UK sludge metal band Ghold release »Cauterise« music video; new album »Bludgeoning Simulations« out November 14th via Human Worth!
London, UK based sludge metal band Ghold has released a music video fot the latest single »Cauterise« taken from their upcoming full-length album, »Bludgeoning Simulations«,due out on November 14th, 2025 via DIY label Human Worth.
Tracklist:
01. Cauterise
02. Lowest
03. Place To Bless A Shadow
04. Fallen Debris
05. Leaves
06. Rude, Awaken
Courtesy of PR Trail:
Revered stalwarts of the UK heavy underground Ghold make their long awaited return with brand new full-length studio album »Bludgeoning Simulations«, to be released on November 14th 2025 via rising DIY label Human Worth. The amorphous sludge metal outfit have forged »Bludgeoning Simulations« in a furnace of anxiety and neurosis, finding a brutal treatise on themes of loss, abjection and isolation. Forged out of tense and troubling times for each of the band members, Ghold have pushed themselves to their creative brink to deliver what promises to be their heaviest and most menacing work, and their most experimental and textured compositions to date. Recorded in a remote windswept studio in the Welsh valleys by acclaimed producer and engineer Wayne Adams (Petbrick, Big Lad), Ghold will deliver a labyrinthine, cerebral sonic altar. »Bludgeoning Simulations« will be both a bringing together of everything Ghold have accomplished thus far, and also the sound of a band bravely treading new waters. The result is their most versatile, surprising, explorative and heaviest artistic statement.
“Titanic basslines rumble ominously and adroit rhythms that crush and swing continue to form Ghold’s foundations.” ~ Metal Hammer
Having made their latest recordings at home and in a church, Ghold felt a strong collective desire to get back into a bonafide recording studio with a producer and engineer at the helm – a craving for that special against the clock sense of teamwork and discipline. This reconnected Ghold with the revered producer of their »Galactic Hiss« EP, Wayne Adams (who has helmed records by Green Lung, Kulk, Vacuous, Shooting Daggers, Wallowing and countless more) who took the band to the remote Giant Wafer Studio in the Welsh hillside of Powys. The individual members had spent a couple of years apart – following different life pursuits and creative projects – since their last full length LP (2019’s »Input > Chaos«), making this recording venture something of a pilgrimage to find reconnection; the vast rural landscapes taking Ghold out of the busy chaos of London and finding solitude. Those feelings of isolation and contemplation can be felt across »Bludgeoning Simulations«.
Photo credit: Simon Kallas
»Bludgeoning Simulations« begins not with a roaring guitar riff, but with the rousing and dramatic stab of the piano. In what is Ghold’s most explorative work to date, the outfit prepared field recordings and ambient synth loops to act as a sonic bedding to build these six new compositions from. »Bludgeoning Simulations« finds a strong emphasis on percussion and unified gang vocals, even with additional slide guitar, pedal effects and flute making appearances. Truly a feast for the senses, Ghold ride an expanse that travels from riff-centric rockers right through to lengthy droning soundscapes and eerie ritual ambient. In the band’s own words, “we see this record as a culmination and a sort of tribute to all our previous work and experiences together as a band.”
“Ghold will blow minds even while beating them into oblivion.” ~ The Skinny
»Bludgeoning Simulations« opens with the menacing, lumbering crawl of leading single »Cauterise«, where the pounding drums are as heavy as the guitars. The twisted harmonised vocals bring forth a spiritual, ritualistic quality that weaves throughout the whole album. »Lowest« is one of the more linear cuts here, built on gut churning slow riffage, culminating in an aggressive mantra as the band command “Burn it down”. Epic centrepiece »Place To Bless A Shadow« is something really special, opening with an ominous escalating drone as eerie indecipherable whispers surround. This cavernous and expansive work climaxes into Ghold’s most crushing moments, full of anguish and flame. When the record flips, we are greeted to a complete reverse; a headbanging riff-rocker titled »Fallen Debris«, this record’s most energetic and immediate moment. This is a mere pallet cleanser before the harrowing formless crawl of »Leaves«, a textured walk through a forest at midnight. Ghold leave you with one last pummelling, channeling all their rage and bluntness into the industrial-tinged beating of finale »Rude, Awaken« – bludgeoning indeed.
“Bleak as hell. Not to mention heavy. Like wrecking-ball heavy.” ~ Echoes and Dust
Photo credit: Abi Coulson / Darktones Photography
Ghold have been active favourites across the UK and mainland Europe for over ten years now. Ghold have toured with the likes of Arabrot, Oozing Wound, Palehorse and Bongripper, and have performed at many festivals including Desertfest, Damnation, Raw Power, Supernormal, Supersonic and the infamous 2015 Temples Fest. Ghold have also played many support slots with acclaimed artists including Big Business, Melt Banana, Dragged Into Sunlight, Conan, Stephen O’Malley and many more. »Bludgeoning Simulations« will be released on white vinyl and digital formats via UK based independent label Human Worth (home to Sly & The Family Drone, Why Patterns, Modern Technology, Lower Slaughter et al) on November 14th 2025. Proceeds from Bandcamp sales will go towards registered charity SkatePal. Founded in 2013, SkatePal supply skateboarding equipment and training courses to underfunded communities in Palestine.
“A mind-bogglingly terrific and wholly innocuous ode to what sludge music is about.” ~ Everything Is Noise
Pre-order »Bludgeoning Simulations« and listen to the first single »Cauterise« now:
ghold.bandcamp.com/album/bludgeoning-simulations
All tracks written by Ghold copyright 2021.
Recorded at Giant Wafer Studios, Llanbadarn Fynydd, Powys, Wales, October 2021.
Recorded & mixed by Wayne Adams.
Mastered by Adam Richardson at XL.
Artwork and layout by Alex Virji.
Portraits by Simon Kallas.
Ghold are:
Al Wilson – Bass & Electric Guitar, Lapsteel, Voice, Piano
Paul Antony – Drums & Percussion, Voice, Synthesizer, Piano
Oli Martin – Electric Guitar, Voice, Piano, Flute
Alex Virji – Bass Guitar, Voice
FFO: Neurosis, LLNN, Year Of No Light, Melvins, Anna Von Hausswolff.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well