Norwegian Grammy-winning Metal outfit Gaahls Wyrd have announced new album Braiding the Stories, arriving via Season of Mist. The group features vocalist Gaahl (aka Kristian Espedal), guitarist Lust Kilman (aka Ole Walaunet), drummer Spektre (aka Kevin Kvåle), and bassist Nekroman (aka Andreas Salbu).
Title track single, “Braiding the Stories” is out now, and the band say that the album Braiding the Stories is something of a “lighthouse” guiding audiences forward after the liminal space of their last release.
Gaahl says about the new album:
I call it the White Lodge. Maybe I’ll call it the Bright Lodge. I wanted to put focus on where I think Ole is most comfortable music-wise. There’s more things he’s connected to on this album than before. So, I jumped over the more black metal tracks, as I felt they didn’t belong to this process. For example, when we sat down in the studio, we wanted a specific energy. That energy is a ‘80s and ‘90s thing. Almost gothic rock, but it’s more about the sound than the style. It’s an aesthetic for sure. If I may, everyone should pay close attention to Ole’s fantastic solos. They’re pieces of music [inside the songs].
He continues:
Musically, it’s unique. It’s not necessarily connected to GastiR and The Humming Mountain. Those albums are connected to very earthly elements, the natural flow of things. This album is another dimension—behind the veil, if you will. I remember I wanted to release ‘And the Now’ as the first single, but there’s probably too much information to be the first track out. Throughout this album, I use a lot of different voices, and I’ve thought a lot about how all these different characters fit [into the music]. So, I wanted the listener to fall into the album, not be distracted, and I think I’ve accomplished that. It’s cinematic.
The cover art by visual artist Øivind Myksvoll (Wardruna, Trelldom) is just as mysterious as his work for The Humming Mountain. The art shows what appears to be hair (aka the veil) and the cosmos (crystallized wine from Gaahl’s collection). The group’s signature horned figure also lurks between the layers.
