Hailing from the infernal Death metal depths of Finland, Ghastly, formed in 2011, have served the Finnish Death fans of old with a new injection of life into Finland’s scene of death. Predominantly a more progressive and cosmic leaning of Death metal, Ghastly follows on well from their Finnish Death metal ancestors such as Demilich, Demigod and Funebre through providing an immersive and cosmic listening experience that is sure to satisfy the pallets of those who came to appreciate the exuberance of the likes of ‘Nespithe’ and ‘Children of the Scorn’ in the early 90s, with respective signings to Me Saca Un Ojo and 20 Buck spin across their career providing them with the perfect ground to do so.
Their 2021 serving, ‘Mercurial Passages’, provides one with nothing short of the sophistication we have learnt to expect from 20 Buck spin releases across the past couple of years. With ultimately (deliberate) limited variation across and between tracks, ‘Mercurial Passages’ does a perfect job of generating an immersive atmosphere of an out of the body experience, with esoteric lyrics of what seems to be the band members’ interpretation of the process of death accompanying this perfectly. Ultimately, ‘Mercurial Passages’ as well as Ghastly’s entire discography likely wouldn’t fall into the grasps of novice Death metal fans craving simple, generic arrays of blast-beats and long-winded guitar solos, however rather more into the more established of enjoyers who appreciate exploring what different ambiences and moods the genre can create.
In other words, ‘Mercurial Passages’ certainly isn’t one to get pulses racing however one to immerse you in a strange world of a Death metal laden soul-enhancing experience created by perfect and equitable blends of symphonies, harmonious guitars and immaculately timed drum work. One who considers themselves a fan of Finnish Death metal or the work of the 20 Buck spin label should add ‘Mercurial Passages’ to their list of awaiting listening experiences instantly.
Hail Ghastly!
