[Cover photo credit to Kristian “Gaahl” Espedal]
Esoteric Dark Metal group Gaahls WYRD will be releasing their five song mini-album, The Humming Mountain, via Season of Mist on November 5th. Second single from the collection, “The Seed”, is out now.
The Norwegian Grammy (Spellemannprisen)-winning Metal band’s mini-album may contain only five songs, but it’s 30-plus minutes in length, and both “continues from but challenges” the group’s debut full-length, GastiR – Ghosts Invited.
Gaahl (aka Kristian Espedal) explains:
“I like the concept of a mini-album instead of an EP. I like the format of a mini-album. Back in the day, bands like Hellhammer and Celtic Frost used this format. The audience gets more from this format. To me, it’s more serious than if it’s just a few tracks. Plus, the concept of The Humming Mountain isn’t big enough for a full-length album. The concept was something I had to get out of my head.”
Three of The Humming Mountain’s tracks were originally slated to appear on GastiR – Ghosts Invited but were eventually shelved when Gaahl determined that they weren’t a conceptual fit with the rest of the album’s tracks.
Gaahl worked with guitarist Lust Kilman (Ole Walaunet) and producer Iver Sandøy to refashion the songs. While The Humming Mountain is a real place called Gnolloden near the Svalbard archipelago, it apparently has no relation to the mini-album’s title or contents. Lyrically speaking, The Humming Mountain is “about patience” in a “universal sense” rather than a human one.
Gaahl comments:
“I’m always searching. I’m trying to find the core of self, the core of everything. GastiR – Ghosts Invited dealt with being conscious about the subconscious. The Humming Mountain is more direct in dealing with that topic. Creation is something that happens very slowly, I believe. I connected it to ice, in a way. It’s a Norse concept, where a witch ‘hummer’ is feeding on salty ice. Out of this comes the first conscious. In Norse creationism, creation originates with sound. Of course, fire and ice are the two opponents, but every being, which are manifestations of something, are connected to humming or noise, the vibrations created by it. That’s how I arrived at The Humming Mountain, a slow vibration from the mountain and the slow movement of ice.”
The Humming Mountain also sets the stage for Gaahls WYRD’s next chapter in music, though the timing will depend on touring and how soon they find a good time for studio work. Gaahl teases, “We’re about to enter the studio for the next full-length.”
