Genre: Black Metal
Location: Bergen, Norway
Release date: 05.11.2021
Label: Season of Mist
Listen: Bandcamp
Website: Instagram
I have always found interest in following Gaahl's activities in the scene and outside of it, as one of the most iconic figures of this music. While not all his endeavors are my cup of tea, I certainly have favorites and enjoyed this project's debut GastiR - Ghosts Invited, quite a lot two years ago. I made sure not to listen to any promotional track before going into their new EP, The Humming Mountain, either. While at first thinking that it was in fact a second full length album, in turn this mini-release left me with mixed feelings and unsure whether I personally dig the effort, even if it's aesthetically and musically well within acceptable levels.
Clean vocals are chosen almost completely this time, for the whole release. Gaahl's voice is one of the most prominent in black metal and the outcome doesn't lose in emotion or quality, yet I can't deny that I would have loved a harsher voice, especially in the faster parts of the album. With that in mind, The Humming Mountain contains a few chunks of interesting content, but it's also stalling a considerable much as well. Some compositions are holding back and at the same time, over dragged in duration, keeping mellow melodies but ultimately no serious impact. This is the case for both the nine-minute opener "The Seed" and the self-titled track.
Then, "The Dwell" and "Awakening Remains - Before Leaving" represent the other part of the coin for The Humming Mountain. Significantly speedier tempos, cutting black metal riffs with a nice atmosphere, but still no shrieked vocals, very much in the spirit of Gaahls Wyrd and what they have been doing the last few years. These two songs, while not incredibly extravagant, might have the listener nodding for a bit and could be appreciated for more variety as well as more potent melodies. Unfortunately, closing "The Sleep" is even emptier than how The Humming Mountain starts, and it had me wondering why it's there and who couldn't think of abstract clean guitar echoing tricks like that.
While the EP has clear highlights, it also has some fairly clear weak points. The more passionate fans of Gaahls Wyrd will still appreciate The Humming Mountain, but it's quite clearly an understatement compared to the wonderful debut of the band. I believe more focus will be put in a second album if it ever comes. I kind of see this as what Windswept represents in the Drudkh universe, even if it's a wild analogy. Despite the bitter tongue of this text, Gaahls Wyrd is exactly how Gaahl's art should be manifested, in my opinion.
Tracklist:
1. The Seed
2. The Humming Mountain
3. The Dwell
4. Awakening Remains - Before Leaving
5. The Sleep
Damage: 2.5/5 [Average]
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