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Australian sludge/doom band
GHOSTSMOKER
has released single
‘Elogium’
No Clean Singing notes:
“Ghostsmoker bring forward fuzz-bombed riffage, but here it hungrily throbs, backed by crowbar-heavy percussive blows, and then groans like the weight of massed graves on crouched shoulders. Strangled snarls and horrid roars bay the disturbing words, and the music inflicts a rhythmic beating but also slowly writhes like an engorged python.”
‘Elogium‘ is the second single from Ghostsmoker’s debut album, ‘Inertia Cult‘ – a record of earth-shaking sludge and blackened doom, released on March 21st, 2025 via Art As Carthasis.
Grizzled and sludgy, the second single and album opener from ‘Inertia Cult‘, ‘Elogium‘, pummels eardrums at the pace of a war march.
Accompanied by heaving drums and raspy vocals, each low-fuzzed riff shudders like fractured earth before lifting itself into a haunting bridge.
The track folds back on itself at the end, closing with rhythmic doom and gnarled riffs as a warning of things to come.
The band comments:
“We made the decision for this to be the opener of the record because it’s primal and abrasive, with a hint of ambience, so it’s a good introduction on what to expect. ‘Elogium’ is a tribute, or elegy, to someone who has passed, who lived their life going through pain and struggle, hoping to see the day that it was all worth it, but unfortunately never getting to have their moment in the sun before their life was cut short.”
Australian sludge/doomers
GHOSTSMOKER
will release album
‘Inertia Cult’
track-list:
Elogium
Bodies to Shore
Incarnate
Inertia Cult
Haven
The Death of Solitude
Ghostsmoker are:
Ben – guitars
Nathan – vocals
Brayden Becher – drums
Rhys Brennan – bass
discography:
2021 Lockdown Sessions Demo
2022 Grief EP
2024 Incarnate Single
live 2024:
28 Nov Northcote Social Club Melbourne/Aus
7 Dec Crown & Anchor Adelaide/Aus
‘Incarnate‘ is the first taste of Ghostsmoker’s debut album, ‘Inertia Cult‘ – a record of earth-shaking sludge and blackened doom, out March 21, 2025 on Art As Carthasis.
Following the release of their 2022 EP ‘Grief‘, ‘Inertia Cult‘ represents an evolution for Melbourne’s Ghostsmoker.
“We’ve grown a lot as a band since our first EP (‘Grief’) in 2022, and that’s reflected in this album,”
says vocalist Nathan Brunning.
Their newly refined, collaborative approach to recording has allowed the band to hammer out powerful riffs, tighter song structures and further experiment with mood and atmospherics.
Comparisons to Conan, Thou, Bongripper and ISUA are warranted.
Each of Ghostsmoker’s riffs ring with monolithic, thunderous power, generating the kind of sonic intensity that only comes from years of amplifier worship.
Opening with haunting howls chased with bone-crushing riffs, the song wages a careful balancing act between loud, hulking instrumentals and haunting ambient inspired sections, each one underscored by slamming drums and wild lashes of fuzz from every string struck.
The final product is both hypnotic yet rhythmically punishing, a balancing act that, on face, is hard to achieve.
“‘Incarnate’ is about being stuck in a loop of despair and not being able to move forward through your grief and trauma,”
says Brunning.
“During the very early stages of writing for the album, my brother passed away suddenly which had a significant impact on the lyrical themes on the record. Our drummer Brayden’s father also passed away while we were in the studio recording the album, and the rest of us rallied together to finish the job in dedication to our friend who was going through such a painful time in life, and his father, who was his biggest supporter. The above, the hurdles of everyday life, relationships failing, new ones forming etc all ultimately fed into making this album what it is.”
“Our confidence and understanding of who/what we are comes through on this release, and it sets a great foundation for what we do next.”
“Apart from musical influences within the genre, there are plenty of nods to things outside that space that have found their way in,”
continues Brunning.
“Some of the atmospheric parts are definitely influenced by horror and sci-fi soundtracks, and our video for Incarnate is a direct homage to the film Skinamarink. As kids of the 80’s and 90’s, that lo-fi aesthetic is deeply ingrained in us, so that found its way in here and there as well.”
Preparing for the release of ‘Inertia Cult‘ sees the band committing to a promotional tour for ‘Incarnate‘s release across Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide throughout November and December this year.
Following that, a full album release tour will take place in March 2025 across Australia, with the potential for overseas tours to Japan or Europe.
With live performances that have been hailed as brutal, earth shattering and monolithic, Ghostsmoker are developing a much warranted reputation across Australian gig halls.