I have a soft spot for Gothic Metal. It goes pretty deep, this Gothic love. So when this album popped up in the promo bin I picked it out because I saw that Kostas Salomidis was attached to it. In case you haven’t heard of him, then you should be checking out his band Distorted Reflections. He doesn’t appear in Ghost Warfare, however. I think he is a producer… anyway, Outer Rim II: Saaren Gammar isn’t what I thought it was going to be, and I turned out to be wrong in the best way.

Interesting, yeah. Thirteen tracks of Goth infused metal  with enough other genres that there’s literally something for every taste. Because at one point they’re Black Metal, then some sort of lunatic Mercyful Fate meets Ghost’s Infestissumam (my favorite album from them so that makes this right up my tree.)

“The Way (Intro)” is how they get underway. It’s a soaring and magnificent track, and it segues into “Perfidy II: The Weight of Guilt”. Admittedly I didn’t like this song at first, something about it was bugging the shit out of me, so I listened HARD, and it suddenly clicked for me, so after that all was well. The star of this album is Ganiela Ganeva and her magnificent voice. When combined with Dimitar Naydev and his raw vocals they are unstoppable.

The first half of the album is noticeably King Diamond-ish, his Abigail and Them albums respectively, but after the whirlwind of “Master of the Fade” they do some totally unexpected shit and on “Sign of Armageddon” they go full on Go-Go boots at the end of the track and goddamn if it doesn’t swing like a corpse on a meat hook. I literally became a dancing fool with this song.

This is an incredibly fun album, from start to finish. It’s a long one too; 1:13:16, don’t let that deter you because it’s worth every second. “Insight” continues that demonic Watusi, while “Under the Black Sea” churning within a vortex of menace where nightmare creatures haunt the shadowed depths.

The production is awesome, allowing each instrument to shine. I’m not sure where Outer Rim II: Saaren Gammar was recorded; etc. But a great job was done with this album.

They show some more Ghost rhythms on “Green Eyes of Temptation”, the super heavy and crushing “Wrath of Hades” and the massive “the Forsaken.”

Let me tell you friends and neighbors, Ghost Warfare bring the riffs, I haven’t really mentioned them but they are beefy as fuck, the drums are like rolling thunder courtesy of Diyan Georgiev and the guy bringing those riffs is Georgi Latev. This is a band you need in your life.

“Hire Gods” has a killer riff that drives the song to the insane solo, galloping towards “Gone” and the Demons and Wizards style epic “Legacy of Renn.” The 8:42 minute “Comprehension (Flight of the Fallen)” a soaring Raven of a song and perfect closer to this absolutely marvelous album.

Seriously though, constant reader. Ghost Warfare are a band that needs your attention and support. I wonder who would like this… fans of King Diamond/ Mercyful Fate for sure, Ghost (early days Opus Eponymous and the aforementioned Infestissumam). There’s literally something that will appeal to those who seek out new Metal that wears a deadly heart on its bloodied sleeves.

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