(written by Islander)
Smoke dope if you want, but today you can imagine what it might be like to pack your bong with ghosts and see what happens when you apply the flame.
The occasion for this mind game is a lyric video for the song “Elogium” that we’re premiering today. It’s the opening track from Inertia Cult, the debut album from Melbourne’s Ghostsmoker that’s now set for release by Art As Catharsis on March 21st, described by the label as “a record of earth-shaking sludge and blackened doom.”
But before we get to that, you ought to first allow your mind to be invaded by a gripping video for the first single from the album, “Incarnate.”
Ghostsmoker vocalist Nathan Brunning provided this introduction to the song:
“Incarnate is about being stuck in a loop of despair and not being able to move forward through your grief and trauma. During the very early stages of writing for the album, my brother passed away suddenly which had a significant impact on the lyrical themes on the record. Our drummer Brayden’s father also passed away while we were in the studio recording the album, and the rest of us rallied together to finish the job in dedication to our friend who was going through such a painful time in life, and his father, who was his biggest supporter. The above, the hurdles of everyday life, relationships failing, new ones forming etc all ultimately fed into making this album what it is.”
As for the song itself, “Incarnate” immediately torques feelings of tension and torment, winding them to the breaking point with sizzling guitars and a swell of gritty howls. And then Ghostsmoker bring down pulverizing beats, humongous radioactive chords, and shrill, frenetic leads, fronted by scalding screams.
The music heaves and hammers like a big black excavating machine belching choking exhaust, but a machine fueled by pain. When it pauses in its ruthless gouging of the earth, a guitar dismally moans and wails, as if what has been excavated are lost souls still in agony.
Ghostly whispers and tumbling drums lead back into a bowel-loosening hammer-fest and further doses of excruciating screams and neck-cracking snare beats. The music claws its way forward, dragging its miseries with it and finally opening a vein of nightmares.
What a very heavy and very harrowing experience that one is. And now we come to “Elogium” as a second preview of what this Inertia Cult worships. We again have an introduction from the band:
“We made the decision for this to be the opener of the record because it’s primal and abrasive, with a hint of ambience, so it’s a good introduction on what to expect. Elogium is a tribute, or elegy, to someone who has passed, who lived their life going through pain and struggle, hoping to see the day that it was all worth it, but unfortunately never getting to have their moment in the sun before their life was cut short.”
As in “Incarnate“, Ghostsmoker bring forward fuzz-bombed riffage, but here it hungrily throbs, backed by crowbar-heavy percussive blows, and then groans like the weight of massed graves on crouched shoulders. Strangled snarls and horrid roars bay the disturbing words, and the music inflicts a rhythmic beating but also slowly writhes like an engorged python.
And here, when the punishment abates, the guitars eerily ring and wail, creating an ethereal but still disturbing counterpoint to the music’s massive weight. The drums get a chance to shine too while those ghostly notes cry out in misery, and continue their compulsive ministrations when the full band return, woozily weaving, brutally pounding, and scalding with screams.
It’s a compulsive neck-bender and body-mover, but it also tells you why the band chose their name.
GHOSTSMOKER is:
Ben Astbury – guitar
Nathan Brunning – lyrics and vocals
Brayden Becher – drums
Rhys Brennan – bass
The album was recorded and mixed by Jason Fuller, mastered by John Ruberto, and features this cover art by the always amazing Adam Burke:
Art As Catharsis faithfully represents that in considering the album as a whole, “Comparisons to Conan, Thou, Bongripper and ISUA are warranted,” and that “the tectonic heaviness of Ghostsmoker’s Inertia Cult is sure to ring in your ears for days, and is essential listening for loves of sludge, post-metal, doom and drone alike.”
To pre-order, check the link below.
PRE-ORDER:
https://ghostsmokerau.bandcamp.com/album/inertia-cult-2
MORE GHOSTSMOKER LINKS:
https://linktr.ee/Ghostsmoker
https://ghostsmokerau.bandcamp.com
https://instagram.com/ghostsmokerband
https://acebook.com/ghostsmokerband
ART AS CATHARSIS:
http://www.artascatharsis.com
