ninehertz

When I think of Gnasch releases to date – three EPs since 2022, all featured on our old podcast – two headline common threads stand out – dark, dank and desperate doom, and more guest vocalists than Soulfly’s debut album. They return for their annual release, their first full length, and in this regard little has changed.

Musically, this is more of the same and we’re grateful for it. And there are a slew of star names joining them, both from UK underground as you’d expect (Gnasch feature members of Sonance, Row of Ashes and Warrior Pope), but also members of well-known international bands (Grave, Entombed, Sacramentum to name just a few). It is an impressive cast.

The primary impact is to give subtle variance between tracks. The core miserable and filthy doom provides the template throughout, but it never becomes staid or overlong as a new song brings a different singer who invariably adds their own slant. At one point, on Decline, I’m struggling to think who it specifically reminds me of, only to snap realise its Lord Mantis, and Charlie Fell from that great band is singing. Regardless, as a barometer, it is telling of how corrosive the sludge Gnasch ply is.

This approach could bring discordance, but instead it enlivens the album. This is due to the quality of the music beneath the vocals – occasionally inorganic, sometimes feral, at one point both ghostly and ferocious, a difficult balance to maintain. There’s a great track with Charlie Davis of Elephant Tree and Black Shape, an odd aura surrounds, led by a slightly spooky guitar line, dual vocals duelling in who can be the grimmest.

It ends with its strongest offering – Proclivity, featuring Erik Sahlstom of General Surgery/Under the Church. Ten minutes of dread filled doom which eventually reveals a delicious groove just about detectable in the metre-high detritus of sludge mess. Gnasch have transferred the thrills achieved in short format releases across the length of an album, delivering their greatest music to date.