Review: “Spellbinder” by Gyrdleah

Produced, engineered, mixed, mastered and recorded by Chris Fielding (Conan, Urne, Boss Keloid) at Foel Studio in deepest darkest Wales in April 2022, the debut album “Spellbinder“ from Birmingham based Atmospheric Black Metal outfit Gyrdleah is one that offers plenty of intrigue, even before a single note is heard. Said to be a journey of self revelation, undying will, homage to nature and celebration of the dark arts, it is the second offering from the solo project masterminded by multi instrumentalist Flagrum following 2017’s debut EP “Passage Into The Night”. He plays the stringed instruments here while adding lyrics and vocals while being aided and abetted by session drummer Alex Micklewright (ex-Viscera, Martyr Defiled, Foul Body Autopsy)…

Despite the Black Metal aesthetic “Stab The Lamb” treads a left hand path which Gods fear to with a gloomy Doom atmospheric and Sludge Metal feel during the eerie introduction before putting the hammer down with furious blast beats and ghostly demonic vocals. In the mix Flagrum’s voice sounds caustic and yet distant, the weight of the distorted guitars echoing in the vastness of the abyss from which he roars, summoning his prey for bloodshed. Ethereal clean parts provide an underpinning in the final moments before the ravens which plucked out the eyeballs of his virgin sacrifice at the alter of the damned provide a dawns chorus, the elder demon announcing his return in savage fashion. The plague winds continue to emanate from the throat Flagrum as “GYFU” builds with a slow burn, the melancholic meandering guitars accompanied by an undercurrent of rumbling bass that gives it a mournful quality that contrast the vocals perfectly. After that sombre and sobering moment “Gathered For The Murder” takes a menacing and sinister direction with an alluring riff and incredible kit work from Micklewright who proves he can turn his hand to any genre and make a huge success of it. By the end of this one you may find yourself wondering what lurks in the darkness of the shadows, it’s hypnotic trance placing the fear into your very soul before the ambient “Approaching Gyrdleah” offers a palate cleansing instrumental of warm synths.

Returning to the darkness of the gloomy realms “Speak Of The Devil” offers another abyss gazing piece of wonder built upon the powerful dark mid-tempo rhythms that lift with fleeting foot blasting moments and caustic abrasions that test the sanity like a psychedelic hallucination. Is that a cloaked figure in the distance? Another mystical and entrancing moment the album title track approaches fearlessly, captivating with rich melodic overtones from the seemingly unending shadowy plains. Subtle tempo changes bleed out of the mix alongside nuances with each repeated listen, the calling from the void a never ending summoning to self immolation, fierce, anguished and yet enticing with . The artillery shelling opening of “VVitch” creating an intensity that rises and falls like a storm, each onslaught more powerful than the last before the lull and return. Throat grating blood gargling ends the track on a bitter note, perhaps more fitting for the album finale as it cuts the tension of the oppressive atmosphere created with a knife. Gothic clean vocals bring “Six Hundred Threescore And Six” to life in unexpected fashion, a stark contrast to the Gollum like bog dwelling beastly uncleans, the two styles sitting surprising well together on this one to create something both haunting and dramatic. “Outro” feels like the soundscape to waking up into a nightmare, the ghostly sound of a bell in the distance surrounded by swirling voices that you simply can’t place, a fittingly disturbing conclusion to an album as haunting as this [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Stab The Lamb
2. GYFU
3. Gathered For The Murder
4. Approaching Gyrdleah
5. Speak Of The Devil
6. Spellbinder
7. VVitch
8. Six Hundred Threescore And Six
9. Outro

“Spellbinder” by Gyrdleah is out 21st April 2023 via Black Lion Records with pre-orders available over at bandcamp.