Ghost Bath – Rose Thorn Necklace (Review)

Ghost Bath are a depressive black metal band from the US and this is their fifth album.

I do like a bit of Ghost Bath. Both 2017’s Starmourner and 2021’s Self Loather were very enjoyable, despite actually being quite different. Out if the two, Rose Thorn Necklace is probably closer in style overall to Self Loather, although is by no means a repeat of it.

With a duration of 35 minutes, Rose Thorn Necklace is easily the shortest Ghost Bath album, but it packs a lot of content in. This is Ghost Bath at their most intense and focused. However, while the band still benefit from the haunting atmospherics and sweetly despairing melodies that they do so well, there’s new ground covered here too.

Ghost Bath’s ability to blend nuanced introspection and immersive feeling on the one hand, and sickening darkness and hostile aggression on the other, is a big part of why their music is so impactful. It’s simultaneously beautiful, with shining ethereal melodies, and grim, with harrowingly harsh rage. There is horror lurking beneath the surface, which manifests frequently in the rich atmospheres that are crafted across the songs. A Gothic grandeur mixed with existential funereal terror; despite being rooted in earthly anguish, something spectral lurks in the heart of Rose Thorn Necklace.

The Ghost Bath recipe on Rose Thorn Necklace is a compelling one, resulting in a record that feels like a real journey. The album offers a few different textures and soundscapes, and has more variety than you’d expect. For a start, of the nine tracks, only six are actual songs in the traditional sense. Rather than this being a bad thing though, each track has its own character and purpose, and all work surprisingly well to add real value, (Needles being the only one that doesn’t really do that much with its 2-minute running time, and can be safely skipped). The actual songs all have their own personalities. As one example, I’ll highlight Dandelion Tea; this song has a thrash influence in the riffs and a hard rock feel in the leads, something I haven’t heard in Ghost Bath before. It works well, and is just one example of how each track differentiates itself from its peers. There are a lot of interesting musical ideas on Rose Thorn Necklace, showcasing Ghost Bath’s desire to keep moving their art forwards.

Rose Thorn Necklace is a record that manages to adhere to Ghost Bath’s central depressive style, while also allowing them to explore a few different sounds and ideas. It all works very well, and this is a really good album.

Very highly recommended.