North Dakota’s Ghost Bath is one of the most exciting bands to emerge from the New Wave of U.S. Black Metal (NWOUSBM). They are also one of the most mysterious; The band initially presented themselves as a Chinese band in advance of their awe-inspiring debut album Funeral. No one is quite sure why they did this, but everyone was talking about it so I guess there’s that. Anyway, publicity stunts aside, Ghost Bath is highly secretive and there are no photos of the members to be found anywhere. They are a band that chooses to let the music speak for itself and speak it does. In volumes.

Like many of their contemporaries, Ghost Bath mixes ambient, post-metal, shoegaze, and traditional black metal to form a thick and oppressive wall of sound. The thing that sets these guys apart is the masterful way that they are able to mix all of those elements so deftly and still let glistening moments of beauty shine through without sounding like they are trying to do so. This is music that is custom made for headphones and repeat listens to the albums as a whole.

Fortunately for those of us who have already done that exhaustively with Funeral, as of today there is a brand new Ghost Bath record to savor and dissect. Moonlover is the band’s second full-length album and it picks up right where their debut left off and sees them growing ever more skilled in the delivery of what they themselves refer to as “uplifting, depressive music.” I know, I thought that sounded ridiculous as well, but after hearing them it kind of makes sense. Check them out and let me know your impressions.

Here, for your consideration is Ghost Bath performing the deceptively titled “Happyhouse” from their new album Moonlover which is available worldwide today, March 13, 2015, via their Bandcamp page

Ghost Bath “Happyhouse”