I was drawn to this release by the haunting, ethereal nature of the cover art. (The artwork is “Procession in the Fog” by Ernst Ferdinand Ohme) Wilgskill, which translates from Dutch as Willow’s Creek, is the Atmospheric Black Metal project of Gabriel Berger, of Peekskill, NY in the Hudson Valley. (An area of high Dutch immigration a few centuries ago) Gabriel has released a three track digital only EP entitled ‘Lost in Loathing’ with the intention of creating a bleak atmosphere, something he does pretty well. Opener ‘Creature’ is a dark, unsettling track focussing on Mary Shelley’s novel ‘Frankenstein’, in particular the loneliness and solitude of the creature who is shunned and reviled despite never having asked to exist. Musically Gabriel creates a deeply off-kilter style of Atmospheric Black Metal, not through the use of synth but through the use of textured and layered guitar tones. There is a sluggish feel to the EP that I feel is entirely deliberate and this is a theme that crosses over into both ‘Kneel’ and final track ‘Identity’, which both focus on a methodical sound with interesting bass leads, simple drum sequences and again, fascinating guitar leads. Both of these two tracks are focussed on Gabriel’s more personal issues of mental health.
‘Lost in Loathing’ in some ways sounds exactly like what it is, a one man bedroom Black Metal project, but there is a great deal of thought being driven into the song-writing and creative process and the end result is more than listenable.
