Review GAAHLS WYRD “Braiding the Stories”

Despite his involvement with black metal since 1992, Gaahl (aka Kristian Espedal) is the driving force behind the nascent group known as Gaahl’s Wyrd, which is commemorating its tenth anniversary this year. The number of releases, however, is easy to keep track of. A few singles, an EP, and the debut album “GasiR – Ghosts Invited” are Gaahl’s Wyrd’s releases in these past decade. Now, “Braiding the Stories” will mark the next step for the Bergen-based metal collaboration.

The sophomore album features nine songs that reflect a wide range of influences and sounds. While some black metal elements remain, the overall sound is much broader than extreme metal alone.
“Braiding the Stories” combines darkness with bright moments, sometimes drifting towards gothic rock more than metal. Despite its variety, the album maintains a good flow, and nothing on this release feels scattered. The somber atmosphere of these nine tunes acts as the connector—a melancholic cloud surrounding these songs.

Take “As the Now,” the lead single. The song is dark and almost fragile. It’s a journey into the depths of emotion that touches listeners. It’s not an extreme metal blast that reaches your eardrums. It’s more of an intense song with many calm moments before the drums grow louder and the moaning vocals share a hypnotic expression.

“The Dream” opens the album, being an atmospheric, entirely acoustic track. It’s a somewhat peaceful start to the album, though the vibe of “The Dream” carries an unsettling momentum. Next is the title track, which takes the atmospheric spirit of the opener and combines it with a heavy-hearted, gloomy overtone.

The interlude “Voices in My Head” is characterized by a calm and somber atmosphere, with vocals that echo the voices in the head in a haunting manner. In contrast, “Time and Timeless Timeline” is thunderous. This massive metal track can be described as fast and furious. Although the vocals are clean and partly choral, this song gets the closest to the black metal roots.

“Through the Veil” is the next interlude, at less than two minutes, leading to “Visions and Time.” The first thing you notice is the thunderous drumbeat, which strengthens the song’s dark and sinister theme. The clean vocals, almost fragile, are a well-placed counterpart, as is the melancholic guitar that fills the middle section. The foundation for “Root the Will” is throbbing heavy metal, and it is another powerful tune on an album that really pushes the black metal roots into the background.

“Flowing Starlight” is the last track on “Braiding the Stories” and has a strong ’80s/’90s accent with references to a time when gothic rock was popular are apparent throughout the album’s closer. With a song like this, Gaahl’s Wyrd is musically closer to bands like Fields of the Nephilim than to black metal.

“Braiding the Stories” is an album that will surprise black metal fans who might expect another blackened blast from the north. Instead, Gaahl’s Wyrd drop an album with enormous depth that relies more on rock with a deeply gloomy mood. It is a haunting release that evokes a fascination with darkness without ever succumbing to pure desperation.