Ghold ‘Of Ruin’ CD/DD 2015

It’s the dawn of man, a group of Neanderthals are sat around their recent discovery of fire, brows furrowed, grunting indiscernibly. Suddenly a time portal opens and through it appears a bass guitar, an amp, pedals and a drum kit. What ensues next is probably the best way to describe debut full length from South London duo Ghold; powerful, primitive and mind shatteringly heavy. Ghold produce noise that’s laden in fuzz and reverb but still packing enough grove for it to prove impossible to keep still while listening.

Compared to Galactic Hiss, Judas Ghoat and their self-titled demo, Of Ruin will probably seem far more restrained and less chaotic, however, it is no less relentless and anything but subdued; the pairing have managed to finely craft the blueprint of their sound to perfection and in doing so have sanded down any rough edges without compromising the raw tenacity of the music. Vocals on tracks such as Saw The Falling sound almost other worldly, tribal in places, and this knits perfectly together with the subtle time changes and constant twists in song dynamic.

The power that emanates from the music within this record is rendered from the simplistic sound that erupts from the speakers when the complexity of both instruments is married together; stripped down to their own separate parts there’s actually some really intricate and interesting musicianship at work. Bass guitars don’t really get enough credit and it’s usually because the people playing them aren’t all that creative, however, Aleks has managed to master the art of making his bass sound mightier than any guitar ever could and the noises he manage to illicit from it, carry a weight that could topple giants. This is paired with Paul’s carefully considered and incredibly well timed drumming – the metronome of the band, it’s usually the drummer’s job to ensure everything keeps to time, however, in this two-piece it feels almost as though bass and drums are bouncing ideas off of each other and conversing. On the surface, the ritualistic sounds of Of Ruin may seem simple enough, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find that true craftsmanship has been poured into every song.

There’s absolutely no doubt that this will be a record you’ll enjoy if you like your music to sound burly and uninhibited. To put it quite simply, this album would have your album in a fight.

Label: Ritual Productions
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter

Scribed by: Angela Davey