To Discover: Chief Ghoul
Chief Ghoul Conjures a Swampy, Psychedelic Ritual You Can’t Escape
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDCp8mP4HO8
Let’s be real: most solo stoner rock projects either fizzle out in self-indulgence or drown in a sea of Sabbath worship. But Chief Ghoul? Nah. This Kentucky-born sonic shaman isn’t just playing riffs: he’s casting spells. And Harmonic Rites, his 2024 full-length incantation, is less an album and more a séance in a dimly lit trailer park, where the smoke smells like patchouli and regret.
From the first note of the title track, you’re not listening, you’re being inducted. Fuzz pedals set to “apocalypse,” tempos that crawl like a snake with a grudge, and vocals that sound like they were recorded in a bathroom stall at 3 a.m. after a bad trip. And yet, it works. It doesn’t just work: it hypnotizes. “Above Below” swings with a bluesy swagger that’d make early Uncle Acid nod in approval, while “The Ripper” stomps in with a Sabbathian gait, all doom-laden and unapologetically sleazy.
Chief Ghoul isn’t just another retro-worshipper. There’s something off about his sound, in the best way. He calls it “the sound of a fly trapped in your ear,” and honestly? Spot on. It’s that persistent, nagging buzz that won’t let you sleep, that creeps into your dreams and mutates them. The melancholy of “She’ll Keep Me Warm Tonight” almost sounds sincere, until the guitar spirals into a vortex of reverb and dread. Even the track lengths feel ritualistic, like each song is a phase in some occult ceremony.
And then there’s “Transmutate”, three minutes of slow-burn tension, feedback, and whispered mantras that leave you feeling like you’ve just woken up in a field with no memory. It’s not just an outro. It’s a curse.
If you’re into bands that don’t just play music but inhabit it, Witches Of God’s eerie folk doom, Burnt Lung’s molasses-heavy riffs, Uncle Acid’s cryptic narratives, then Chief Ghoul isn’t just worth your time. He’s a revelation. A grimy, sleep-deprived, spiritually unwell revelation.
Go support the underground. Buy the damn album. And whatever you do, don’t listen to it alone at night.
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