Photo courtesy of Blood Music
Those of us who have been following the burgeoning synthwave movement over on Bandcamp know that there’s a whole lot of garbage out there. The bar for entry isn’t very high—all you really need is a computer, a cheap synthesizer, and a copy of Nightmare on Elm Street on VHS. GosT stood out almost immediately, and not just because the artist claims to be a demon god named Baalberith from Hell, Michigan (I, for one, am skeptical). Although his early work had the typical “imaginary horror movie soundtrack” thing going, he quickly embraced his love of club music and—as makes sense from someone who named himself after an unpronounceable fiend—metal.
After a quick succession of five EPs between 2013 and 2014, all of them filled with 80s-worshiping bangers, Baalberith vanished. Now, almost exactly a year after his last release, he’s emerged from his corner of the Inferno with his first proper full-length, Behemoth. Equal parts John Carpenter and Justice, the underworld overlord has his sights set on overthrowing reigning champion (and labelmate) Perturbator and taking his place as king of the synthesizers.
Videos by VICE
“Master,” the first single from the album, gives you a pretty good idea of the sort of nightmare realms he’s capable of transporting you to. Crank up the subwoofers and check it out for yourself below.
Behemoth comes out 4/28 on Blood Music.
Jeff Treppel is blasting John Carpenter remixes on Twitter.
