Ghost Bath is an American

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

band from

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

, formed in 2012 and fronted by Dennis Mikula. They have released five studio albums and one EP to date, melding

and

post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...

music. They initially gained notoriety for marketing themselves as being from China.

History

Originally the band claimed to have been from

Chongqing, China Chongqing Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the Central People's Government, along with Beijing, Shanghai ...

. Their 2014 debut studio album ''Funeral'' was released on Chinese record label Pest Productions. They then signed to German label Northern Silence Productions for the release of their second album '' Moonlover'' in 2015. Upon gaining increased media attention, including critical acclaim from

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

and

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

, the band was revealed to be from

and fronted by Dennis Mikula. When asked why the band did not correct the false reports on their origin, Mikula stated: "We refused to correct people because we do not wish to put actual faces onto our music. It is our wish as a band to connect to all human beings." In 2017, the band followed up ''Moonlover'' with ''Starmourner''. In 2021, they announced ''Self Loather'', the last album in the trilogy that began with ''Moonlover.'' In 2025, the band announced their fifth album, ''Rose Thorn Necklace'', would be released on May 9 via

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...

Musical style

Their sound combines elements of

, including

tremolo picking Alternate picking is a guitar playing technique that employs alternating downward and upward strokes in a continuous fashion. If the technique is performed at high speed on a single string or course voicing the same note, it may be referred to ...

guitar play and shrieked vocals, with uplifting melodies and atmospheric qualities inspired by

. Their style has thus been associated with

blackgaze Blackgaze is a fusion genre combining elements of black metal and shoegaze. The word is a blend of the names of the two genres, described by ''The Guardian'' as "the buzz term for a new school of bands taking black metal out of the shadows an ...

and

post-metal Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal music, heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis (band), Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture (music), te ...

and frequently compared to that of fellow American band

Deafheaven Deafheaven is an American black metal band formed in 2010. Originally based in San Francisco, the group began as a two-piece with singer George Clarke and guitarist Kerry McCoy (musician), Kerry McCoy, who recorded and self-released Demo (Deafh ...

, particularly on their breakthrough 2013 album '' Sunbather''. However, frontman Dennis Mikula has stated that Ghost Bath's primary influences have been

Agalloch Agalloch () is an American extreme metal band from Portland, Oregon. Formed in 1995 by frontman John Haughm, they released five full-length albums, four EPs, two singles, one split single, two demos, four compilation albums and one live video a ...

and Silencer.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Funeral'' (2014) * '' Moonlover'' (2015) * ''Starmourner'' (2017) * ''Self Loather'' (2021) * '' Rose Thorn Necklace'' (2025)

EPs

* ''Ghost Bath'' (2013)

References

External links

* on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

* * {{Authority control American black metal musical groups Musical hoaxes Musical groups established in 2012 Rock music groups from North Dakota American musical quartets Blackgaze musical groups 2012 establishments in North Dakota