Congratulation to Gaahls WYRD who earned the Norwegian Grammy Spellemann in Metal of the Year 2019 for their brilliant debut album "GastiR - Ghosts Invited"! It was a different Spellemann this year, as the main event got cancelled due to COVID-19 outbreak. A small TV-team travelled around to visit the winners on various locations. When front man Gaahl and drummer Kevin Kvåle walked in the doors at the Indie Recordings office earlier this week, they were met by the Spellemann Award, champagne, and confetti.
About Gaahls WYRD:
Since rising to prominence with his first band Trelldom, legendary singer, front man, artist and composer Gaahl has been one of Norway’s most talked about and respected extreme metal musicians. His work with Trelldom, Gorgoroth and God Seed has been widely regarded as some of the best the black metal scene has had to offer.
Gaahls passion and dedication to his art has earned him followers far and beyond the realms of the metal community, becoming a household name in the art scene and a well-respected alternative thinker.
In 2015 the charismatic singer assembled some of Norway’s finest metal musicians under the new moniker Gaahls WYRD. The band consisted of Ole Walaunet (The Batallion, God Seed, Grimfist), Frode Kilvik (Krakow, Aeternus), Sir (Trelldom, Djerv, God Seed) and Bård Kolstad (Leprous, Borknagar).
The band’s first show was an appearance at the one-off festival BlekkMetal, held in Bergen, Norway the same year. The show was recorded, and the live EP “Nov. 15” was released by the band in 2017. The EP was celebrated during the bands two European runs “Vardøger 2017” and “Vardøger 2018”. Bård Kolstad was replaced by Kevin Kvåle (Horizon Ablaze) in the 2nd half of 2017.
In mid 2018 the band teamed up with producer Iver Sandøy (Enslaved, Emmerhoff & the Melancholy Babies) to record their first full-length album “GastiR – Ghosts Invited”, released by Season of Mist (World) and Indie Recordings (Norway) in 2019.
Fans and press worldwide has since praised the album and the band!
Metal Insider wrote that it was a “guaranteed-to-be classic” followed by “Leave no doubt, Gaahl’s Wyrd breaks new ground here and black metal will never be the same.” Decibel Magazine wrote that “Gaahls WYRD’s debut album is everything a fan of premium Norwegian black could ever want. […] there’s literally not a single thing at fault here.”.
One of the biggest newspapers in Bergen, Gaahl’s hometown, gave the album a solid 6/6 and stated that this was a “dark highlight of the year!”
Listen to “GastiR – Ghosts Invited” HERE!
