With artists like Perturbator and Carpenter Brut taking synthwave into far more polished and expansive realms, GosT is a much more evil beast. His upcoming album Possessor channels the power of Beelzebub, using soundclips from exorcisms and hyperaggressive percussion to turn your brain to mush. This isn’t nice music. If you’ve ever wondered what the frozen north would sound like if it was jackknifed through a synthesiser at full volume, then this is for you.
The secretive GosT (pronounced ghost) has also given us a track-by-track guide to Possessor, to lead you through the maze of darkness and pain.
Possessor
Possessor is the intro, which uses a combination of Satanic Panic era news reels and actual recorded exorcisms. I chose this type of intro to set the mood of hysteria and superstition surrounding the ritual of exorcism.
Garruth
Garruth is a statement track about how heavy this record will sound throughout. This track marks a bit of a departure from synthwave and is a declaration of the changes I went through as an artist when writing the album. I introduce screaming vocals and blast beats, clearly giving the listener a jolt into how dark and metal Possessor will get.
The Prowler
The third track, The Prowler, is a step back towards the more traditional sounds of GosT. I clearly filled out the percussion on this release in order to give it more depth and detail. The more natural-sounding drum samples and fills are clear here. I glitched the shit out of the bassline to make the track swirl in and out of chaos and control.
Sigil
Sigil is my first venture into actually singing for this project. I chose to sing mainly out of necessity. A couple of vocalists flaked on me while in the middle of recording this record, so I was, in a way, forced into doing my own vocals. In the end though, I am extremely happy with how this worked out. Adding vocals into the set has definitely added to the live experience as well. Massive nods to Sisters Of Mercy and Depeche Mode on this one.
Loudas Deceit
I decided to do a sort of sequel track to Lake Of Fire from my previous album Non Paradisi For Loudas Deceit. This track gives you a little breathing room, so the anxiety and evolutions in sound isn’t completely polarising. The arpeggio at the end of this cut is one of my favourite moments during Possessor. I shamelessly threw some pop into this track and I am happy with the resulting clashing of sounds.
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Beliar
Black metal vibes! The beginning of Beliar is black metal with synths. Heavy basslines pull you back into a synthwave-ish and choral arrangement. I used a few new VSTs while recording this album, and for the middle of Beliar this is obvious. The bassline churns in a super synthetic digital mixture before blast beats choke this track to death.
Legion
For Legion I use influences from doom and crust. I scream on this track using words pulled directly from the Satanic Bible. I used guitar for the first time during the solo/crust/thrash bridge. Beckoning to the king of hell, a very high grimy-pitched scream layered with a backmasked chant bring the horror influences back into the light here.
16 A.M.
I used this track as a sort of tribute to the victims of the Catholic church. People who were killed on the back of a superstitious and spineless organisation. Super fast blasts throw you into a very French touch sounding track. A slow building crescendo leads you into a heavy breakdown started by the haunting screams of Anneliese Michel, who died a very untimely and gruesome death due to malnourishment and neglect. A priest “lovingly” guided a family to kill their own daughter for a god who never answers a single prayer…
Shiloh’s Lament
Shiloh’s Lament is another very GosT sounding song. A combination of demonic screams and angelic choral voices fade in before a pulsating bass synth layered with strings and brass scream into the track. The middle and end of this one has a very Eurythmics sound to it, I think. The ending beat is slow and ends abruptly for a quick transition into Malum.
Malum
This is the second vocal track I sing on. Malum is very similar to Sigil vocally. The goth influence is strong here and I really enjoyed recording this track. The lead synth at the end of this one is simple but one of my favourite moments on Possessor.
Commandment
Commandment is perhaps the most punishing track I have written for GosT. The beginning beat along with screaming vocals is very harsh and raw sounding. The next piece of the song is very bass heavy and was an attempt at recreating a palm muted guitar effect with a synth. A bright rising and falling arpeggio with neatly packed drum fills flow into a sample and a silent pause before blasts and layered screams lead you into church bells and out of the hell that is Possessor.
GosT’s new album Possessor is out March 23 and available to pre-order from Amazon.
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