I love the doom genre, and I especially like it when a band seems to combine all my favorite aspects into one balanced offering. Ghostheart Nebula released their new album Blackshift on October 17th, and I feel like it has depths yet for me to delve.
Ghostheart Nebula comes to us from Italy. The lineup includes Lucia Amelia Emmanueli on vocals, Maurizio Caverzan on vocals, Nick Magister and Aron Corti on guitars, Bolthorn on bass, and Panta Leo on drums. Guests include Diego “Didi” Cavallotti (ex-Lacuna Coil, ex-Inverno) on guitar, and Øystein G. Brun (Borknagar, Cronian) on guitar.
Here’s the thing about this band: their sound incorporates the best parts of various other doom bands. Their music is like the intersection of the heavy doom with harsh and siren vocals of Draconian with the cosmic drone and ethereal spectacle of ISON. I think Sojourner and their driving black metal influences can be heard in the mix, too. So, yes, there are lots of smooth harsh vocals from Maurizio and great clean vocals from Lucia, and the whole album is dark and magical and spacious.
The lyrics are part of the equation, too, concerned with the empty vastness of the cosmos, and the Mother of Light casting out her sons into the void. Reflecting upon this, the band urges us to unity and understanding as the only known planet with life abundant. Perhaps the burden of love and oneness is ours to carry alone, or maybe not. Still, it’s food for thought.
The album has eight tracks, and while they aren’t all one song together, they flow wonderfully and seamlessly. One of my favorite sequences is “Sunya”, “The Opal Tide”, and “Naught, I”, which streams deliciously from dark mutterings to peaceable melodies to epic blast beats. “Naught, I” is particularly heavy and vicious for the album, and the trio simply possesses an undeniably expansive and gorgeous aura, even in the harsher moments.
Another favorite portion is “Traces” and “Orphan of Light”. They end the album. “Traces” is perhaps the most melodic track on the album with its focus on Lucia’s vocals, expressing desperation authentically. It is serene and beautiful, and the final moments with Maurizio returning have storytelling vibes that I can’t put into words. The closer “Orphan of Light” is cinematic and towering; I like how moments of reserved space hover inside of it like diamonds, and I appreciate the lyrics and thematical implications.
Ghostheart Nebula might not be for everyone, but if you like death doom, cosmic drone, and blackgaze, you should check out this album. It has a shiny, blackened ambience that never grows old or ugly, and the overall arc of the album visits many complicated emotions and shades of darkness. It hides many treasures, I will tell you, that you can unearth as you listen more and more.
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Find Ghostheart Nebula online:
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The PROG Mind 