Ghostheart Nebula – Ascension
Release Date: 17th September 2021
Label: Black Lion Records
Bandcamp
Pre-Order
Genre: Melodic Doom, Death Metal.
FFO: Saturnus, Swallow The Sun, Inborn Suffering, Left In Torment, Draconian, Evadne, Helevorn.
Review By: Martha Skourteli
The truth is that the music industry of all styles and genres these days is massive and it grows bigger by the minute. Keeping that in mind I’m sure many will agree that finding really good bands that can speak to your heart instantly still happens but not to the extent that it used to happen in the past.
Well, here we are with such a case of a band that will enter your world with their songs and promise to make you really love what you’re listening to.
Ghostheart Nebula is an Italian band originating from Milan. The country doesn’t really matter when it comes to music but in their case let’s not forget that Italy and music are just inseparable, they’re like the two sides of a coin!
They started in 2017 and Ascension is gonna be their first full length album after an EP in 2018 and a single in 2020.
My first thought after I pressed the play button was “I feel like I’m home!!”. Every second was like a breath I took in a safe known place where I was left with myself. Their music sounds so familiar, as if it was dug out from my memories, it’s like listening to an album composed by all my favorite bands altogether.
If you’re the type of person that loves being alone and you’re more than comfortable with your music and the necessary isolation from your surroundings then this is gonna be one of your favorite albums of the year and although we still have 4 months to end 2021 it will most probably enter your top 5, to say the least.
The music flows like a river, the whole album is overflooded with guitar riffs that fall like rain in every song and you can only adore them. The drums make your heart beat so strong as if you were watching these guys live. I didn’t even play this too loud and I was lost in excitement and lost for words.
The vocals of Maurizio Caverzan (whom I first heard in the Path of Sorrow that Clouds released as a collaboration of them with different singers) are a combination of my favorite growling enhanced with sufficient spoken parts. The addition of female touches from the beautiful voices of Lucia Amelia Emmanueli (Monochrome the City, Sojourner) and Gogo Melone (Aeonian Sorrow) only adds to the remarkable outcome. What else do you need?
Mira. The intro song starts with the ethereal voice of Lucia followed by the strong heaviness of Maurizio. The song is the longest in the album (11+ minutes) and presents all styles of the bands vocals changing nicely from each one to the other. It surely made me realize how small and insignificant I am in this universe listening to the lyrics.
Chrysalis. This is the song that sounded the most familiar and close to my heart. I’ve heard it so many times that if it was played from a vinyl then the record would be near death already. Don’t get me wrong, even when a tune reminds me of another song I still can fall in love with it and I don’t see anything wrong about it. It’s really so powerful, such a melodic song and the awesome expressive vocals stole my heart. Chrysalis is getting a place in my top 10 songs for the year for sure.
Hikikomori. The title is the Japanese word for social withdrawal and it’s really a hymn to the awesomeness of isolation and distancing yourself from everything. A storm of flowing melody, beautiful growling vocals that fit the lyrics and more spoken lines that sound perfect and belong 100% where they are. There’s nothing a fan of this style of music can’t love about this song
The Cage. Another beauty in the album (oh yes, it’s full of gems) that features Jon Liedtke (Lost Tribes Of The Moon, Midnight Liedtke And The Witching Hours) playing a theremin that adds such an amazing and brilliant detail to the sound. The song can make you feel emotional, because it deals with the personal demons we all fight against but the addition of the theremin will just give you goosebumps. The piano, voice, theremin and the spoken intro lyrics guarantee to bring you tears.
Ascension pt I – Cosmic River. Beauty and the beast came to my mind while listening. The divine voice of Gogo (who’s also “to blame” for the beautiful artwork) comprised with Maurizio’s harsh part is what I was looking forward to hearing. The result is equal or maybe better I’d dare to say (I hope nobody will hate me for saying this) than the vocals duo of Draconian. That’s how awesome it sounds. The music of course dresses up these voices in the best possible way.
Ascension pt. II – My Burial Dream. Very descriptive song of self hatred, self blame and regret for not exploiting life. It flies closely above Funeral Doom for about 3 minutes and then it just dives straight into melodic Doom/Death waters. Since the spoken vocals are a significant part of Ghostheart Nebula‘s songs you’ll find them in this song too.
Ascension pt. III – Nebula. The last song is playing with the words that comprise the band’s name. It’s the darkest one in terms of music but the lyrics in the end leave a sense of hope, relief and a little spot for a ray of light to enter one’s darkness.
Ghostheart Nebula are here to stay and I hope they’ll continue writing such wonderful songs that mirror what all this style is about. They put a very specific signature in their music, presenting themselves in the scene of melodic doom/death and standing really tall and with great potential for the future.
(5 / 5)
