Depressive Black Metal outfit Ghost Bath return from touring Europe and North America in support of Starmourner (2017) and the vice-like grip of the pandemic with striking new album, Self Loather. In many ways, Self Loather, the group's 4th album, represents Ghost Bath's forward trajectory (musical) and continued exploration of antipathy of the self (lyrical), but unlike any album before it and as the final piece in the Moonlover-Starmourner-Self Loather triptych, it's the group's most destructive yet contemplative record to date. While that might have something to do with everyone contributing - though founding member Dennis Mikula remains the visionary core - the unquestionable allure of Self Loather is its songs. From the raw strength of opening track "Convince Me to Bleed" and the melancholy of the strings/piano-driven "Sanguine Mask" to the grandiose horror of "Hide from the Sun" and the slow-burn groove of "Unbearable," this is Ghost Bath at their creative best.
