Artist: Ghostsmoker
Title: Inertia Cult
Format: LP, Digital
Label: Art As Carthasis
Genre: Doom/ Sludge
Release Date: 21/03/2025
Ghostsmoker‘s debut album Inertia Cult is a record of earth-shaking sludge and blackened doom.
Following the release of their 2022 EP Grief, Inertia Cult represents an evolution for Melbourne’s Ghostsmoker. Their newly refined, collaborative approach to recording has allowed the band to hammer out powerful riffs, tighter song structures and further experiment with mood and atmospherics. Comparisons to Conan, Thou, Bongripper and ISUA are warranted. Each of Ghostsmoker‘s riffs ring with monolithic, thunderous power, generating the kind of sonic intensity that only comes from years of amplifier worship.
“We’ve grown a lot as a band since our first EP (Grief) in 2022, and that’s reflected in this album,” says vocalist Nathan Brunning. “Our confidence and understanding of who/what we are comes through on this release, and it sets a great foundation for what we do next.“
“Apart from musical influences within the genre, there are plenty of nods to things outside that space that have found their way in,” continues Brunning. “Some of the atmospheric parts are definitely influenced by horror and sci-fi soundtracks, and our video for Incarnate is a direct homage to the film Skinamarink. As kids of the 80’s and 90’s, that lo-fi aesthetic is deeply ingrained in us, so that found its way in here and there as well.“
Opening with haunting howls chased with bone-crushing riffs, Incarnate is the first single from Inertia Cult. The song wages a careful balancing act between loud, hulking instrumentals and haunting ambient inspired sections, each one underscored by slamming drums and wild lashes of fuzz from every string struck. The final product is both hypnotic yet rhythmically punishing, a balancing act that, on face, is hard to achieve.
“Incarnate is about being stuck in a loop of despair and not being able to move forward through your grief and trauma,” says Brunning. “During the very early stages of writing for the album, my brother passed away suddenly which had a significant impact on the lyrical themes on the record. Our drummer Brayden’s father also passed away while we were in the studio recording the album, and the rest of us rallied together to finish the job in dedication to our friend who was going through such a painful time in life, and his father, who was his biggest supporter. The above, the hurdles of everyday life, relationships failing, new ones forming etc all ultimately fed into making this album what it is.”
With live performances that have been hailed as brutal, earth shattering and monolithic, Ghostsmoker are developing a much warranted reputation across Australian gig halls.
Preparing for the release of Inertia Cult sees the band committing to a promotional tour for Incarnate‘s release across Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide throughout November and December this year. Following that, a full album release tour will take place in March 2025 across Australia, with the potential for overseas tours to Japan or Europe.
Don’t miss one of Australia’s finest up and coming doom bands. The tectonic heaviness of Ghostsmoker’s Inertia Cult is sure to ring in your ears for days, and is essential listening for loves of sludge, post-metal, doom and drone alike.
Ghostsmoker’s new album Inertia Cult is out 21 March 2025 on Art As Catharsis.
Tracklist
1. Elogium
2. Bodies to Shore
3. Incarnate
4. Inertia Cult
5. Haven
6. The Death of Solitude
Links
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/Ghostsmoker
Bandcamp: https://ghostsmokerau.bandcamp.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ghostsmokerband
Facebook: https://acebook.com/ghostsmokerband
Art As Catharsis: http://www.artascatharsis.com
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