“Idle Hands took the metal scene by storm last year. Their debut Mana had an unexpectedly widespread appeal and proved conclusively that the love for gothic rock among us was not as dead as many thought. The comparison to Idle Hands is easily made when looking at Rope Sect’s The Great Flood, another band seeking to revive old school gothic rock, and perhaps that may contribute to the quickly amassing buzz around the fledgling band, but two quality EP’s and a guest spot for Grave Pleasures and Hexvessel frontman Matthew McNerney a.k.a. Kvohst will do nothing to quell the surging tide of hype.” Rope, buzz, cults and hype.
Peter Murphy
Gaahls WYRD – GastiR – Ghosts Invited Review
“Kristian Eivind Espedal, aka Gaahl, is a controversial yet prolific figurehead in the Norwegian black metal scene. His work with Gorgoroth, Trelldom, God Seed, and Wardruna showcases how influential and varied his vocal abilities truly are. Of course, felony charges for assault, receiving death threats for coming out as openly gay in 2008, giving eccentric interviews involving the dramatic uttering of one word, and teaming up with former Gorgoroth bandmate King ov Hell in a failed attempt to wrestle the name away from guitarist and sole remaining founding member Infernus in 2007 all have a tendency to overshadow any and all of your accomplishments, no matter how powerful. With all that in mind, we are now in possession of GastiR – Ghosts Invited, the debut full-length from Gaahl’s newest project, Gaahls WYRD.” Satan…is in the details
Deathwhite – Solitary Martyr EP Review
“Ah, Deathwhite is back to antagonize music reviewers who expect to know things like: who’s in the band, what do they play, where are they from, who is their daddy and what does he do? Yes, Deathwhite scoffs at such outdated formalities, opting to exist in complete secrecy like goth-metal’s answer to those masked marauders in Ghost.” Straight from the Witness Protection Ensemble, more intrigue and confusion.
Interview with Peter and Sam from Voices
Last November, Voices released their second album, London. It took us (well, except me because my finger is totally on the pulse) completely by surprise, scoring a whopping 4.5/5 and storming the writers’ end-of-year lists. I moved back to the UK just in time to catch Voices supporting Anaal Nathrakh at Camden’s Black Heart in April, and was lucky enough to chat to Peter Benjamin (vocals, guitars) and Sam Loynes (guitars, backing vocals) before the show. An interview, you say? Well, goddamn!