways, they were either gonna dig it or they’re gonna be like ‘Fuck this’, somehow. For the most part it seems to have been pretty positive, though.”

Valediction is also a lot more personal in terms of vibe and lyrics; there’s less in the way of cartoonish Satanism or praising the Lord of Darkness, which was another conscious decision on GOST’s part. “It’s certainky more a stream of consciousness about, you know, just the way I grew up and my current surroundings and just the current state of the fucking world. I wanted to back off the Satanic themes little bit because that’s another thing that’s been overdone for decades, and I don’t want to like not alienate people because I don’t mind alienating people but I didn’t want to like get pigeonholed; for people to see it and immediately be like ‘Well fuck, I’m Christian I can’t listen to this’ you know?

One place GOST won’t find too many men and women of faith is the UK venues he’ll be playing in on his next venture over here, where he’s opening for GAAHL’S WYRD and MAYHEM. But the idea of opening for two fully extreme metal bands isn’t daunting at all. “I thought of it more as a challenge. I I’m bringing a pretty heavy set but there’s a few dance tracks, Just to punish the fucking fascist black metal crowd that’ll probably be there but I’ve not really it intimidating. It’ll be interesting to see, you know if there’s any heckling or anything like that!”

Even from the short time in conversation, GOST clearly doesn’t come across as someone who backs down in the face of adversity. Safe to say that, when he brings his sample deck and dark beats to the UK once more, he’ll return any animosity from his audiences with a huge amount of interest on the top.

Is your name pronounced as it looks, or is it meant to be ‘Ghost’?

It was pronounced ‘ghost; in the beginning, but I started just after the Swedish band GHOST did, and I really didn’t think they’d be a fucking worldwide phenomenon, you know what I mean?! Everybody started saying GOST so I’ve just kind of started to run with that just to avoid confusion.

Why did you pick Baalberith as an alternative stage name?

I just wanted to kind of poke fun at religion in general, mainly and Baalberith is a false god that the early Christians demonised and he’s a lesser known one too. He’s actually kind of like a chill demon I guess; he can’t lie for once. I knew of Baal and Berith but never together and the name kinda stuck.

You’ve got a really prolific output; you’ve released five albums in as many years. Do you just get a bug for releasing and recording music?

Yeah, I think as well the way everything is nowadays with the internet and people getting tired of shit so quickly plays a part in that, but I guess round about six months after release when touring starts to calm down a bit, I’m sitting around with not much to do and I tend to get a bit bored; I just have to do something. And, you know, music’s always been what I do. There may be two years between this release and the next one, because this was a bit more of a process than I’m used to, but I’ve started writing new material already so I say that there may be two years, but there might be another one in 2020.

Because this one was a more personal journey has that taken it out of you as well?

For sure I mean I was going to a studio this time as well, you know, it’s all just been more of a, like a drag. So yes, as a personal journey it’s taken a lot more energy for sure, but also as an overall process.

Valediction is out now via Century Media Records. GOST is featured in our latest digital issue. Subscribe to our Patreon to gain access. 

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