BLACK METAL Ghost Bath (China): “Funeral”

BLACK METAL Ghost Bath (China): “Funeral”

Here we go again with Ghost Bath and it’s another whoa-man-yikes one! A previous issue of Metal Bulletin Zine, number 39, observed that not much information on Ghost Bath is available. Leaving aside the unconfirmed questions of location and identity of the musician(s), let’s get to the nitty gritty of the new album “Funeral” that follows the 2013 EP named “Ghost Bath.”

Once again, it’s another set of looney tunes of deranged melancholic neopsychedelic postpunk postblack metal. For the record, yes, Ghost Bath features completely insane-asylum worthy high-pitched shriek-howling; plenty of awkward moments (crying, seemingly out-of-tune segments, special effects, horror-movie vibes and other goodies like that), but there is also plenty of melody by way of the guitar and keyboards.

A type of unified postblack metal framework aligns together the variety of song moods, which at the risk of too much reductionism, can be summed up as follows: fast, cave black metal passages; melodic/melancholic/goth/horror moments; and the “post” component that arguably is the bread and butter of the Ghost Bath sound identity. This album features a mix of mellow tracks like the instrumentals “Silence,” a simple guitar-only number, or “Sorrow,” a sad piano track, plus the usual suicide-obsessed and nihilist freak-out tracks.

The non-instrumental tracks do have lyrics in English, just so you know. Here’s the kicker: if the yeller is agonizing in English and pronouncing those lyrics, no one will ever, ever figure it out because it is a vocal style that goes for howling and shrieking.

That’s it, I’m calling it right here and now: Ghost Bath is going to be huge in China, bigger than Elvis, Beattlemania, Sabbath, Priest, Maiden and Metallica combined, bigger than Dead Horse even! OK, maybe not more famous that Dead Horse, but you’ve got to admit that Ghost Bath is postmodern to the postmodern. How can you not enjoy the weirdness?!

Did I tell you yet that this album is available for free?!!

www.ghostbath.bandcamp.com

www.facebook.com/blackghostbath