Ghost Bath is an American

post-metal Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. In a way simil ...

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 four studio albums and one EP to date, melding

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

and

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation ...

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

History

Originally the band claimed to have been from

Chongqing, China Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Counc ...

. Their 2014 debut studio album ''Funeral'' was released on Chinese record label

Pest Productions Pest Productions is a Chinese-based independent record label founded in 2006, focusing around atmospheric black metal artists and features an international roster of musicians. It also features two sub-division/sub-labels titled Self-Destruction ( ...

. They then signed to German label Northern Silence Productions for the release of their second album ''

Moonlover ''Moonlover'' is the second studio album by American post-metal band Ghost Bath. Recorded by producer Joshua Schroeder in Michigan, it was released on April 10, 2015 through, Northern Silence Productions. The album is the first Ghost Bath release ...

'' in 2015. Upon gaining increased media attention, including critical acclaim from

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

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 awa ...

, 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.''

Musical style

Ghost Bath combine 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 a ...

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

. Their style has thus been associated with blackgaze and

and frequently compared to that of fellow American band

Deafheaven Deafheaven is an American post-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, who recorded and self-released a demo album together. Following i ...

, particularly on their breakthrough 2013 album '' Sunbather''.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Funeral'' (February 2014) * ''

'' (April 2015) * ''Starmourner'' (April 2017) * ''Self Loather'' (October 2021)

EPs

* ''Ghost Bath'' (October 2013)

References

External links

* on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

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