EP Review: The Humming Mountain by Gaahls Wyrd (Season of Mist)

Gaahls Wyrd, the eponymous brainchild of one of black metal’s most iconic and enigmatic figures, has returned with a hypnotic new EP called The Humming Mountain. It was released on the 5th of November 2021 via Season of Mist and  follows the band’s critically-acclaimed debut album, GastiR – Ghosts Invited.

Just as that album was very different to anything expected from Gaahl’s history, The Humming Mountain sees the latest evolution of the esoteric dark metal project’s sound. The five song offering creeps in like a whispering demon, slowly entrancing the listener with its deep, dark gaze before it sinks its teeth in and drags you into the all-consuming abyss.

Gaahl (Kristian Eivind Espedal) is probably best known for his time in the much more traditional black metal band, Gorgoroth where he was the vocalist for nearly a decade between 1998 and 2007. Gaahl, who is obviously on vocals is joined by Lust Kilman (Ole Walaunet) on guitars, Eld (Frode Kilvik) on the bass and Spektre (Kevin Kvåle) on drums.

With 5 tracks and a run time of 29 minutes, we aren’t too far off album territory and it gives hope for some long, twisting epics. Starting off with The Seed, The Humming Mountain is introduced with a gentle, morose melody. A clean, husky voice joins the melody singing in almost a whisper. Traditional black metal, this is not (and that is not a bad thing at all). The melody continues and is hypnotic in it’s soothing sound but it is a very slow, very patient start to the song. A switch up is needed and when the song falls silent, a bit of me presumes an explosion of noise is about to take place.

It doesn’t instead, a bassy melody takes over with faded and very gentle backing singing. The thing is, while a little bit of me is screaming inside for “the heavier stuff”, I have to admit I absolutely love the smooth atmospheric building nature of the song. Its a bewitching start to The Humming Mountain and I now have absolutely no idea what to expect.

The title track, The Humming Mountain spins it all round on it’s head again though, starting straight off with a much more familiar, crunchy post black metal riff. Slow, thumping drums add power before the clean and whispery vocals join in. There is a definite black metal vibe to the instrumentation, maybe a post progressive black metal with a little black gaze but the vocals really contrast that. Full of passion and emotion, but unexpectedly clean. I love how Gaahls Wyrd seem to have just discarded the rule book and are catching me off guard and making me have to think a bit.

As some deep, backing growls add another layer, I really do finds myself completely absorbed in the song and as it ends with an invading bit of synth that sounds creepy as fuck, I am fully on board. The Dwell starts off with a straight up death metal riff, speedily pushed out with a thick bass thump and blasting drums. Where did this come from? The vocals have a chant like feel to them – maybe a little Rotting Christ and after the deep introspectiveness of the first two songs, I now find myself encouraged to headbang along ferociously.

It does switch things up occasionally – the little drop back and immense drum fill in the middle is to die for, as is the riff that comes in again after it. I love the scratchy riff with gang vocals section near the end and also the absolutely blazing solo. So many elements but it ties together nicely to make a cracking song. Awakening Remains – Before Leaving is more on the black metal side again with an intro that could easily come from a more traditional band before the vocals throw that out of the window. This song is amazing.

At times the “gaze” shines through with the contrasting higher toned lead guitar but the cleanly sung heavily backed vocals are just sublime and feel magical, powerful and special. Its a brilliant song and feels absolutely huge and grandiose yet dark and a little menacing too.

We reach the end with The Sleep and it seems fitting for Gaahls Wyrd to end with an extended outro that follows a similar pattern to the first song. A little backing atmospherics and synth gently push the clean ringing melody as the vocalist whispers hushed lines like poetry.

I was sad to reach the end but there enough material on this EP, and it is of such quality, that there is plenty of replaying to look forward to. Gaahls Wyrd is a deep and thought provoking release. It is very layered and holds real depth. I never knew or wanted to know what was going to happen next. It is a progressive release, really pushing the envelope of what a fan can expect from “a black metal band” and I love it. The flow of the EP is excellent too with the ending feeling like the culmination of an important mental journey. Gaahl really shows his class with The Humming Mountain. It is phenomenal.

Grab a copy now from the band on Bandcamp or at Season of Mist by following the links.

Gaahls Wyrd Links

Bandcamp – Facebook – Instagram – Website – YouTube