A very special album arrived from GAAHLS WYRD. The debut of his new band, GastiR – Ghosts Invited. I‘ve never followed his career to be honest, nevertheless GAAHL (Kristian Eivind Espedal) is one of the most controversial figures in Black Metal and the art scene in general. That‘s raising the expectations a bit. And I‘m really trying to get into it. Best things first, the vocal performance is stunning. It feels like he has invited a lot of different ghosts: whispering, screaming, choirs or dark depressing cleans – he masters them all and you can definitely feel that GAAHL is absolutely one with his art. Every song is full of different emotions and surprising moments. The foundation still being Black Metal eruptions that mix with slow Doom parts, dark melodies and hypnotic passages. GastiR – Ghosts Invited definitely is an album that has to be listened to in its entirety. Still the song Carving The Voices is the one that appeals to me most, as the dark melody carries this one straight into my heart. Throughout the album I sometimes feel the vibes of mighty Bathory, the music is completely there to create the atmosphere, no place for technical showmanship. The overall production fits the album well, a little too much lows for my taste and the snare sounds great in the Black Metal but strange in some slower parts. So yes, it‘s great art and I find some really good parts throughout GastiR – Ghosts Invited. Still I couldn‘t take it to heart completely. Maybe I‘m not worthy, who knows...