Ghorot is the metal band people need to know about. It’s a three piece that consists of Carson Russell, bass and vocals; Brandon Walker, drums and vocals and Chad Remains on guitar, amplifiers and vocals. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill type of metal band, instead, Ghorot makes music that’s deeply introspective but is also cloaked in a doomy and black sound.
“Loss of Light,” is a deeply emotional and cathartic record for all of us involved”, said Carson Russell, “and it certainly became a vessel into which we were able to release all of the chaos and pain in our own lives over these past tumultuous years. To write, rehearse, and record these brutal songs was meditative in many ways, and allowed us to take refuge in the one thing we could still hold on to during the storm. Loss of Light deeply explores the acceptance of life without the divine, the anger and sadness that resides in that acknowledgment, but also the prosperity and freedom granted once the shackles are removed ... We encourage our listeners to welcome the utter depths of pain and sorrow, and to thrive in the joy of a life unbound by gods and masters.”
The band’s full length debut album “Loss of Light” is releasing worldwide Friday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. People can also attend the release party at the Neurolux on Saturday, July 24 with Weald & Woe, Blackfriar, and DJ Joe Black of Sonic Mushroom Cloud. People can find the album on Bandcamp and other major streaming platforms, and find more information on the Ghorot Facebook page.
Originally, Ghorot was started by Russell, who began writing the songs in 2017. He was joined by Walker in 2018 and the two asked Remains to join, although he was unable to at the time. The two-piece played a show in 2019, Remains was there and afterwards came up to Russell and said, “I’ve made a terrible mistake and I’d like to join.” The three started as a trio, played some shows and went to work on the album.
Russell said the album explores where they started to where they are now. Ghorot is a doom metal band but it’s “blackened” with elements of drone, sludge and heavy rock and roll. It’s almost making a new sound by using a plethora of metal genres.
They work well together and bring experience from previous projects, Russell also plays in Ealdor Bealu, Walker was in Ghost Tours and Remains was in Uzala, all respective metal bands in their own right.
All three have a favorite song on the album, “An Endless Grief,” albeit for different reasons. “The song for me is about explaining the heaviest parts of being a human being,” said Russell.
“I wept during rehearsals,” said Remains. “The interpretation for me was deeply personal and I felt it was cathartic and helped me move through a lot of sh*t I was dealing with. A lot of it is rejection of social mores and personal exploration of what’s right and wrong without having a set of indoctrinated views.”
“How do you live a life worth living in the absence of life and the divine?,” said Walker. “The song and the album explores those themes and are about having a connection to yourself and others.”
Perhaps not what many people may think a metal band would be trying to convey in their music, but not surprising for Ghorot. Walker said people have a lot of preconceived notions about metal but it’s a highly emotive and beautiful genre. “An Endless Grief” is very emotive and slowly gut-wrenching but also has some repetition which creates a kind of meditative feeling.
The album has already gotten some attention and reviews. The Obelisk wrote, “It’s the super-fun-time slaughter your summer is begging for,” and Doomed and Stoned said the album is, “…a dark swell full of moody atmosphere, searching and powerful guitar leads, wicked and harsh vocals, and a bass-drum unit that will not stop in its slow advance of storm and fury.”
If you’re a metal fan then these reviews should have you ready to grab the album and if you’re not, maybe it’s just because you haven’t given Ghorot a listen yet.
The band also has a lot of upcoming shows, they’re playing Crucial Fest X in Salt Lake City, UT (August 26th-29th 2021), Treefort Music Fest 9 (September 22nd-26th), starting a 10-date Northwest Tour (October 21st-31st) and are looking forward to a coming European tour.
