Label: Todestrieb Records
I love a good band when I hear one. We go into the depths of depravity with this featured review of Ghast’s Dread Doom Ruin. How is Al Necro supposed to pigeonhole this one? Don’t bother asking, cvlt warriors! Let’s talk about what this album sounds like, instead of hurling out genre labels like punk meets black and whatever. First, an intro. Never heard of Ghast? They are from Wales in the UK, and are comprised of three members with cryptic names. Dread Doom Ruin is recorded by Swine and mastered by Colin Marston by the way. Some of you metal heathens won’t need an explanation as to why that’s relevant. Colin has been mixing some quality releases these past few years, and it’s no surprise Ghast chose him and Swine to be part of the crew.
Quite telling from the record, Ghast love the darker side of the human condition. After all, people forget that mankind is part of the animal kingdom. We relentlessly curb nature’s influence and convene in a society filled with sophistry and dysfunction. Under the veils of humanity, human nature has a tendency to get dark and ugly.
Which is where we find Ghast, lurking like a shadowy entity in casual observance. You’ll notice from a listen to Dread Doom Ruin that they like to mix the tempos quite a bit, locking in the mid-tempo and slower sections with blackened rung notes. The jam is quite simple. The tremolo riffs give contrast to the slower paces and during the faster sections, they do the tremolo riff in minor chord progression that’s easy to like and recognize if you’re anything of a black metal fan.
Don’t expect to sing-along in the shower to tracks like “Festival of Serpents” and “Scorn and Death.” If you love obscure black metal with doom touches, this might just stir your cauldron. The production renders every instrument clear to the listener and no, we’re not greeted by harps or cellos. Dread Doom Ruin is primitive black metal for the fan with preference for a style other than blasting from start to finish. Listening to this is like going into a carny show and seeing an old friend from high school jammed into a cage biting a rat’s head off.
Seriously, it’s primitive in style, but modern in production values. Credit Colin for giving the rung notes an audible quality. He and Swine didn’t just record this thing necro for necro’s sake. Still, listening to this is like seeing the ghost of your past fully naked, shivering in the shower, touching himself like you used to as a teen. It’s primitive but fresh, demented like a man regressing to his primal instincts.
Dudes, don’t bother boasting about this record to your metalcore-worshiping friends, as they don’t know what real music is. It’s an acquired taste, one that Al Necro approves of. I understand, CVLT Nation fans. We all started out as metal virgins, but for some of us, our ears just demand something more…demented, anti-social, and primitive to its core. It’ll help that the vocalist here is a howling genius. He sounds just like black metal madman one man band, Todesstos.
