Galvornhathol – III
Galvornhathol – III
Self-Released
21/03/2025
Review by Oli Gonzalez
6.5/10
“A journey from the earth, to below the clouds and now to the stellar realm of stars and galaxies”. How the sole composer and visionary of solo Black Metal project Galvornhathol describes their sound. Going by the moniker of ‘C’, the identity is shrouded in mystery and allows only the music to do the talking, though is described as being for fans of Wintefylleth, Rotting Christ, and Alcest. That’s good enough for me as I’m a fan of all. On this basis, I can expect a black metal spine but with something maybe a little shoegaze, progressive, and just straight up out of the ordinary. Let’s see what the album “III” delivers, the third of the trilogy of albums (any guesses what the previous two are called?).
The Post-Black Metal instrumentation immediately got my attention. Warm, inviting, and deceptively complex, this is everything I look for. For a self released record, there’s some exceptionally high production values, achieving aesthetically pleasing and inspiring atmospheric soundscapes. The guitars have been fully optimised on this mix too, offering said atmospheric qualities much like other blackened post metal bands in the style of Solstafir would. Just check out ‘Spirals’ for evidence of this.
Structurally, there’s nothing conventional or cookie cutter here. There are much needed calmer more ambient passages that allow the sound to slowly mature and develop properly, so that when the heavier more intense sections are introduced, you fully understand and appreciate their impact! ‘Sternentanz’ is a good example of this.
For all this skilled composition and musical prowess, unfortunately something about the vocals just doesn’t sit well with me. It’s like they’re a mismatch for the music. With the ambient post metal textures, it feels as though the high pitched shrieks and growls – in the style of Kataklysm – are far too overpowering. It can make for some uncomfortable listening at times. Maybe lowering the vocals in the mix may help to sound less overpowering. Though some cleaner vocals deployed in ‘Neptun’ seem to work better and suit the sound better. I’ve recently become enthralled with Icelandic metal act Mir and their ability to combine back metal elements and shoegaze, as well as admiring Alcest for years for this very reason. An ability to combine a more calmer soothing vocal and the lower end growls is what is most appealing about these artists and I guess is what I was expecting in Galvornhathol’s sound.
Hopefully these comments are taken as somewhat constructive and not viewed as an attack on the artist’s vocal style.
Overall, this is an ambitious effort though sadly misses the mark on some key compositional areas.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Voids
02. The Hunter
03. Spirals
04. Sternentanz
05. Neptun
06. Long Way Home
07. Andromeda
08. Nebulae
09. Laniakea
10. Solaris
11. Asymptote
LINKS:
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