GosT – Valediction Album Review

American GosT returns with his new album Valediction.  The constantly changing electronic landscape he creates includes many alternative musical styles.  For instance, black metal, brutal industrial, energetic dance music and catchy synth pop, all effortlessly flow from one genre to the other.  This results in a varied listen and most importantly, an entertaining one.

The album begins with Relentless Passing.  Funeral synthesizers follow a black metal intro and blend into Mike Oldfield trance before leading us into a concoction of noise and dance.  In addition it includes blast beats, which as a result, give a feeling of being hit by a Satanic hammer.  It is a statement of intent from GosT; it warns the listener they are to expect anything and everything, and moreover, he does not disappoint.

The next two tracks are far more accessible.  For instance, Wrapped in Wax is a goth trip through the ages.  For example, 80’s trad intro leads into industrial Mansun.  In addition, a quiet midsection is followed by lively danceable cyber. Similarly, Dreadfully Pious continues the mood with its early 80’s keyboard played over modern synth beats.  In places it is reminiscent of Construction Time Again era Depeche Mode.

Timeless Turmoil is a dance track bookended by Cradle Of Filth style metal which results in a furiously brutal sound.  After its initial Hi-NRG intro, Bloody Roses gives the sound of electronic waves crashing against a cliff, culminating with a catchy repetitive chorus.  Call Of The Faithful is pure heavy Daft Punk and most importantly, its euphoric ending sets up the mood for the next track.

She Lives In Red Light is the stand out track of the album.  It’s stunning Giorgio Moroder meets Agonised By Love sound, produces what sounds like a cold wave classic.

This is followed by Ligature Marks, a perfect bridging song between the styles.  It is cold synth pop with a distorted buzz, that builds with a growing sinister malice.  Penultimate track Push has a nice melody interspersed with horror synth; harsh electronics result in the sound of someone getting a drill pushed into their skull.  Closer, Severance is the amalgamation of everything we have heard from GosT so far, including a cacophony of black metal, fast electronic beats, cold wave and Industrial.  In conclusion, GosT has come full circle to end the album in the manner in which he started,

In summary, Valediction bridges extreme metal with the synthetic tones of cold wave resulting in an interesting and positive diverse album.  Above all, GosT is pushing boundaries and can rightly be crowned a Satanic darkwave overlord.

Tracklisting:

01. Relentless Passing (04:05)
02. Wrapped in Wax (04:07)
03. Dreadfully Pious (04:11)
04. Timeless Turmoil (03:26)
05. Bloody Roses (03:29)
06. The Call of the Faithful (Faithless) (03:50)
07. She Lives in Red Light (Devine) (04:28)
08. Ligature Marks (04:10)
09. Push (03:40)
10. Severance (03:22)

The album can be bought from the links below:

https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Valediction?id=Bokjc4sgdwdjh3h4pqhc2mh4taq&hl=en_US

https://www.cmdistro.de/Item/GosT_-_Valediction_-Gatefold_mint_colored_LP-/3479

https://www.facebook.com/gost1980s/